The Magic Toymaker

Children in Milepost 1 were immediately hooked when they started their Inquiry unit, The Magic Toymaker. With their very own golden key, each class opened up our Nest library which had been transformed into a toy workshop. There, they discovered a letter from the Magic Toymaker inviting them to start a learning journey into the world of toys.

During the unit the children:

• compared and contrasted toys from the past, present and ‘future’ and gained an appreciation that hand-made toys sometimes bring more joy than bought ones
• investigated how different toys work and we made some ‘magic’ toys that worked by tricking our brains into seeing things that were not really there
• investigated how objects operate and move through the application of various forces
• evaluated toys in terms of their appearance, enjoyment and safety, all requiring critical thinking skills
• designed, created and evaluated their very own toys: optical illusions, board games and puppets
• incorporated dance and movement with toys by dancing to the Nutcracker Suite

All of which culminated with our Exit Point where the children proudly showed their parents their handmade puppets and played the board games they made together. Mums and Dads took a tour around the Nest to visit the Toymaker’s workshop and see all the great work that had been done throughout this unit. Looking at toys has been such a fun and interesting way to do so many different kinds of learning. It has been a unit enjoyed by children and teachers alike!