The number five
Many things in "Mutter- und Koselieder" point at Virgin Mary for example the
number five. The five fingers are used in the finger-plays but five is also
the Virgin Mary's number. In "The Family" (Die Grossmama und Muter lieb und
gut" (A 14) the picture is divided into five parts and every part contains a
little family of five individuals. The child's five fingers should count the
persons and animals. Fröbel wants in this picture piont at the great
importance of the family. He often uses a family of five persons in his
finger-plays. Sometime it is parents and children, sometimes three
generation. You can also find a flower with five petals at the very bottom
of the picture, one petal for each one of the five letters in "Maria". This
is a hint to the spiritual world.
* The picture is also shaped as the front of a cathedral.