Froebel’s most important contribution to education was his development of the ___________.

Froebel was greatly influenced by the work of German Romatic philospohers Rousseau and Ficte. Froebel was the first to recognize that significant brain development occurs between birth and age 3. His method combines an awareness of human physiology and the recognition that we, at our essence, are creative beings. Once early childhood education became widely adopted, it was the natural starting point for innovations that followed. Froebel's method inspired and informed the work of Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner and other who adopted his ideas and adapted his materials according to their own work.