Want to know a secret about the Pink Tower? The Pink Tower is a carefully designed set of cubes that represents a mathematical equation. The smallest block is 1cm cubed and the largest is exactly 10cm cubed.  A child playing with these is essentially internalizing the algebraic series of the third power in progressive increments? Amazing isn't it?

Nobody knows why they are such a mysteriously odd color. Maybe she had some leftover pink paint on hand?  Maybe she thought it was pretty. Maybe (and this is the best theory I’ve heard) she coloured it pink to match the coloured bead cube to signify the power of the third! Whatever the reason, she let her students play with them, and she carefully observed what they created.  It is rumoured that she even let them knock the tower down (gasp!).   We don’t let the kids do that in our classrooms today because gosh darn it, this is expensive Montessori material and should be treated with careful respect.

Speaking of respect, observe a Montessori teacher demonstrating a tediously slow yet classically careful Montessori lesson.   It can take up to 10 minutes.  She is teaching more than grading size.  She is teaching grace and poise, caring for the cubes as though they are indeed precious.  That is a huge part of Montessori philosophy, and something delicately balanced, like the pink tower, offers an opportunity for teaching how to care for one’s possessions.