Building with Tetrakys!

Introduction

When playing freely with Tetrakys, the children elaborate increasingly complex constructions that involve their intuition and processes of thought. It has been observed that children can classify, arrange, draw and create combined designs in a logical and aesthetic form.

First the children represent on a plane, later they arm their first tetrahedron. It is common also for the children to construct and then disarm their creations.

The construction of a tetrahedron is the first step to build a dodecahedron with inner tetrahedral structure (View photos gallery). Construction is parallel to all ruled games; there is no time limit for children, the most important thing is for them to learn and develop the process.

Procedure

  1. Construction is the maximal expression of intuition, playful use and development of the logic abilities of the toy. Adults should not intervene unless necessary.
  2. It is suggested to allow the child to build freely with the goy for at least half an hour per day.

Suggestions for the classroom

  1. The teacher should favor the conditions in the classroom so that the children can play with the material in a good environment. It is a good idea to leave some time between one activity and the next or to leave the construction as homework.
  2. The children’s creations can be stimulated by questions such as: would you like to draw something? Or: Can you do it in a different way?