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Last updated 11/10/2025

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'Die Formenarbeiten' was a series of 7 booklets about Froebelian occupations by Alois Fellner published by Wien, A. Pichler's Witwe & Sohn during the years 1874/79. Booklet 4 is about Das Verschnuren. This occupation is intended to supercede Falten during the 4th school year. There is no sense whatsoever in this work that children could be encouraged to enjoy paperfolding as a creative activity rather than as a rote copying exercise.

It is not clear to me what age children in year 4 would have been.

A full copy of the work can be accessed online here.

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Foreword

The author says, roughly translated: 'In the introduction to the first booklet ... Verschnuren was not mentioned. ... The author did not omit Verschnuren ... because he believed it was unsuitable for school ... but simply because he thought Falten was sufficient to adequately implement the principle of 'schoolwork' in the 3rd and 4th school years. This is not the case, as numerous experiences today have sufficiently demonstrated.' 'Folding is only sufficient for the 3rd school year and at most for the first half of the 4th school year.' 'During this time countless folding forms are poresented and copied at school ... so that folding has lost all difficulty for the children's hands ... and they eventually crave something new.'

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Introduction

The author explains that Verschnuren is carried out with paper strips folded into three lengthwise to strengthen them and explains how to use templates (or lined paper) to obtain aright angles and angles of 60 degrees.

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The Designs

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