Child's Play: Outdoor games: Whatever happened to them?

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CHILD'S PLAY : what ever happened to playing outdoors??

HOPSCOTCH

Hopscotch is a wonderful hopping game that can be played on a bare patch of ground or on a floor
indoors. There are hundreds of variations of the diagram that can be drawn. Use your favorite
version to have children play.

Use chalk to draw a hopscotch pattern on the ground or use masking tape on a floor. Create a
diagram with 8 sections and number them. Each player has a marker such as a stone, beanbag,
bottlecap, shell, button, etc.

The first player stands behind the starting line to toss her or his marker in square 1. Hop over
square 1 to square 2 and then continue hopping to square 8, turn around, and hop back again. Pause
in square 2 to pick up the marker, hop in square 1, and out. Then continue by tossing the stone in
square 2. All hopping is done on one foot unless the hopscotch design is such that two squares are
side-by-side. Then two feet can be placed down with one in each square. A player must always
hop over any square where a maker has been placed.

A player is out if the marker fails to land in the proper square, the hopper steps on a line, the
hopper looses balance when bending over to pick up the marker and puts a second hand or foot
down, the hopper goes into a square where a marker is, or if a player puts two feet down in a
single box. The player puts the marker in the square where he or she will resume playing on the
next turn, and the next player begins.

OUTDOOR GAMES HAVE ALMOST DISAPPEARED FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD! REMEMBER SOME OF THESE?

GO TO JAIL :

The children will choose someone to be it. The person who is it counts one o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock rock, four o'clock, five o'clock, six o'clock rock, seven o'clock, eight o'clock, nine o'clock rock, ten o'clock, eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock rock, midnight! he then tries to find the others who have hidden. When someone is tagged, they go to jail (usually the porch) The children who are not tagged, try to step on jail and this will cause a jailbreak. The others are free. When all the children have been sent to jail, the first one in is now the person who is it.

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MARBLES:A relatively smooth playing field is required, usually on dirt. A small hole is made in the center of the playing area.

Each player antes up a marble, and they are randomly scattered around the playing field.

Each player uses a large marble (called a shooter) to try to knock the other marbles into the hole (much like pool)

Players take turns shooting, and if a player knocks a marble into the hole with his/her shot, they get to keep the marble they knocked in and shoot again.

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KICK THE CAN:

There are two "teams". This is best played when there are a group of around ten kids. The object in play is a tin can. The can might be likened to a soccer ball, for the object of the game is to "kick the can" across the goal line or into the pocket which is, of course, located BEHIND the members of the other team...Their goal is to kick the can AWAY from the intended goal. It really doesnt matter how big the yard is or how big the playing "field" is, just so long as there is a definite "goal" assigned. Often the "goal" can be a particular bush or tree.

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