Clatter blocks

See introduction at this link.
Clatter blocks are strung together so that by holding the top one and moving it back and forth, each of those below it takes a tumble down the line. You need seven blocks from 1/4" wood, each 2 1/2" square. Weave 1/4" twill tape in the pattern shown and use staples or small tacks to fasten them to the ends.

Gee Haw Whammydiddle

See introduction at this link.
Cut a couple hardwood twigs about 8" to 10" long and about 3/8" to 1/2" in diameter. Whittle one down to about 1/4" in diameter back to about 4". Notch the other one with about eight notches over a length of 3" to 4".

Make a blade from light metal about 1" by 3/8" and drill a hole in the center. Put a nail, small enough to be loose in the hole, through the blade and drive it into the end of the stick with the notches. The blade needs to be free-turning, and pretty well-balanced. (The drawing may look like the nail is going through the edge of the blade. Not so; it goes through the flat side.)

As you rub the whittled stick over the one with the blade it creates a vibration from the washboard effect, making the blade turn. You can make it go "gee" or "haw" (right or left) depending on whether you touch it with your forefinger or not, because it changes the way the stick vibrates.

If you're a good Gee-Haw-er you can move your finger so nobody notices, pretending to control the direction of the blade by saying "Gee" or "Haw" to the sticks. My dad about drove me nuts trying to figure this out and I did it to my kids too.

String figures for kids

See introduction at this link.
In the 70's, when my daughter was in elementary school, one of the hottest toys was a loop of string from which kids made "Cat's Cradle," "Farmer Brown's Pants," and even "Teacher's Bra." Lots of books have been written about this pastime, and there's a good set of instructions at this link.

Sling for throwing stones

See introduction at this link.
Mostly for country kids, the sling is must two pieces of string about 12" to 15" long attached to a small (3-4" long by 2" wide) piece of leather. Put a rock into the sling, whirl it over your head and let one string go. When you get good enough at it, you can pretend you're killing the giant.

Spool racer

See introduction at this link.
You can make a little racer from a spool, two tacks, a 3" X 1/4" dowel, a bead and a rubber band. Drive the tacks into one end of the spool, wrap the rubber band around them, thread it through the hold in the spool, through the bead and around one end of the dowel. Wind it up and race it on a smooth surface.

Pinwheel is easy to make

See introduction at this link.
You can make them from heavy paper, and more permanent models from heavy tinfoil or lightweight tin. Cut a 5 1/2" square, then cut in diagonally from the corners 2 1/4". Draw around the edge of a nickel at the end of this line and cut the hole out. Then bend in one corner at each diagonal line, run a pin through it and into a stick.

Hummer-buttons

See introduction at this link.

Made from string, three large buttons and two 3" pieces of wood dowel. Use good, strong string, about 15" long. Thread the string through the buttons and through holes in the dowels. Pull the handles and the buttons spin and hum.

Climbing bear

See introduction at this link.

Use a band saw or a coping saw or jig saw to cut out a bear shape as shown. The one my daughter and I made many years ago was from a 3/4-inch board, about 6" tall and 5" wide. Drill holes in the arms of the bear angling inward. The inward angle is important to the friction required to make him climb. Drill the holes a little bigger than the size of rope you'll use. Our rope had a smooth surface and was about 1/4" in diameter. The climbing ropes should be at least 3 1/2 to 4 foot long. Drill three holes through the top bar and run a short piece of rope through the center hole. This rope acts as a hinge for the bar, letting it move up and down on each end. Make a loop in one end for hanging it to something, push it through the bar and knot the end so it doesn't slip out. Run the climbing ropes through the bear's arms and through the holes on the top bar. Knot the ends. To make the bear climb, you put tension on both ropes, pulling down first on one, then the other. The top bar has to pivot as this is being done. Remember to keep tension on BOTH ropes - until the bear reaches the top and then you relax the tension on both ropes and the bear slides down. That was my daughter's Christmas present to her younger brother and he liked it as much as any he got that year.

Old-time toys

Many years ago when our kids were little we made some of their toys, based on old-timey designs. I found an old Advocate clipping that described them, and showed some of the drawings I made as illustrations. I picked out seven of the more interesting ones to reproduce for you here, each as a separate entry.