Saint recommends child's alphabet play letters

While researching something just now, I can across something so cool. St. Jerome, who lived from 342-420 AD and is one of the great doctors of the church, wrote a letter with this advice for educating an infant:

"Have letters made for her, of boxwood or ivory, and let them be called by their names. Let her play with them, and let the play be part of her instruction..."

He was one of the great Doctors of the Church, and here in latter part of the 4Th century, he is advising her parents about how to make and use what we call today alphabet blocks, except he's suggesting carving each of the actual letters. Far from being isolated from family life and understanding raising children, many saints showed great wisdom and heart in how children should be kindly raised.