The yo-yo has been around for more than 2,500 years! Author Joan M. Thomas explores the yo-yo’s rich history, educational value, and enduring popularity – and tries her hand at mastering the art.

 

by Joan M. Thomas 

Toy manufacturers continually strive to come up with newer and more innovative products. Conscientious parents seek not only safe toys that the kids will love; they also want them to be educational as well as physically enriching. There is one toy that fits those criteria, yet surprisingly it is the second-longest known child's toy on the planet: the yo-yo!

The basic yo-yo dates back as far as 500 B.C in ancient Greece and was referenced by different names until approximately 1916. In St. Louis, Missouri, visitors to the 1904 World’s Fair bought souvenir iron yo-yos called bandalores. Today, yo-yos of various designs, and usually made of plastic, look much the same as their predecessors. And, their popularity remains constant.

I first came to realize the timeless allure of the yo-yo when I noticed my gray-haired spouse hoarding his vintage 1940s wooden toy made by Duncan, the world’s largest yo-yo manufacturer, founded in 1929. Carefully placing it next to his prized major league baseballs in our display case, he treasures that yo-yo as much as I do my 50-year-old storybook doll, Little Miss Sunbeam.

He boasts about being able to "walk the dog," "rock the baby," and other typical yo-yo tricks with his Duncan. That arouses envy and feelings of inadequacy in me, as when I was a child I could never even master the simple down and up exercise. Holding the string, I would drop the toy and watch as it hung there listlessly. Now I realize that I just needed some guidance. 

Unraveling the educational mystery of the yo-yo

With little help, any child over the age of 3 can unravel the mystery of the yo-yo. Moreover, having fun yo-yoing can enhance the child's athletic abilities as well as an understanding of science. 

Valerie Oliver, vice president of Spintastics Skill Toys, Inc. and the educational program, Science of Spin, LLC, lists nine yo-yo skill building benefits:

1. eye-hand coordination
2. catching skills
3. value of practice and persistence
4. fine motor development
5. bilateral proficiency
6. sequencing
7. visual tracking
8. benefits to ADD/ADHD – constant feedback, focus on attention
9. self-esteem builder 

In retrospect, I think I could have been better at baseball if I had just learned to handle the yo-yo. It might have helped me overcome my fear of being hit by the ball, which would certainly have boosted my self-esteem, as I was always one of the last chosen when two teams formed to play a game.

As far as being educational, yo-yoing can demonstrate scientific principles, especially of physics. In 1985, Space Shuttle Discovery astronauts used a yo-yo to see how it would react without the earth's gravitational pull. In 1992 a yo-yo traveled on the Space Shuttle Atlantis to star in an educational video. It’s a good guess that those space men were yo-yo buffs, too.

Rolling up the yo-yo competition

Judging by the national organizations that support yo-yo use, there are plenty of fans around the country. In Burlington, Wisconsin, the Spinning Top and Yo-Yo Museum hosts an annual convention each spring. The event includes classes for beginners, and the museum there offers a yo-yo camp. For competitors, there's the National Yo-Yo League.  It sponsors a national contest held annually in Chico, California, each fall.

There are even people who yo-yo for a living. Like the toy itself, this is not a new thing.

My husband reminisces about a yo-yo champion entertaining him and his boyhood friends at the old Lafayette Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri. Plus, he says that the kids got a chance to compete for a prize.

My sister tells me that more recently, when she worked for a babysitting service in Scottsdale, Arizona, she cared for the children of a man who made a career of playing with yo-yos. "He went all over the country doing performances for schools, and trust me, he was good," she emphasizes.

She adds, "Myself, I can not make them work." My brother tells me, "I think I had a yo-yo once, but I wasn't any good at it." So, it would seem that in my family, it’s a genetic flaw.

Resources for the yo-yo novice

For people like myself and my siblings, no matter what age, there are several good books that give clear instructions.  I purchased two: a straightforward how-to guide, and a book that included a yo-yo (which also could make for an inexpensive gift):

• Let's Go Yo-Yo: The Nick Guide to Yo-Yo Tricks, by Nickolodeon. Great for beginners, it starts out with safety tips, explaining why one should allow plenty of room to practice, and pay attention to the location of the toy. Additionally, it gives a fascinating history of the yo-yo. It then details instructions on how to start out, and how to do all kinds of tricks, from simple on up to more complex ones, such as the "trapeze."

• The Ultimate Yo-Yo Book, by Larry Sayco. The book's author invented and patented his own yo-yo after working for Duncan. He lists a lot of neat tricks, too, but what I like best about his book is that it gives helpful suggestions, such as "Down and Up Trouble Tips." It taught me that my timing is off, and how I can solve that.

Other easily found sources are Yo-Yo:  45 Tricks and Tips by Stuart F. Crump, Jr. and Consumer Guide editors, and The Klutz Yo-Yo Book, by the editors of Klutz.

Or one can buy just a yo-yo. Start with Duncan’s Imperial or Butterfly style, which come with basic instructions. For serious competitors, there are more expensive models, but for beginners, these two classic styles work just fine.

For the latest on toy safety issues, parents can check with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. In 2003, the agency issued a warning of a "low but potential risk" in using the yo-yo water ball toy. In June 2006, there was a recall of a light-up yo-yo toy distributed by Ruby's Diner, Inc, a chain operating in seven states.

This points to key advice offered by yo-yo aficionados:  Don't buy yo-yos that play music, light up, or function with some other whizbang device. Just get a simple one. When parenting children and looking to avoid gimmicky toys, you can even avoid gimmicky yo-yos.

I know I don't need to be distracted by music or lights while practicing the “down and up.” And, I certainly don't want a yo-yo with water in it. Yes, I am now learning to yo-yo and loving it!

Incidentally, remember how I said that the yo-yo is the “second-longest known child's toy”? Well, the first is the doll. So, my Little Miss Sunbeam is still number one. 

 

The author of three books, freelance writer and historian Joan M. Thomas also enjoys writing feature stories and essays on current topics. Born in Carroll, Iowa, she now lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with her husband, Bob, and canine pal, Sasha.

Lead photo © Dikiiy | Dreamstime.com

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Inspire Your Kids to Cook

 

by Christina DiMartino

 

Your kids—boys and girls alike—express a desire to cook from a very early age, likely without your even realizing it. They make mud pies in the sandbox, play with child-sized cooking sets, and organize kitchens in doll houses or play areas, and they probably inquire about what you’re cooking from the time they begin to communicate.

 

Kids Cooking Activities offers up reasons why you should encourage cooking activities with your kids. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com)

 

* Cooking with your children helps them to learn about nutrition and healthy eating. 

* Cooking in the kitchen will give children a boost of self confidence. They are accomplishing a task, learning something important, and contributing to the family.

* Taking time to cook with your kids will give them lasting memories. They will pass the traditions on when they are grown and have their own families.

* In the enthusiasm of creating something themselves, your children will be more likely to eat what they had a hand in making.

* Kids learn real lessons in science, language, math, and creativity in the kitchen. Cooking will help reinforce all these subjects.

* Cooking is a great way to learn life skills. This is especially helpful when children are older and more independent. They won't have to rely on fast food and junk food to sustain them.

* Working together in the kitchen teaches your child teamwork.

* Cooking teaches children planning and making choices skills.

* Kids practice creativity and imagination in the kitchen. Cooking activities are a great way for kids to express themselves and enjoy their creations.  

 

It may take longer to get the meal or snack done, but the moments with your children will be priceless. Remember to have patience. Don't worry about flour on the floor or spilled milk.

 

A role model for cooking with kids

 

Cooking With Kids, a series of 90-second videos, is hosted by James Beard Award-winning chef John Sarich. Development of the program was inspired by the reality of childhood obesity, anorexia and other eating disorders, Type II Diabetes, and low bone density, which have all become national issues. Cooking With Kids encourages parents and children to spend time in the kitchen together preparing healthy meals in ways that improve communication and help children develop healthy nutritional habits. (Set up link at underlining to http://www.cookingwithkids.org/fact.html)

 

The program shows how easy it is for kids to prepare snacks and meals that taste good and that are good for them. It uses the five food groups as a platform for nutrition messages. You can watch the videos with your children through the website, then print out the recipe and go try it yourselves.

 

The recipes that Sarich prepares with kids on the segments teach them which categories on the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Pyramid are included in the recipe. He explains how vegetable burritos, for example, include foods that have protein, fiber and dairy, and that the burritos are low in fat.

 

Good cooking habits

 

Spatulatta provides 350 step-by-step videos that teach kids good cooking habits, and offers advice for moms, dads and kids on numerous issues related to cooking with kids. It emphasizes topics like teaching kids to wash their hands properly before handling food.  (Set up link at underlining to http://www.spatulatta.com)

 

When it comes to working in the kitchen, you know your children. You know what abilities they have and how fine their motor skills are. Some children are ready to handle a certain kitchen utensil or work at the stove earlier than others. It’s up to you to make that determination.

 

You set the rules in your kitchen, such as you will always light the burners and oven for your children.

 

Go over the workings of every electrical appliance with your child. Explain that the beaters, for example, should be inserted into a hand mixer before the mixer is plugged in.

 

Safety and courtesy are behaviors that need to be re-enforced and modeled.

 

Once you've explained how to handle an item safely, try asking your child to tell you how to do it the next time the task is required when making a recipe. We all learn best when we try to teach.

 

 

CREDIT:

Christina DiMartino has been a freelance and assignment writer since 1985. She is a researcher, interviewer, writer, editor, and manuscript collaborator with a repertoire of clients from around the world.

 

 

PHOTO / ILLUSTRATION RECOMMENDATIONS:

Go to http://www.cookingwithkids.org

 

 

TEASER: 

Cooking with your kids does much more than produce tasty treats! It teaches teamwork, safety, courtesy, math, science, and more, and encourages creativity and imagination. And there are some terrific online videos that will help you get started.