This week, Year 1 were visited by Tom at Partake who brought with him a selection of toys, old and new. 

We looked at the different types of materials used to make the toys and found out that most old toys were made of wood, tin and everyday materials (rocks, sticks, straw, ribbon), and most toys were made of plastic, fabric and rubber. In the past, some dolls had porcelain hands and heads. We decided that this wasn't very safe for children as the material could break and cause injuries. 

We also noticed that the older toys looked old because they were dirtier, their colour had faded or chipped and they didn't work as well. Newer toys have bright colours and patterns and look fresh! Some new toys had batteries which made the toy light up or move. We particularly liked the 'Robo Dog' which worked through a wireless controller. It's amazing how far technology has come!

During our session, we looked at how to play with different toys. We explored push toys, pull toys and toys we play with using our imagination.

We found it interesting comparing the old and new toys and we spotted lots of old toys that we play with now (skipping rope, dolls, marbles). 

In our next history lesson, we will recap the toys we played with and think about how toys in the past were different for boys/girls and rich children/poor children. 

Click here to see some photos from today! The children were whizzing around the room so some of the photos are a little fuzzy!