VIDBE-Q 2025 Volume 70 Issue 3
With the exception of playing in nature and board games, most toys and
games involved simple functional play, where participants used them in
straightforward ways. However, some toys also supported complex functional
play, depending on how they were used. For instance, origami, one of the
handicrafts mentioned by participants from Japan, was a simple activity when they
engaged in basic folding. In contrast, it became more complex when they created
multi-piece structures with multiple origami papers and complicated folding such
as Kusudama. Similarly, building blocks, 2D puzzles (traditional jigsaw puzzles),
and 3D puzzles involved simple functional play when participants matched basic
shapes or assembled a few pieces, but they also supported complex functional play
when used to construct detailed structures or solve intricate puzzles.
Only a few toys and games, such as LEGO bricks and origami, aligned with
Level 0 and possibly Level 1 of Van Hiele's theory of geometric thinking. For
example, LEGO bricks relate to Level 0, as most participants enjoyed building
objects they imagined in their minds. To replicate these mental images, they
needed to touch, recognize, and assemble the basic shapes of the LEGO blocks—
demonstrating skills connected to Level 0.
Origami, meanwhile, appears to reflect aspects of Level 1. One participant
from Japan recalled how, as a child, he enjoyed thinking about ways to fold paper
more precisely and neatly by relying solely on touch. Rather than using vision, he
