Toys in the olden days
What does a toy mean to you? Is it anything you play with: for example, two pieces of wood, a rock or a piece of cloth? While these may be used as toys sometimes, we really mean something more than that by the word toy.
A toy is usually something to amuse children that in some way mimics what grown-ups do. A gun, a car or a wagon, a doll, or a little house is such toys. Balls and tops are also toys.
However, since children, from the beginning of time, like to mimic grown –ups, we can say that toys have been around for long time.
Archeologists have found toys such as clappers, rattles, tiny pots, and miniature animals of clay, bronze, and lead in the ruins of ancient cities!
They found a toy lion which stands on wheels in the ruins of ancient Persian city. In the stand is a hole for a string with which to pull it, just as such a toy might be made today. And this toy is about 3,000 year’s old1
The Harappans made toys of terracotta for their children. Animals with movable heads, monkeys that did down a string, little toy ants, and whirlers (toys that can swing round) in the shape of birds have been found in the Harappa ruins.
Doll’s museum
There are photographs are of some dolls on display in the international dolls’ museum in Delhi. This museum has a collection of more than six thousand dolls from more than eighty countries. Many of the dolls are dressed in their national costumes. There is even a 250 years –old doll from Switzerland. There are many dolls from India. They show the different kinds of dresses and jewels that people from the different regions of India wear.
There are photographs of three dolls from different parts of India. Can you guess where they could be from? Talk about it in the museum direct with dolls.
Make things with your own hands
Some of us are ``good with our hands’. That means we can draw or make things well try making small models or big things, like this!
In some countries like Holland, big windmills are used to grind grain into flour, pump water and even to produce electricity. Try making a colorful paper windmill for fun.
These are the things will need-Ruler; scissors, Pencil, pins with large heads; small beads; pencils with erasers on the ends; sheets of colored paper.
If you ever visit Chandigrah, make it a point to go to Nek Chand’s roc garden. It is full of marvelous works of art and sculpture, which have been made by Nek Chand, a resident of this very well- planed city. He has used scrap items to create art and beauty.
You, too, can make interesting things using scrap such as biscuit wrappers, powder containers, tins, perfume bottles and matchboxes.