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Talking about old toys

Use the questions below to talk with children about soft toys. Talk about the Care Bear here, or use the questions to explore old soft toys you and the children may have brought in to your classroom or setting.

Look closely at this toy. What can you see?

Look at its face, body, arms, legs, feet – how many different details can you describe?
Try turning it into a game. Look at the Care Bear for one minute and then take it away or close your eyes. How many details can you remember? Look again:

• What did you remember?
• What did you forget?
• What else can you see this time?

What kind of toy do you think this is?

This is a Care Bear.
Care Bears were specially made to be cuddled and to help children share their feelings.

Can you describe what’s on this toy’s tummy?

A blue moon with a yellow star hanging from it on a thread.

What do you think this Care Bear’s name might be (it has something to do with the design on its tummy)?

When these cuddly bears were first made there were ten different types. Each one was a different colour and named for a different feeling: Tenderheart, Good Luck, Birthday, Cheer, Share, Bedtime, Grumpy, Wish, Funshine, and Love A Lot.
This bear was called ‘Bedtime’. The Moon and stars, like the ones on its tummy, come out at night time when we are asleep.

What do you think this toy would feel like if you could touch it?

Care Bears were designed to be very cuddly. This one has soft fur, a squashy tummy and squashy arms and legs.

Which toys do you care about the most?

Care Bears are very caring, but how do you care for your toys?

What can you imagine?

Care Bears are said to have magical powers. Use your imagination – how might this toy have used magical powers to help care for a child in the past?

Exploring old toys through play

Sometimes, people care about their toys so much, they keep them long after they have grown up. Have mums, dads, grandparents or other adults from your setting or school community kept any toys or games from their childhoods?

Why not invite them to an old toys and games afternoon.

They could bring a toy or game from their childhoods. They could chat to the children about why they care so much about it, play games with the children, have a teddy bear’s picnic, or simply join in with children’s usual activities.

Activities

Teddy bear snap

Children could compare the Care Bear to Guisborough Ted or to an old soft toy in their classroom or setting.

They can view both bears at the same time in our ‘Toys and games from our past’ grid here.

What can they see that’s the same? What’s different?

Try turning it into a ‘snap’ game in pairs or groups.

  1. Children take it in turns. When they see something that’s the same they say “SNAP!”, it could be anything – a furry body, round fluffy ears, four paws.
  2. They tell the rest of the group what they’ve seen. Can the other children see it too?
  3. When they see something that’s different they say “NOT SNAP!” and describe how something is different, such as the colour of their fur or their eyes. Can others see it too?
  4. How many similarities and differences did they spot?

Guisborough Ted is 80 years older than the Care Bear. He is probably about 120 years older than the students’ own teddy bears. How have teddy bears changed?

Interview a grown-up

Children could create a set of questions to ask a grown-up about the toys they cared about most when they were little.

They could interview their grown-up at home or at school.

Children could record their interviews using an iPad (or digital tablet) to create an oral history, to listen to again and share with others.

Why not invite mums, dads, grandparents and other adults from the school community to a special ‘old toys and games’ afternoon in your classroom. They could bring their toy with them to talk about and play with, and children could use their questions to interview them.

Young historians

What questions do children have about old soft toys? Encourage them to think carefully about something they would really like to find out about an old soft toy in your classroom. They could take it in turns to hold a picture of a large question mark, and think of a question beginning with Who, Where, Why, What, When or How to share with the group or class.

Where could they find out the answers? They could:

Links