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Mission 5 of 6Ages 5 to 11Draft

Swap or give away: a toy swap for kids

A toy that sits at the back of the cupboard isn’t doing anyone any good. Passed on, it gets played with again.

A cardboard box holding a wooden toy lorry, a red ball and a folded green jumper.

In Gullbrae: the town square

A swap table in the Gullbrae town square, outside the shops. A wooden toy lorry, a red ball, a jar and a green jumper are scattered around an open box, and a cloth bag lies on the ground.
The town square needs help. The swap table is in a muddle, with things scattered around the box and a bag dropped on the ground.

Do it together

Younger children (about 5 to 7)

  1. With your grown-up, find one toy or book you’ve grown out of.
  2. Check it together: is it clean, and are all the pieces there?
  3. Talk about who might like it next.
  4. Help your grown-up pass it on, and say goodbye to it.

Older children (about 8 to 11)

  1. Sort a shelf or a box with your grown-up: keep, pass on, or mend first.
  2. Plan a swap with friends, family or your home-ed group, where everyone brings one thing and takes one thing.
  3. Make simple labels for the swap table, with what each thing is and that all the parts are there.
  4. Afterwards, think: what did you get, and what new home did your things go to?

For grown-ups: keep it safe

  • You choose where things go: friends, family, a group swap or a charity shop. Children don’t arrange it themselves, online or with strangers.
  • Only pass on things that are clean, safe and complete. Take batteries out of toys first.
  • Agree the swap rules beforehand, so nobody goes home upset.

When you’ve done it

We did it: put the town square right
The same swap table, tidy. The toy lorry and the ball are in the box, the jar and the jumper sit beside it, and the bag hangs from the table.
Put right. The swap table is tidy, so the toys and the jumper are easy to see and ready for someone new.
Eddie, Priya, Buddy and Wee Bin waving together.

The crew say thank you. Now stick the town square on your town poster, and fill in a record sheet if you keep a learning log.

Nothing is saved when you press the button. Your progress lives on your poster.

Read the story

The cupboard with a new chapterAn old cupboard looks too tired to keep, until it gets a new job.The shared picnicIsla’s class plans a picnic with the right amount of food and things they can use again.

Draft, 20 October 2026. The words and pictures are waiting for an educator’s review and a fact check. Gullbrae is made up; your own council’s rules are the ones to follow.