Each TOY or GAME has a STORY to share with kids.

Today, it’s NESTING DOLLS’ turn to tell its story (with a little help from Grandma Sharon)…

WHAT are NESTING DOLLS: Traditionally, Nesting Dolls are brightly painted wooden figurines made in a such way that they can be taken apart to reveal smaller dolls fitting inside one another.

Arguably, the most famous Nesting Dolls are Russian Matryoshka Dolls. As the story goes, these wooden dolls were named for the popular Russian peasant name Matryona… derived from mater, meaning mother. The name Matryona was associated with a mother and a large peasant family.

Oh, how I love this name origin.

Today, you can find nesting or stacking toys of all kinds… blocks, boxes, birds, animals, shapes… that are marketed as toys that develop and sharpen reasoning, problem-solving, spatial awareness, motor and coordination skills.

But there is just something so traditional and folksy about letting kids and grandkids play with the famous Russian Matryoshka Dolls with their portly but delicate wooden bodies and brilliant colors.

Grandma Sharon’s Nesting Dolls have been touched and played with by 2 generations of curious little hands without one, single mishap (well, except for losing the “tiny lady” that was eventually found under a corner of a rug)…

WHO invented NESTING DOLLS, WHEN & WHERE:  Again, as the story goes…

Nesting Dolls as Matryoshka Dolls were first created at the Children’s Education Workshop in Moscow in 1890.  Sava Mamontov, an industrialist and patron of the arts, was instrumental in the creation of what he considered a Russian-style.

The dolls were the idea of artist S.V. Malyutin and created by woodworker V.P. Zvyozdochkin in Mamontov’s workshop.  The dolls were modeled after the Japanese figurine of Fukuruma… one of the 7 Japanese Gods of luck.

Supposedly, the great secret of Fukuruma is that he had smaller versions inside…

And the rest is not only Nesting Dolls history, but Russian history as well.

Let your kids and grandkids in on the great tradition, curiosity and play of Nesting Dolls.  Tell your kids of the origin of these wonderful playthings.  Don’t keep Nesting Dolls high up on shelves.  Bring them down for the great “ta-dah” of getting them right back into the largest of the dolls!

Join me here each day in July for TOY STORIES on 365 Days of Literacy for Kids! A little fun, a little learning and a little “ta-dah!”