School: Castlecary
- Location:
- Ballyrattan, Co. Donegal
- Teacher: Mary S.J. Donaghy
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- XML School: Castlecary
- XML Page 36
- XML “Homemade Toys”
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- Every boy and girl find great amusements in spare time in making their own toys. The girls, and indeed, boys too, gather a bundle of daisies while herding the cows in the warm summer mornings, and make long necklaces by joining them together.
The boys make spinning ginnies from a spool and put a piece of stick in the centre for a spike, and we can make two of them from a spool by cutting it in two.
We can make guns from a boortree stick by cutting the soft white pulp out of the centre of it and it makes a good gun. Another home made toy represents a monkey up a stick, and when you squeeze the frame the wee man jumps about. It is made from a piece of flat wood. Then, again, we make toy whips from rushes by pleating the rushes together by one rush which is rolled round them. Then for a last we pleat the rushes and put a piece of whip cord for a crack and it can crack quite loudly.
Kitemaking is still carried on as a home made toy by making a frame and covering it with a bag or a sheet of paper. A long(continues on next page)- Collector
- Arthur Peoples
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Castlecary, Co. Donegal