Preschool is often full of fun and enjoyable activities. The little children find themselves learning important life skills and improving cognitive abilities in a fun environment that is conducive to learning. Studies show that these formative years of a child are vital to their physical, intellectual and psychosocial development.
Among the popular tools used at preschools, is the traditional Pink Tower which was designed by Dr. Maria Montessori herself. This tower, consisting of blocks of various shapes, is a tool that helps develop a child’s sensory and cognitive abilities. Through experience, the little one learns that a brick at the wrong place or an uncalculated hand movement could send the entire tower crumbling down. Thus, this tool has gained popularity throughout the ages, with generations of children having interacted with this tower at some point in their childhood.
But, what if it this tower could teach the little children much more than hand-eye coordination and spatial volume? What if this popular tool could also be used to convey other important lessons to a child? What if it could teach children their right to health, to education, to safety, to protection from abuse?
These were questions a team at LEADS asked themselves. They wanted to harness the traditional Pink Tower to create an understanding about child rights among children of a very young age category who are often left out of such programmes but who are nevertheless vulnerable to harm and abuse. As a result, the tower is no longer ‘pink’ but has images that visually convey the message of protection against child abuse. This tool will be used in LEADS’ training programmes among children of 2 to 3 years of age and also in programmes regularly conducted with preschool teachers.