From that same hand its little shining sphere
Of starlit dew." O. W. HOLMES.

"The Small, a sphere as perfect as the Great
To the soul's absoluteness." ROBERT BROWNING.

1. The first gift consists of six soft woolen balls colored in the six
standard colors derived from the spectrum, namely, red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, and violet.

The balls should be provided with strings for use in the various
motions.[1]

[1] "The string unites the ball, symbol of the outer world,
with the child, and is the means by which it can act upon his
inner nature." (E. G. Seymour.)

2. Froebel chose the ball as the first gift because it is the simplest
shape, and the one from which all others may subsequently be derived;
the shape most easily grasped by the hand as well as by the mind. It
is an object which attracts by its pleasing color, and one which,
viewed from all directions, ever makes the same impression.[2]

[2] "The Egyptians and the Greeks hung geometrical forms over
their cradles, so as to strike the eyes of the child with
lawful relations. Froebel introduces colored balls for the
same purpose, which, considering the psychological and
emotional condition of the child, leads to the joyful
conception of motion, color, and life." (Emma Marwedel.)

3. The most important characteristics of the gift are Unity, Activity,
Color.

The various colors serve to distinguish these several playmates of the
child by special characteristics, and enable him to make his first
clear analyses or abstractions, since the color is the only point
wherein the objects differ. This contrast in color results in the
abstraction of color from form.

4. Since the ball is the most mobile of inanimate shapes, it may be
considered as the "opposite equal" of the living organism. The
quickness and ease of its motion as well as its elasticity cause the
child to regard it as instinct with life, while its softness renders
him able to grasp and handle it readily.

Its material is also of great advantage in that it lessens the
possibility of startling noises which would distract the child from
the contemplation of its qualities. By its use, he is first led to
observation, and then to self-expression. As the simplest type-form
as well as the most universal, it offers a satisfactory basis for the
classification of objects in general; while its indefiniteness and