GAM Cylinder Block No. 3

In this block each cylinder decreases by half a centimetre in all three dimensions at once. As a result the cylinders progress in diameter from thin to thick and in height from tall to short, so both changes happen together across the set.

Yes. The child follows the same demonstration given for Cylinder Block No. 1 and applies it to blocks 2, 3 and 4. Once the first block is understood, this block extends the same work with a different combination of height and width.

These knobbed cylinders sit early in the sensorial curriculum, where the child refines visual discrimination of size. Isolating one quality at a time, the block prepares the eye and hand for later graded materials that ask the child to compare dimension across a whole series.

It is made of solid beechwood with a satin smooth lacquer finish, and each cylinder is individually sanded and lacquered. The hardwood keeps its shape through repeated handling and the smooth surface lets the cylinders slide cleanly in and out of their sockets.

The block carries its own control of error. Because each socket fits only its own cylinder, a piece placed wrongly leaves a cylinder stranded or standing proud, and the child sees the mismatch and reworks it without being corrected by an adult.

Wipe the block with a dry or lightly damp cloth and keep it out of standing water and strong sunlight so the wood and lacquer last. Kept on a low open shelf, the block stays ready for the child to carry to a work table.

The cylinder blocks are a three to six sensorial material, suited to the years when children sort their surroundings by size and dimension. Younger children can explore them with an adult nearby, building the careful hand movements the graded work depends on.