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I had many toys I played with a lot: Lego, Tonka toys, toy soldiers, etc… What I got the most fun out of was plasticine or mala (pronounced maula) as it was called in hour house. This modelling clay was easy to use and could be used to create almost anything. Hands-on, tactile and instant. Imagination was the only limit. It allowed freedom to explore, freedom to fail and freedom to go again. I loved playing/creating with it.
I have to admit I struggled to generate any specific object. As a kid I wasn’t particularly into a specific thing. I loved explored different hobbies and activities, and I’d say that’s in line with how I developed more into someone who explores a lot of different things and then tries to tie them altogether.
Anyway, after some thought, I realized juggling balls were somewhat significant for me as a kid. I was already 10 years old or so when I learned to juggle. The balls and the act of juggling didn’t inform any mechanical insight, but more a way of looking at the world. I was at the age that puberty and culture were hitting me with a sense of what was mature and proper behavior. While juggling was … something adults did too? And you could juggle with anything?
I found myself juggling fruit, pens, or any other object lying around. And it felt like a game like any other up till that age, but at the same time it was accepted as an adult passtime. I think it really just introduced me to this lens of being able to see how you can play with anything in your environment, even though you might be becoming an adult now.
This is the childhood toy that started my gears turning. It’s an interative toy from the mid-1960’s that plays several board games against you. It made me think about what could be done with interactive games.
My pencil case was very important to me in my earlier days of school. I used to draw pictures a lot to tell a story. Today I regularly attach a photo or a screenshot to explain a point. I think my need to see pictures makes it difficult to learn some aspects of coding well enough to be able to teach it. If there was a picture to explain the logic each time, I think I could do a better job of it.
My sleepy baby bunny (on left) has been well loved.
Some found reference (right) shows one with the eyes still attached.
It was perhaps the first toy I ever received, and has some strong emotional connections attached.
As an only child, it was a companion through some challenging family times. I also remember one tear-filled conversation with my mother - when I first started forming a comprehension of the finality of Life & Death. “Living” = me, “Not Alive” = my bunny.
There is a music box inside which plays a slow and soft Braham’s Lullaby when the key was turned. The magic of music emanating from within, and this cause/effect of my interaction made me wonder… how was this achieved?
When the fabric (naturally) wore a hole, I begin to see the metal casing beneath and some of that magic was lost.
I continue to appreciate emotional impact, connection with music, and curiosity with how things work.
I don’t remember a particular object from my childhood, but I do know that as I child I loved to “make.’” Whether it be mud pies in a frisbee, plant holders using macrame, or wooden cameras from the leftover wood in my father’s wood shop, I loved to make things. Even to this day, I am a crafter, I have a Makerspace in my library, and I love to see a piece of junk plastic and think about what I could turn that into!! I know that my parents nurtured my desire to make and I think that has made me the teacher I am today. I encourage my students to make new things, modify made things, and let their imaginations go wherever they want to take it. As I read the article and Chapter 1 of Lifelong Kindergarten, I quickly realized that I am among my people. :)
My favorite childhood object was my sticker album. And I still have it!
By collecting stickers I had my first experience with real organization and it also helped me a lot to socialize with other children (by swapping stickers) and making new friends.
A simple album allowed me to learn many things.
wondering if you find coding in Scratch helps you @Derval, as it gives so much visual feedback ? I also love visuals and stories, and absolutely love Scratch and have started exploring p5js recently too
I loved paper dolls as a little girl. I made up stories and scenarios with costume changes and invisible characters. Sometimes I would just mingle the diversity of my paper doll hoard and giant babies and Barbies and Mary Poppins would have a romp. I never had That Girl, but I would have had I known it existed. I began to create paper dolls of my own design and developed a flair for fashion design and theater.
Paper dolls, whether prefab or making originals, we’re a perfect solitary pastime for me. I developed artistically and as a story maker. Occasionally a friend would make this a more collaborative event, but the designing is always personal. I design this way still today, unless I have the sheer luck to collaborate with someone with a stupendous idea to kick things off!
Hi!!!
As a child I liked to assemble paper dolls. Then I started designing the clothes and creating the dolls. Then I started to create a theater with them. This helped me in communicating and organizing my ideas.
@Cathrine, me too. I remember that I would spend the whole day creating stories. Even my math and biology classes at school I used in the stories.
@vebgarcia Wow. Amazing. I remember these stickers.
@Karl I have a friend who also had a teddy bear. And she created different eyes for it. And she would put over the original eye according to the mood of the day. IoI
The most magical, mesmerizing object I remember from my childhood was a kaleidoscope. I loved the colors and the patterns and the way it would shift from one completely unique pattern to another just by turning the end. I was about four years old and there are no words for how incredible it seemed to me.
I still have my childhood kaleidoscope I got on a field trip to Corning Glass Works in the 70s! What a great choice!
Tengo el recuerdo de una ciudad armable con las que me enca taba jugar y crear historias.
You’re absolutely right. Scratch is a great way to understand some basic coding concepts such as loops and if/else statements using blocks and different colours. When you get on to teaching Python though, it becomes a little less visual and the syntax of course is more tricky too. Imagery would be good but is not always practical.
My favourite childhood object was this fishing game. In most of the cases me & my family play this game together. For us this was the reason to get united as a family.
I don’t recall anything specific but I do remember being obsessed with play-doh and clay which I can mould into different things. it definitely influenced the way I think and the person I am today and the domain I want to build my career in.
