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@user75204
I grew up in late 70's early 80's in the countryside with no immediate neighbours, so no other children to play with apart from my younger sister who had a fascination with Cindy, and I'd have rather eaten dog poo that play with that dizzie blond (the Cindy not my sister before I get kneecapped if she sees this!).
I remember getting really irate as I would often find my sister had high-jacked one of my Action Men and he would be sat down at tea party with Cindy, vom, instead of his normal action activities of being thrown out of trees, off barns, into streams and fighting the enemy. Cindy did however have a cool red Range Rover which Action Man occasionally commandeered for missions, but Cindy was never invited.
Another abiding childhood memory was playing for hours in a hay barn, making endless forts and dens, secret tunnels and hidden rooms, and recreating endless siege scenarios with an entirely make believe cast.
But I think where I spent most of my time was in the old shed. We lived on a farm and there were lots of old sheds and buildings, but this one was clearly the oldest, it wasn't actually used for any farming purposes anymore just for storing junk. One of the side walls had crumbled down and the tin roof was loose all over and rattled in the wind, the whole building was dark, damp, creaky and spider ridden, but crucially it also had the broken up remains of about 5 cars, and various bits of old and broken farming equipment. I spent many, many, many hours just rearranging all the cars parts on the shed floor into my own new creations, sports cars, spaceships, Mad Max type battle vehicles, never actually attaching the parts but placing them in endless configurations with various seating configurations into vague shapes. When my folks ever wondered where I was, this shed would be the first place they'd look.
I did not have well off parents and did not have many toys, and didn't have many other children to play with. Obviously I had mates from school and stuff but these were all a drive away so no impromptu play. But this didn't seem to matter, I absolutely loved my childhood, I think it was idyllic. Great play can be had with something as simple as a stick, just add some imagination.
Good luck Tim, whatever it is you are doing, anyone involved in working with children is underpaid and chronically undervalued but totally awesome in my book.