In the 20th century, children had few toys, and those they had were precious. Moreover, children did not have much 
time to play. Only a minority went to school, while most children were expected to help their parents with simple tasks around the house or in the fields.
Egyptian children played games similar to those children play today. They also played with toys such as dolls, toy soldiers, wooden animals, balls, marbles, spinning tops, and bone dice (which were thrown like dice).
In Ancient Greece, when boys were not in school and girls were not working, they played ball games with 
inflated pig bladders. Children also played with toys such as spinning tops, dolls, model horses with wheels, hoops, and rocking horses.
Roman children played with dolls and wooden or clay hoops. They also played ball games and board games.
Toys changed little over the centuries. Children in the 16th century still played with wooden dolls. They 
also played cup and ball (the wooden ball with a cup at the end of the handle. You had to swing your wrist and try to catch the ball in the cup).
The first dollhouses were made in Germany in 1558. Then, in 1693, the English philosopher John Locke said that “dice and toys,” with letters on them, would help children learn the alphabet.
Modern Toys
The revolution allowed industrial toys to be mass-produced and gradually became cheaper. John Spilsbury made the first jigsaw puzzle in 1767. He intended to teach geography by cutting maps into pieces, but soon people began to 
make puzzles for entertainment. The kaleidoscope was invented in 1817. Middle-class Victorian girls played with wooden or porcelain dolls. They also had dollhouses, model shops, and jump ropes.
Boys played with toys such as marbles and toy soldiers, as well as toy trains. They also played with toy boats. Simple toys like spinning tops were also popular.
Life in the 19th Century
Many new toys were invented in the 20th century. Modeling clay was invented in 1897 by William Harbutt. Also in 1900, Frank Hornby invented a toy called Meccano (miniature models). Other popular toys in the early 20th century were tin cars. In the 1920s, train sets became very popular, as did soft toys, including teddy bears.
By the mid-20th century, with the arrival of plastic and metal, the affluent society made toys much cheaper and more common. In the 1950s, Lego, Mr. Potato Head, skateboards, and Barbie became popular toys. 
Action Man began to be sold in Britain in 1966. In the early 1970s, space hoppers and clackers were popular toys. By the end of the 20th century, computer games became very popular. Among modern toys are Tamagotchi and Furby, which went on sale in 1998.
Playing the Old-Fashioned Way
In Brazil and around the world, traditional games have become important in daily life, with their great dynamism and adaptability to time and space, revealing an incomparable playful potential. Traditional play has its own energy and a magic that insists on resisting the norms and forms imposed by society, as it is rooted in local cultures where the true human essence resides. Games and 
old toys do not accept preconceived definitions, prejudices, or abstract recognitions. Their legitimacy lies in the historical and cultural dimension of behaviors and the bond to the elements of a given situation.
Play and toys are an inexhaustible source of resources for addressing a more global project of intercultural education, and it should be the educator responsible for discovering which alternatives best fit the characteristics of their school or community. Games and toys are creations of a culture and the fruit of a history. We know it is fundamental and urgent to live in the present, preparing for the future while always respecting our traditions.
The History of Toys
Many researchers have sought through studies of objects, photographs, and paintings the origin of toys. Some museums have examples of toys found in excavations in various parts of the world, dating back to very remote times. With the data found, it is possible to try to interpret and explain the phenomenon of toys and the act of playing in the historical context of various social groups.
Articulated dolls that could move with strings, similar to modern puppets, were used by children in 
ancient Greece and Rome, as well as tiny models of chairs, tables, jars, and other objects of daily life. Balls, and dolls made of wood or baked clay have also been found. The hobby horse, pinwheels, birds tied with a string, and dolls multiplied mainly from the 15th century, and some of them were born from the spirit of imitation of children. They imitated the activities of adults, reducing them to their scale, as was the case with the hobby horse, at a time when the horse was the main means of transport and traction. The fact that balls, dolls, rattles, spinning tops, and game pieces have been found since the most remote ages demonstrates that many childhood games have persisted through time.
In the 15th century, manufacturers in Nuremberg began to become famous for their toys. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Ulm and Augsburg, also in Germany, gathered manufacturers of dollhouses, miniature musical instruments, and pieces of furniture that became masterpieces of craftsmanship.
Technological evolution allowed for the creation of a large number of toys that enchant children. In fact, none of them replace the charm of simple toys like a ball or a doll. With the increasing industrialization of toys, the options for play continue to “increase.” Conversely, less and less space is given to creativity and imagination. With the advent of capitalism, the toy becomes a commodity to be marketed.
From then on, the objectives of toys began to drift away from their origins. The history of toys is as old as the history of man! From Egypt, we inherited tic-tac-toe, dolls, and 
marbles. From China, dominoes, pinwheels, and kites. From Greece and Rome came stilts and marionettes.
How the Most Popular Toys Came About
• Dolls: Until 1930, they were made of cloth by seamstresses and artisans. The first clay figurines may have been made by Homo sapiens 40,000 years ago in Africa and Asia for ritual purposes. The transition of dolls from idols to toys likely occurred in Egypt 5,000 years ago.
• Toy Cars: Made of wood, the first toy cars appeared alongside real automobiles in the early 20th century. Over time, the material used to make toy cars changed significantly! Today they are made of plastic, metal, or acrylic, have modern controls, but traditional wooden toy cars can still be found. The slot car track was invented in England in 1956.
• Music Boxes: The Swiss created the first music boxes around 1770. Using their knowledge of watchmaking, they created a mechanism in which a comb with metal teeth plucked over a cylinder that rotated powered by clock parts.
• Balls: It is the oldest toy in the world and has existed for over 6,500 years. The first balls were made about 6,500 years ago by the Japanese, using bamboo fibers. The Romans and Greeks preferred to use strips of leather, bird feathers, and even cow bladders. The ball only became popular in the 1950s with the manufacture of plastic.
• Plush Toys: The first plush toy was created in Germany in 1903 and was called Teddy Bear.
• Bicycle: In 1790, a French count named Sivrac created the Celerifer (celer = fast, fero = transport). It was a wooden bicycle that had no pedals or chains and was pushed with the feet on the ground.
• Toy Soldiers: The toy was only manufactured in the mid-19th century in Nuremberg, Germany. But it was a luxury item; only small nobles could have them.
• Trains: The first electric miniature train was made in 1835 by a New York blacksmith.
• Kite: Around 1000 B.C., the kite was used as a signaling device, but upon arriving in Brazil, the kite became a form of entertainment.
• Spinning Top: Around 3000 B.C., in Babylon, spinning tops already existed, made of clay and with edges decorated with animal and human shapes or reliefs.
Sources: www.ebrinquedo.com Tim Lambert via www.localhistories.org, artigos.netsaber.com.br Read more at: www.portalsaofrancisco.com.br