The Best Kinds of Toys

Do you remember when Legos came as a box of blocks and you had to figure out what to build with them and dress up clothes were just Grannies old clothes?  I do.  I'm sorry that for many kids those days are gone.  Now, when toys tell us exactly what they are for, kids are offered fewer chances to explore, invent and experiment all on their own.  Parents, however, don't have to find it difficult to encourage active and imaginative play in their primary-aged kids.

As you consider options for Christmas gifts in these last days before the actual holiday comes along, consider getting that plain old box of Legos that aren't packaged as anything in particular, those blocks that when put together create a really cool marble run (above) and the dolls that don't emulate a specific character already created, but can become whomever the child needs the doll to be at any given moment.  So many toys kids are given these days are "passive toys" - the best example of which is the TV or movies that go into the player.  Passive toys allow you just to sit back and be entertained.

However, active toys are the classics that somehow - never get old.  These are the great toys that require some imagination, manipulation, problem solving - even a little trial and error.  Remember erector sets?  Old-fashioned blocks?  The cardboard box mom and dad let you have when they needed to buy that new appliance?

Active toys are the velveteen rabbits of the toy crowd on Christmas Day.  They may not elicit the same squeals of delight the latest fad will bring, but in a few weeks when all the other toys have already shown off all their "tricks" it is the active toys children find truly engaging and special.

Dress up clothes that are made specifically to look like the latest princess are a lot of fun - for about five minutes.  A more generic "princess" dress lasts a lot longer because in it, the wearer can be any princess - including one of her own making, modern or ancient however the mood strikes her.  A Tunic with the right accessories can become the underpinning for a knight in shining armor (add a piece of cardboard cut out in the shape of a shield and a stick) OR a pirate's shirt (just add eye patch and hook).

Any kind of block or building that is not made in such a way that the child can only really build one item, are a GREAT gift for boys and girls (please don't make the mistake of believing girls don't like these toys too.)

Imaginary kitchen toys that are the "ingredients" for making other things are also spectacular.  A box of play french fries just won't go as far as a box with a couple of toy potatoes that can be "cut" into pieces and used for making french fries, mashed potatoes or stew.

Dolls are wonderful toys - again, when the doll is allowed to take on the persona the child needs it to take on at any given moment.  My daughter has an Ariel doll, a Rapunzel  and a couple of Tinker Bells - in different sizes.  The one she plays with most though is one of my old dolls that doesn't look like anybody in particular (except somewhat like I did as a child).

I think you probably get the idea.  Go ahead, buy that fashionable toy your child has been begging to have because all her friends have it - if you want, I'm just suggesting you also get a box of blocks to go with it.

Learning about Camo

After this activity/activities students will have experienced the difference between "predating" non-camouflaged jelly bellies and camouflaged jelly bellies.  As a result, students will clearly understand how camouflage helps creatures that use it, survive predation.  Young students will have an experience they can describe to others when asked for an example of how camouflage helps the animals that use it to demonstrate their understanding.  For older students, they can graph the experience and create a visual representation depicting the difference between camouflaged and un-camouflaged prey.

Preschool:

1.  Find a bunch of toys that you don't mind having outside and in the dirt that blend in with your landscaping as well as two or three toys that will stand out.  While your child is distracted "hide" the toys in plain site.  Have your child count how many toys he sees from the window and point them out to you.

2.  Let your child go outside and find all the toys - don't make this easy, let him/her work to find some of the ones that blend in the best.

3.  Have your child sort the toys into easy - to - find and hard - to - find piles.  Ask your child why he/she thinks some of the toys were harder to find.  Do not critique the answer, just repeat it back to them as though you are making sure you understand his/her answer clearly.

4.  Back inside, discuss what camouflage is, or read a book about it.  There are plenty of non-fiction books about camouflage out there and even more books about animals or ecology with a section about camo within.  for elementary - aged kids I suggest the book, "Where in the Wild".  It is simply a collection of well-taken photos where you try to find the animal within the photo.  There is always a poem to go with the photo that gives you a hint about the type of animal you are looking for and a flap to open if you really get stuck and can't find the hidden creature.  (The ISBN-13 is 978-1-58246-207-3 and the poetry was written by David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy, while the photos were provided by Dwight Kuhn).

A Follow Up for your Preschoolers, OR a great activity for your Elementary or Middle School students:

1.  Find a whole bunch of items all in the same color (beads, buttons paper clippings etc - see photo).  After making sure everything you will be using is clean, place all these items and some contrasting candies (skittles, m&m's, jelly bellies etc. all work) in the bowl.  (Set the same number of candies of similar color aside for the next round)  Hand your child a pair of small tongs, or large tweezers.  Your child must remove the candies one at a time but as fast as he or she can. Time how long it takes for your child to find all the candies in the bowl.  If you are doing this activity in a classroom setting, break the kids into groups and run the "experiment" once for each child.  Have your students record, and share their times in order to make a whole-class graph.  If you are doing this activity with one or two children only, run the experiment 5 or 6 times (perhaps using non-edible items, so they don't get a sugar rush) and graph the separate experiences.

2. Repeat step five, but do the step with the candies of a similar color to your background instead of a contrasting color.  It will likely take longer for your child to find the candies of a similar color.  Point this out to your predator and ask why he/she thinks it took longer one time over the other.  If the answer wasn't already about camouflage or the color blending in to the background in some way during the first activity, it will likely be this time.

3.  With older kids you can do a similar activity about mimicry using two very similarly colored sets of jelly bellies.  For example, have a solid red color and a speckled red color in a bowl together with a bunch of other red items.  Ask your older child to ONLY get the speckled jelly bellies and even with the tweezers, give them 15 seconds to get as many as they can.  They will likely have a hard time distinguishing between the jelly beans when trying to work this quickly and under these circumstances.  Then read a book or website that discusses mimicry and the variety of reasons mimicry is useful in the animal world.

Item of note, these activities are largely analogous to the prey being camouflaged, however predators use camouflage as well.  Mimicry is used as a type of camouflage, but it also has other applications in the animal world as well.  For children in the later Elementary grades you'll want to point this out, for the younger kids, you are simply introducing the idea that animals also play hide and seek and they use clever costumes to help them be successful so these details are less important.

For the purposes of this photo, I've included both the contrasting yellow candies, as well as the more similar red and purple candies. You can even see the yellow ones through the red feathers, however the other two colors are a little tougher to spot except when they are right on top. When your child is trying to hurry, this task becomes even more difficult.

Dolls Lesson

Getting Connected

As a way to connect from the Kaya series, to other American Indian Cultures, colonial culture and our modern culture, I chose to start with dolls.  For those of you teaching boys, this activity can still be used, just make sure to include "Action Figures" as part of the equation.  The Smithsonian has this FABULOUS lesson plan  (simply click the link to open it in a new window).

For Alice, I had to adjust the lesson a little because she isn't in a classroom setting that allows for breaking into all those separate groups etc, but we made it work.  I then had Alice make a rag doll to experience making something using the things we had available in our house.

We also took a quick look at the Hotch Potch dolls from the Merry Makers and Colonial Williamsburg this quick view was to further illustrate how dolls are used in many cultures as a learning tool.  I asked her to think of ways she and I had used dolls "educationally."

Alice's List:

• To teach Benjamin body parts like hands, feet, eyes, nose etc.  Benjamin is the little guy we babysit regularly who is now three and starting preschool.
• To teach Alice about how to handle babies before she started babysitting with me.
• To teach Alice how to swaddle a baby (more recently for fun).
• To teach Alice how to change diapers and clothes on a baby (which she recognizes she is likely to use in the future)
• To teach Alice how to use zippers, buttons, Velcro, and tie ribbons (one of those fasteners dolls).

She did not mention the use of dolls for learning history - but we'll get there :-)   If you do this activity with your kids, I'd love to hear what "lessons" they list having learned from dolls not already mentioned.  Please feel free to add your comments.

Additional Lessons, Activities and Follow-Up

After Alice fully understood the Nez Perce way was far from the only American Indian way of life, and that the environment around any group of people (living before modern transit systems) impacted the way they lived and the materials they used, we took a look at the whole continent and compared legends, foods and housing styles of various Amero-Indian groups.  You'll want to be sure you have a good map you can mark up or put pins in to identify where different nations lived.  Here are some of the best resources I found for going about making these comparisons.

Infinity of Nations - Includes a "game" that is absolutely perfect for this purpose.

Native Americans Facts for Kids - TONS of resources and information in a kid-friendly format and vocabulary.

Native American Recipes - Yumm!!!

The "If You Lived" Book Series is a simple and helpful resource.  Relevant books in the collection include:  If you lifed with the: Iroquois, Cherokee, Hopi, Indians of the Northwest Coast, and Sioux.

Squidoo Lens - Great list of picture books and activities to do with them and more!