A master puppeteer at work! Don't be surprised if you catch yourself forgetting that it is a puppet.
Click on the link below the screen captured pic.
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| http://www.youtube.com/embed/kPvciIdDZAE |
Those were the days of simple toys - eco-friendlier toys. Tactile toys. Solid toys. Toys which came from the earth and would happily return to the earth.
Wooden alphabets blocks. Wooden cars and trains. A twig which became a boat for sailing in the smallest puddle. Actual (skipping) rope with wooden handles. Wooden painted rocking horse. Wooden (child-propelled) scooter. Wooden spinning tops activated by a piece of string. Wooden "trailers" with wooden handles - ideal for schlepping along an obedient puppy or sibling, a frog in a jar, a (small, but important) load of wood for the fire...
An empty wooden slatted box - the greatest toy of all - it became a fort, a (potential) go-kart, a dolls "kitchen" in the garden, a table for a dolls tea party, a baby doll cot - eventually metmorphosing into a puppys' bed. The possibilities were endless LOL
I remember them all well ;)
Wooden alphabets blocks. Wooden cars and trains. A twig which became a boat for sailing in the smallest puddle. Actual (skipping) rope with wooden handles. Wooden painted rocking horse. Wooden (child-propelled) scooter. Wooden spinning tops activated by a piece of string. Wooden "trailers" with wooden handles - ideal for schlepping along an obedient puppy or sibling, a frog in a jar, a (small, but important) load of wood for the fire...
An empty wooden slatted box - the greatest toy of all - it became a fort, a (potential) go-kart, a dolls "kitchen" in the garden, a table for a dolls tea party, a baby doll cot - eventually metmorphosing into a puppys' bed. The possibilities were endless LOL
I remember them all well ;)
Oh Lordy, Dani! Your post sent me reeling down memory lane. I remember those toys you spoke of, along with many others, not necessarily of wood. A set of Jacks with a small rubber ball. A Slinky. Tonka trucks and bulldozers that were so well made they would last for generations. Within my line of vision right now is a wooden cage with two wooden balls inside that roll end for end, all carved from a single 1x6 piece of wood by my Dad. He also carved wooden puzzles with, I think, 11 pieces than when assembled formed a shape like a chicken egg and about that same size. And given a piece of chalk, a couple of stones and a sidewalk, a kid could play Hopscotch for hours.
ReplyDeleteI think we could use more of the old toys and fewer computer screens.
Vicki - LOL now you took me down memory lane - jacks and the rubber ball, hopscotch...
DeleteThe wooden cage you describe sounds wonderful - your dad must be very talented.
Yeah - getting kids back outside in the fresh air with just their imagination to guide them - I reckon the world may be a far different place?!
PS...The puppeteer is awesome! Reminded me of the old television variety shows. Now that really dates me!
ReplyDeleteVicki - You and me LOL
DeleteThat is one amazing video. Wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteAnd as for the toys then versus now---no competition, and we're not just saying that because we grew up with them. What on earth is supposed to be "fun" about a battery toy that does everything for you????? No imagination. No fun at all. We had the best stuff!
Sue - Definitely no competition. We did have the best stuff, didn't we - perhaps that is why there was less teenage violence, and more invention. Oh dear, are we the cause of todays mish mash of children - did we make life easier for them with what our generation invented...? Sobering thought.
DeleteWOW is putting it mildly. That was wonderful thanks!!! I think I had as much fun with a the giant cardboard box that my parents refrigerator came in as I did anything else. I think kids today lack some of the creativity we all grew up with. I also remember taking two tinfoil pie plates, putting them together and making flying saucers. Ah the memories. :-)
ReplyDelete1st Man - Giggle - you're very welcome :)
DeleteAnd how about two tins and a piece of string which made a telephone... LOL
It's been a long time since I bought any toys. For my kids , anyway! My wife says my guns are "toys for boys." So I told her that her Vera Bradley purse I got her was "a gift for girls."
ReplyDeleteHarry - Do you remember buying them any wooden toys when thery were little? Would be interesting if they still have any / passed them on to their children :)
DeleteBoys and toys, and gifts for girls - cute :)
And how about kites? Our childhood was so much richer than today's over indulged kids. We didn't need batteries to fire up a full day of imagination!
ReplyDeleteKris - Oh, yes, kites too :)
DeleteYeah, and can you imagine how many batteries are clogging up landfill sites / poisoning the earth...
Lots of childhood memories fired up from this post. Simple things were really much more fun. My first grandchild is about to make an appearance soon and I have already told my son and daughter in law that I will only be buying quality wooden/ cloth toys and never anything made of plastic for the new arrival.
ReplyDeletedreamer - Ah, the grandparent club is a very special, privileged club to belong to :) Giving your new grandchild more tactile gifts can only help him / her in her development.
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