1. Motor Development – Learning in Motion

Children aged 2.5 to 6 years understand the world through movement. Stapelstein® elements enable them to do just that: climbing, balancing, hopping, rolling, sorting, transporting, stacking, and they are a versatile companion in role-playing games. Whether in movement rooms, corridors, or outdoors – they promote both gross and fine motor skills and continuously adapt to the development and needs of the children.

Practical Example

A movement course with different heights made of various Stapelstein® elements like Originals, Minis, Insides and Boards allows children to balance and jump. The course can be made very simple for younger children – and quickly more challenging for older children. The Stapelstein® Mat with its large surface is ideal as a non-slip base. Along the way, children learn more about their body coordination and strengthen their spatial perception in a playful manner.

2. Cognitive Skills – Experiencing Colors, Numbers, and Space

Thanks to the clear color design and stackable form, Stapelstein® elements can be excellently integrated into playful learning settings. Children recognize patterns, assign colors, count, compare sizes, or build logical sequences.

Practical Example

During free play, color sorting occurs: “All red stones are the bridge!” Or a number game: “Stack as many elements as you are old!” This way, learning with movement becomes a holistic experience.

3. Social Skills – Coming into Play Together

Stapelstein® elements invite joint play. They promote communication, negotiation processes, and cooperation skills. Whether in role-playing games, joint building, or group decisions – children develop social roles, practice finding conflict solutions, and strengthen their empathy.

Practical Example

During a joint breakfast, children, for example, decide democratically what should be for breakfast tomorrow. The yellow element stands for fruit, the red element for bread, the blue Element for spread and the green element for vegetables. Each child has two voting utensils like marbles, pebbles, or clothespins and makes their two decisions. Then the votes are counted. The two elements with the most votes have won. The colors become the carrier of a coordinated group result.

4. Language development – speaking with each other in play

When children play with Stapelstein® elements, communication naturally arises: "Will you help me?", "I'm building a stable", "This is my boat!" Language becomes an expression of their imagination, their plan – and at the same time a means of communication.

Practical example

Children build a horse stable from Wesco modules and complement it with Stapelstein® elements as feeding troughs. They tell, explain, and negotiate – language development driven by their own initiative.

5. Open material – grow and connect

Stapelstein® elements are open in their use. They can be excellently combined with other materials: ropes, boxes, blankets, rolling boards, or natural materials. They grow along – depending on the developmental stage, needs, or interests of the children.

Practical example

A very young child attaches a rope to the rolling board and pulls Stapelstein® elements with it – an independently developed Play idea that promotes creativity, technical understanding, cognitive processes, and the feeling of self-efficacy. Other children play in the "chestnut bath" and build slides and tracks with the elements. They serve as holders for rollers and are ingenious transport trays for a variety of pouring materials.

6. Educational perspective – What professionals particularly appreciate

Educators particularly appreciate Stapelstein® elements for:

• their durability – they are indestructible in everyday life
• their cross-age usability
• their didactic openness
• their ability to make all areas of competence experientially accessible through play
• their versatile use, whether targeted or free

"As soon as we are in the movement room, the Stapelstein® elements are unpacked – they are always chosen!"

7. Also valuable in the team – for reflection and structure

Not only children benefit: Stapelstein® elements also offer surprising possibilities in the team. As a visualizing tool, they can be used in team processes, conferences, or training sessions.

Practical example

In a team meeting on the child protection concept, the Stapelstein® elements serve as a visual and tactile tool: Color-sorted, they symbolically represent reflection questions like "What are we doing well?", "What can be improved?", or "What urgently needs change?" Through their physical presence, abstract processes become visible, tangible – and they open up space for creative solutions.

Moreover, Stapelstein® elements are true multi-talents – for example, at festivals or parent evenings: Whether as movement-promoting play impulses in water, on land, or as dynamic stools – they appeal to people of all ages and offer versatile application possibilities for a wide range of needs and abilities.

Stapelstein® elements not only promote individual competencies – they enable holistic, meaningful, active learning. They adapt, stimulate, connect, and grow with. For children, they are a tool, playmate, and learning companion at the same time – and for educators, an indispensable element in daily work.