Quick Look
- Parents and teachers will find inspiration and helpful guidance in this practical handbook.
- Presented in a clear step-by-step way, all the instructions are fully described and illustrated.
Instructions for making a wide variety of toys to help children's developing skills, creativity and imagination at different ages. Step-by-step instructions, fully illustrated.
Description
The toys which surround children in their early years can have a profound effect on their developing skills, creativity and imagination. Freya Jaffke, an experienced kindergarten teacher, explores the nature of children's play and shows how different toys are suitable for different ages.
The book has instructions for making a wide variety of toys, from simple knotted animals and playcloths, to a dollshouse, a play store, puppets, boats and trains, and many varieties of dolls. Presented in a clear step-by-step way, all the instructions are fully described and illustrated.
Parents and teachers will find inspiration and helpful guidance in this practical handbook.
Reviews
'Toymaking with Children is a guide to undertaking simple handcrafts to make toys for young children. Many of the suggested crafts can be assembled by a parent and child working together. Black-and-white diagrams and color photographs illustrate the step-by-step instructions for creating playthings from inexpensive materials, such as a flopsy doll, a wooden horse and wagon, knitted kittens, or simple marionettes. All projects are simple enough that parents of all crafting skill and experience levels can learn to do them, though anyone with skills in needlework, knitting, or woodworking will have a slight edge. An introductory essay on the natural stages of play children go through as they mature, and suggestions for how adults can help children play, rounds out this excellent, hands-on how-to guide.'
-- Midwest Book Review
'Comprehensive, thorough and full of earnest suggestions for "free" toys -- just the thing for these recessionary and green times.'
-- Daily Echo
'One of the simplest, clearest, and most essential books on toys and play that I have ever read.'
-- The Peridot
'This greatly expanded edition is an excellent handbook with plenty of ideas for teachers and the parents of young children.'
-- Kindling, the Journal for Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood, Spring/Summer 2003.
'Freya Jaffke managed to breathe her many years experience as a master Waldorf kindergarten teacher into a volume capable of inspiring, guiding and reassuring new parents toward a balanced, beautiful life with their children. This is a hands-on approach that is deeply suited to working with and understanding young children. This is a book to enjoy in the deepest sense of the word, and makes an excellent companion to Work and Play in Early Childhood. The new edition adds colour photographs, more toys to make (more joy to bring!), and wonderful discussions of which toys to give to children at what ages, how to create a beautiful, nurturing environment, even tips for clean-up! I have loved this book since it was first published -- this most recent incarnation elevates it from "wonderful" to "must have".'
-- Bob and Nancy's Bookshop (www.waldorfbooks.com)
Author
Freya Jaffke was born in 1937. She worked at Reutlingen kindergarten in Germany for many years and now lectures throughout the world in teacher training colleges. She is the author of fourteen books on children's play and development and has sold over a quarter of a million copies worldwide.
