Toys & Stories
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Childhood Memories Part One: Toys & Stories History | Health | Happiness Let’s Reminisce: Our Childhoods Every single one of us has unique and special memories of our formative childhood years. This booklet will help remind us of this magical time of adventure, exploration and fun. We will look at Toys, Comic Books, Nursery Rhymes and Schools across generations, because it’s interesting to share and compare our childhood experiences with that of others. You will find a mixture of puzzles throughout the booklet for a bit of fun but also as an opportunity to reflect on the memories that were important to you. We would also love to hear about your own childhood experiences and ask that you email [email protected] with anything you might like to share. Childhood Our own childhood experiences are shaped by factors such as location, education, expectation, responsibility and conflict. For example, the experiences of Roman children were very different from the children born today. Throughout history our experiences of childhood have been shaped by various influences, in classrooms, factory floors, mines, family homes, orphanages, battlefields, in front of television sets and so on. Over the last 200 years we have seen significant transformations that have taken place surrounding children’s lives, in the ways they are thought about, and how they are treated. For example, a hundred years ago, a twelve-year-old working in a factory in Britain would have been perfectly acceptable. Now, it would cause social services' intervention, causing both the parents and factory owner to face charges of exploitation and neglect. With this in mind you might want to reflect upon the similarities and differences between your childhood and that of your parents, or grandparents. As you make your way through the activities and information in this booklet, feel free to jot down your thoughts on the pages. First of all, let’s look at Toys… Answers: 1. Hooping (1000 BC), 2. Yoyo (500 BC), 3. Ball & cup (14th Century), 4. Kaleidoscope (19th Century), 5. Slinky (1940s), 6. Playdoh (1950s), 7. Etch A Sketch (1960s), 8. Uno (1970s). ical toys in order of invention, starting with the oldest toy. oldest the with starting invention, of order in toys ical histor popular numbering these numbering at go a have not why oys t of istory h the at look we Before Toys Quiz Quiz Toys History of Toys The word ‘toy’ dates from the 16th century. At that time, it was applied to objects such as buttons and buckles, as well as playthings. Many toys as we know them today were likely to have originated as playthings and amusements for adults. Children have always played with toys, whether they were born 2,000 years ago or last week. But the toys themselves have evolved over the centuries in the way the look and what they’re made from. Among the earliest known toys are small stone and clay balls or marbles. Such marbles were found in a child’s grave in Nagada, Egypt and date from 4000 BC. The earliest known toy in Britain is about 2000 years old and was found near Stonehenge. It seems to be a carving of an animal, but nobody knows what kind of animal it is. By medieval times, there were a various wooden toys available to Britons, including dolls, yo-yos, cup and ball toys and tops. The 18th and 19th Centuries saw the invention of hobbyhorses, stick horses, kites and puzzles and the production of more dolls. Technological advances meant that printing on paper became widespread and jigsaw puzzles started to be produced. Puzzles were educational tools, often featuring historic figures such as Kings and Queens of England. The 1820s - 1890s saw the production of dominoes, playing cards, counters and spinning tops. Toy trains also appeared, as the rail networks began to develop and expand across Britain and educational toys, such as abacuses, were produced due to changes in education policies. By the end of the 1890s the industrial revolution was in full swing, which meant that toys could now be mass-produced and more readily available. This eventually led to the production of more elaborate toys in the 20th century. Let’s have a look at some popular toys through the decades… 2013.22: Rocking Horse from Denaby Clinic (1950-1955) For centuries, horses were a vital part of life, crucial to transportation, hunting and sport. The earliest rocking horses served as a safe way for children to learn riding skills, balance and build confidence, without the danger of being thrown off an actual horse. 16th century models were very basic, looking more like cradles than a horse. It wasn't until the 18th century that the rocking horse took on its modern form. By the mid- to late-19th century, mass production made the rocking horse more accessible to middle class families, and the toy enjoyed a golden age of popularity through to the 20th century. Did you have a rocking horse? What did it look like? Did it have a name? Dolls It very likely that dolls have been around since the first century but were made from fragile, natural materials and, therefore, were less likely to survive long enough for archaeologists to find. Ancient Egyptian children, for example, made dolls from scraps of rags and papyrus. Many of the earliest- known dolls recorded were made of other natural materials such as wood, stone and pottery. Rag dolls, made from spare scraps of cloth material, have been popular 2014.29 for centuries - the earliest dating back to Roman times. When the industrial revolution began in the 2019.57b 18th century, new materials such as porcelain became available and dolls began to be mass-produced. During the 20th century store- bought dolls became more accessible to children in Britain. At this point, many dolls were being made of plastic and more other materials, causing many children to push aside their old rag dolls in favour of dolls made of exciting, new modern materials. The rag doll enjoyed a brief comeback during the 1970s, when Holly Hobbie, appeared on the shelves. 2013.13.1 - Sindy doll in Swimming Costume (1960- 1970) Sindy is a British fashion doll created by Pedigree Dolls & Toys in 1963. A rival to Barbie, Sindy's wholesome look and fashion sense made her the best-selling toy in the United Kingdom in 1968 - 1970. Do you remember playing with dolls? What materials were they made out of? Did they have lots of outfits? Did they live in a house, or a pram, a cot or a backpack? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Cut-Out Dolls and Paper Airplanes During World War Two, toy making came to a standstill as the factories and materials needed to used to make weapons instead. Cheaper toys were made from card or paper such as cut out paper dolls and paper airplanes. Marianne and Betty Sue Paper dolls were also popular in the United States. These paper dolls are from a 1943 American paper doll set called Boarding School. Feel free to cut out and dress up these dolls. You might need to stick them onto some card to keep them upright - Cardboard from a cereal box would do! If you don’t fancy cutting out paper dolls, why not try your hand at making and paper planes! Or if you have time, why not try both? Building Kits Engineering and vehicle making kits were originally designed for children to be both fun and educational. They involve constructing buildings and/or vehicles at a smaller scale. These kits became very popular through the 1950s and still prove popular in their modern forms today. 2017.31 Meccano Construction Set (1970-1980) In 1901, Frank Hornby invented the toy construction system ‘Meccano’ to teach his children the basics of mechanics. The model making kits contained metal strips, wheels, nuts and bolts to create a vast range of models such as motor vehicles and iconic landmarks. Meccano continues to make toys for children today. This particular set was made in the 1970s. 2011.2.3 LEGO ‘experts’ guide (1976) While the invention of the interlocking LEGO brick occurred in 1950s, LEGO sets as we know them today weren’t widely available in Britain until 1964. The DUPLO series was introduced for younger children in 1969. 2011.2.2 LEGO Do you remember playing with Meccano or Lego? Perhaps you enjoyed other forms of model making. Did you build any planes, boats or cars? Write your thoughts below… ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Teddy Bears Animals have long been an inspiration for toy makers and in early 20th century a new toy bear was produced by German maker Steiff. The bear had jointed arms and legs, and thanks to the American President Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt, the toy was given the name ‘Teddy’. This was inspired by an American cartoon which told the story of how the President had refused to shoot a baby bear while on a hunting expedition. ‘Teddy Bears’ were soon produced as toys in America, Germany and rest of Europe. The name became synonymous with toy bears worldwide. 2014.30.2 Teddy This teddy bear was gifted to a one-year-old girl from Woodlands, Doncaster in 1927. The shoes were knitted by a neighbour to protect the bears feet as the little girl would drag it across the floor by its ear! Teddies prove to be very popular amongst children and adults today. Did you have a favourite teddy when you were little? __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Paddington Bear One of the most famous bears is of course Paddington Bear.