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Index
1 WhatisKAPLA?
2 KAPLAinyourclassroom
9 KAPLA:ahigh-qualityproduct
10 KAPLA:aneducationaltool
13 TheoriginofKAPLA
What is KAPLA ?
KAPLA is a wooden constructiontoy.Thegameismadeupofasetofidenticalblocksmadefrompine.Theuniquesizeoftheblocks,whichare in the ratioof1:3:15,makesthemidealforbuildingmanykindsofstructures.
We offer you some suggestionsfor building techniques, but theyare only there to help stimulatethe children’s inventiveness. Thepossibilities are infinite. WithKAPLA, childrenare free tobuild,create and experiment by usingtheiryourownimagination.
The KAPLA-concept is simple. Itneeds no glue, no screws, noclips tofix theblocks.Eachblockissimplyplacedoneontopoftheother.Theblocksareheldinplacebygravityandbalancealone.
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KAPLA in your classroom
In this section youwill find some ideas on how to useKAPLAwithin your classroom.Youcan let childrenplaybythemselvesorgetthemtoworktogetheronaprojectbygiving themabroad theme toworkwith.Ofcourseyou can also incorporate KAPLA into your educationalprogramme.
Onthefollowingpagesyouwillfindsomepossiblethemestoworkwith.
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KAPLA in your classroom : construction ideas
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Build a construction around a child
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KAPLA in your classroom : construction ideas
Build a WALL together
Build a CASTLE together
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KAPLA in your classroom : construction ideas
For the older children
And the little ones
Letyourpupilsbuilddifferenttowersandexploredifferentbuildingmethods.Thechildrencouldtrytocreatethehighesttowerpossible.Afterwardstheycouldanalyseanddiscusswhichbuildingmethodsaremosteffective tocreateasolidconstruction.
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KAPLA in your classroom : construction ideas
The children could build thedifferent stablesor cages. Theycould create theanimalswithinthe stablesor cagesusing theirowninspiration.
Water and Land
Zoo or Farm
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Makealineonthefloorwiththeblockstodividethefloorintotwosides. One side represents thesea. The other side representsthe mainland. Let the childrenchooseonesideofthefloor.Thechildrenhavetocreatebuildings
thatcorrespondtotheseaorthemainland.Theycanforexamplebuildboatsandoilplatformsontheseaandwarehousesandanairportonthemainland.
Onthispageyouwillfindsomepossiblethemestoworkwith.Ofcourse,youare free tochooseyourownprojectandexploredifferent themestogetherwiththechildren.
KAPLA in your classroom : construction ideas
Language
YoucanusetheKAPLAblockswhenteachingbasiclanguageskills.Getthechildrentolayoutlettersonthefloorand then correctlypronounceeachletter.
Physics
The children could start to discoverthelawsofphysicsbyconstructingthestrongestbridgepossible.Afterwardsthe children could analyse whycertainconstructionsaremorestableandstrongerthanothers.
Geometry
WithKAPLA,childrencandevelopabasicknowledgeofgeometrybycreatingdifferentgeometricalshapes(triangles, squares, pentagrams,cubesetc.).
History
Aspartofahistorylesson,youcanhelp the children get acquaintedwithancientcivilisations.Dividethechildren into different groups andassignacivilisationtoeachgroup,likeRomans,GreeksandEgyptians.Letthechildrencreatebuildingsthatcorrespondtotheircivilisation.
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These examplesmay have already got you thinking on yourownideasandmadeyouexcitedtostartworkingwithKAPLA.Ideasornoideas,youwillseethatthechildrenwillbeeagerto start buildingby themselves. Just spreadout theblocksonthefloorandyouwillseethatthechildrenwillcreatethemostextraordinaryconstructionsusingtheirownimagination.
KAPLA in your classroom : construction ideas
Wehope you aremotivated to introduce KAPLAwithin yourschool,allowingthechildrentoplayandtolearnatthesametime!
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KAPLA : a high-quality product
KAPLAismadeoutof100%untrea-tedwood.ThewoodcomesfromthepineforestsofLesLandes,anaturalrenewableforestsituatedinthesouth-westofFrance.KAPLAisadurableandhighquality toywhichwill lastformanyyears.
All our raw materials are carefullyselected and tested by specialisedindependent laboratories. Further-more,ourproductsaresubjectedtohigh-qualitycontrolsandmeetallna-tionalandinternationalstandards.
High-precisionmanufacturingensuresthateachblockisperfectlybalancedand smooth. Theblocksareall thesamesizebutthegrainofthewoodmakeseveryoneofthemunique.
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KAPLA : an educational tool
KAPLA is an educational tool and is used as such in the French NationalEducationalSystem.Thegamepossessesahigheducationalvalue.BuildingwithKAPLAenhancesachild’screativityanddevelopshis/herarchitecturalskillsasitcontainsbasicelementsofbotharchitectureandcreativeartsandcrafts.
Logical thinking
First of all KAPLA encourages chil-drentothinklogicallyandhelpsthemtodevelop theirspatialawareness.Throughtheuseofidenticalunfixedpieces, KAPLA develops the child’scapacity toorganizeelements inathree-dimensionalway.WithKAPLA,childrenacquireabasicknowledgeofgeometry,physicsand technolo-gy.Thegameenhancestheiraware-nessofshapeandvolumeandgivesthemagoodsenseofbalancewhileimprovingmanualdexterity. Besides logical thinking, KAPLA sti-
mulates children to think in adiffe-rentwayandtocreateconstructionsfromtheirownimagination.Byusingtheircreativitychildrenwilldiscovertheirartistictalent.Attheendoftheproject, each design can be usedfor discussion – with each creatorexplaininghis/hercreation.
Stimulating creativity
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KAPLA : an educational tool
KAPLA encourages perseverance, pa-tience and concentration, which arekeyelementstosuccessatschool.Chil-drenaremadetoworkinaconcentra-tedwayiftheywanttobuildagood,solidconstructionandachievethedesi-redresult.
Concentration
Perseverance
Patience
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Onemayhavetostartoveragainwhentheconstructioncollapsesatanearlystage.YoucannotcheatwithKAPLA-ifyourconstructiondoesnothaveasolidbase,itwillinevitablycollapse!Thisdemandsperseveranceandpatience.
KAPLA : an educational tool
Cognitive development
During childhood a child goesthroughseveralphasesofcognitivedevelopment.Ineachstageachildlikes to play in a different mannerand will develop different skills.Beingaprogressivegame,KAPLAallowseachchildtoplayathis/herownlevelofdifficulty.KAPLAgrowswiththechild.
Teamwork
KAPLAisanidealgametoplayinagroup.Itstimulatesteamworkandcoo-peration. Children will have to com-municatewitheachothertodecideonthe subject of their project andworktogetherwhilebuildingtheirconstruc-tions. Each child will automaticallyfind his/her place within the group,asaleader,assistantorcoordinator.
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The origin of KAPLA
BorninTheNetherlands,TomvanderBruggenisthecreatorofKAPLA.TomvanderBruggen studied theHistoryofArt.Hehadalwaysdreamtofbuil-dingacastle.AshewaspassingtheTarnRiverinthesouthofFrance,hefellinlovewithanoldruinedfarmandhedecidedtoturnthefarmintothecastleofhisdreams,withlittletowers,foun-tainsandacarriageentrance.
While making the scale drawingsfor it, he played around with woo-denblocks to seewhat thestructurewouldlooklike.Hesoondiscoveredthat the blocks were not at all welladaptedforbuildingcertainelementslikefloors,roofsandlintels.
Unsatisfied with the possibilities ofthese blocks Tom van der Bruggeninventedablock,which is in factalittleplankbasedontheprogressionsof theunevennumbers1:3:15.Thisuniqueratioopensupawholenewwayofbuilding.Withtheseidenticalblocksyoucanconstructwiththepre-cisionofartworkand thestabilityofstones. With KAPLA blocks childrencan nowbuild and create themostwonderful creations - palaces, brid-ges,dragonsorfuturistictowers.Youonly have to use your imaginationandstartcreating.Everythingispossi-blewithKAPLAblocks!
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KAPLA France
98,avenuedelaGaronne33440SaintLouisdeMontferrandFrance
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