The toys surrounding a child during the first five years of life are of great importance. They awaken the imagination and stimulate creativity. Out of her long experience as a kindergarten teacher Freya Jaffke makes numerous suggestions for making a wide variety of toys, including ideas for making wooden boats, log trains, doll's furniture, rag dolls, puppets and soft animals. This greatly expanded edition is an excellent handbook with plenty of ideas for the parents of young children.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'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)
About the Author
Freya Jaffke’s books on early childhood have sold more than a quarter of a million copies.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a revised and expanded edition of the original book titled "Making Soft Toys" which was published in 1981. The author is a Waldorf Kindergarten teacher. This book discusses the importance of play as seen through a Waldorf education perspective and explains that natural playthings from nature and toys made from natural products are important. The book opens with several essays on the subject of the value of play and the nature of (appropriate) play as seen through the eyes of a Waldorf educator. Simple toys that allow imaginative and creative play are defined as ideal and appropriate for the proper development of the child. The author states that toys made by hand are more appreciated by children and she urges parents to make toys by hand, with the child's help or the child watching. A listing of toys appropriate for different age groups is listed. Discussion about outdoor play, play with dolls, and clean up time is included. Full instructions for over 45 toys are provided. Toys include dolls and doll clothing, knitted animals, wooden playstands and cloths, wooden tree blocks, and carved wooden toys (bridges, animals, spoons, etc.). Using wool roving is explained and instructions for creating pictures with plant-dyed wool end the book. The book is 93 pages long and the instructions are detailed and illustrated with line drawings. If you enjoy crafts and want to make Waldorf-style toys, this book is a must and a good value. Of course you can buy many of these toys already made, but you would save a lot of money by making these yourself.
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By J. Wright
Format:Paperback
This book gives good ideas for toys to make at home and gives some good description of children's play at different stages. The main problem I have is that I have never carved wood and there are no directions on how to actually carve. I would like to make some of the wooden toys, but I will need to do more research beyond this book to actually be able to carve the wooden toys. So, I guess I'm saying, if you have a base knowledge in sewing and carving, this book is very good....if not, you will need to do some other research in addition to this book.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I recieved this book and really couldn't be more pleased! It begins by describing the purpose of play, and shows us how to best implement positive play in children's lives. It lists some toys that are appropriate for each age group and goes on to describe how to make a number of toys. The ideas i found to be very enlightening, and I so look forward to making some of these wonderful toys! Oh and this book has a waldorf slant to it. An excellent find!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
From a knitters perspective...
I bought this book for the knitting patterns and let me say that the cost is worth the patterns alone! The animal knitting patterns are in the very back of the book. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Joy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet
This is such a nice overview of not just lovely toys to make, but child development through play. The pen and ink drawings are sweet and the ideas are so useful. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Kat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
I bought the book initially thinking it might be a source of woodworking projects for my husband and son to share. I'm not sure if my husband has even looked at it yet. Read more
Published on April 2, 2010 by Jennifer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simple and so appealing!
You hear people comment all the time "my child prefers the box to the toy" and so on and I really think it says a lot about toys today. Read more
Published on March 20, 2010 by Stacy
4.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific for open-ended play ideas
While some of the ideas are raw even for my taste (using baskets of cleaned, dried, stone fruit pits for money when playing store, for instance etc. Read more
Published on September 13, 2009 by V. Stolarski
4.0 out of 5 stars
I love it
Although I don't think this book is quite what I expected, I love it! it has an abundance of toys of all sizes and difficulty to make for your little ones and my little girl has... Read more
Published on January 20, 2009 by Nadine Borg
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome book
This is a really great book on how to mkae simple, and some not so simple toys for children. Most of them are just beautiful as well.
Published on February 18, 2006 by K. M. Linde
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