Toys & games

Hopscotch is a children's jumping game. There are lots of different variations in different countries, but most involve a course drawn on the ground with a stick or on the sidewalk with chalk. Usually a stone or other marker is thrown onto the course to say how far the next person has to jump.

A jigsaw puzzle is a picture that has been cut up into lots of little pieces. Then you have to put all the pieces back together to make the picture. The jigsaw pieces are usually cut into special shapes like in the picture, so they fit together tight and stay together as you are working.
Jigsaw puzzles usually have between 100 and 2000 pieces, and can take a very long time to put back together.

lan Jump rope is a game where you swing a rope around yourself and jump over it as it comes under you. Sometimes two people hold the ends of the rope and one or more other people jump over the rope.

A kite is something light that you can fly, and you keep it from getting away from you by holding onto it by a length of string. You launch a kite on a windy day by running with it until it starts to lift up, and then letting it go.

Lego is a system of building blocks that come all sorts of shapes, sizes and colors. Lego can be used to make almost anything. While it is a children's toy, many adults enjoy playing with it too, or making full-size sculptures out of it.

A maze is a type of puzzle where you have to find your way from one point to another point through a path that can be hard to work out. Mazes are usually drawn on paper and you find your way through by drawing a line through it with a pencil. The maze in the picture has been grown out of hedges.

A pawn in chess is the smallest game piece. There are more pawns than any other type of piece, and they can move one square at a time, or two as their first move.

A piñata is a brightly decorated container, usually made from papier-mâché, cardboard or clay. It is filled with candy or small sweet fruit and nuts, and is hung up for celebrations like Easter or birthdays.
Children hit the piñata with sticks to try and break it so the candy falls out. Often they do this wearing blindfolds.

lan A playground slide (or slippery dip if you are in Australia) is a smooth slippery sloped surface that you slide down. They are usually made of metal or plastic and have a set of stairs or a ladder at the back to climb up.

A pogo stick is a toy with two handles for your hands and two steps for your feet with a strong spring at the bottom which allows you to jump very high.