Created according to the Montessori principle that doing, undoing and redoing allows children to grow while having fun, this toy encourages children to place and stack both numbers and their corresponding amount of objects along a wooden tray. To make the experience even more fun, the shapes don’t just stack but often must also be put together in surprising ways—moving from one ring, two pieces of a cube, three pieces of a cylinder, to nine pieces of a panda’s body and ten stacked leaves. While they work, kids naturally learn to sort by color and to classify as they develop a knowledge of numbers from one to ten as well as manual and visual coordination. Includes a wooden base and 65 pieces to insert, stack and thread. Made by Vilac, a manufacturer featured in the 2012 MoMA exhibition Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900–2000. The Wooden Stacking Shapes and Numbers Toy measures 4.33h x 16.95w x 6"d when stacked. Ages 2+.