Outdoor Games From Childhood
It appears that many classic outdoor childhood games that were played with few or zero toys, gadgets and such are getting lost. Children are not playing about these games as much as they used to, and many don’t know how to play them.
These games can be a great form of exercise, cost nothing or next to nothing and most importantly building sweet lifelong memories of childhood. Some of my most precious memories were playing some of these games with friends, family and any child in the vicinity.
Here’s some of my favorite games: Red Light Green Light - A person plays the “stop light” and the rest attempt to touch him/her. Whoever touches that person first is the winner. To start all the kids form a line about 15 feet away from the stop light person. That stop light person turns his/her back away from the line of children and says “green light”. Then the kids move towards the stoplight person. At any point, the stop light person calls out “red light” and turns around. If any of the children are seen moving after calling out red light, they are out. This continues until someone reaches and touches the stop light person and wins the game and earns the right to be “stop light” for the next game.
Kick The Can - Is a combination of tag and hide and seek. A person chosen is “it”. They count to a predetermined number while the other kids hide, while at the same time sort of guarding the can. They then seek to find the hidden kids. When they find one, it is then a race between the two. The one found tries to get to the can first and kick it over, while the “it” person tries to tag him before he can do this. There’s always those smart alec kids who hide in dumb, close places to sprint to the can when seen and catch the “it” person off guard.
Marbles - Usually is played just on dirt. Take a finger and draw a circle around creating a small playing field, and in the center make a small hole. Each player puts in one of his marbles randomly around the play area. Each player uses a large marble called a shooter to knock a marble into the hole, similar to playing pool. Each person takes a turn, and when someone does knock a marble into the hole, that marble becomes theirs and they get another turn. There are many variables to the rules of of this game, and of course trading marbles can also be great fun.
Duck Duck Goose - Kids sit down in a circle facing each other. One person is “it” and walks around the circle. As they walk around, they tap people’s heads and say whether they are a “duck” or a “goose”. Once someone is the “goose” they get up and try to chase “it” around the circle. The goal is to tap that person before they are able sit down in the “goose’s” spot. If the goose is not able to do this, they become “it” for the next round and play continues. If they do tap the “it” person, the person tagged has to sit in the center of the circle. Then the goose become it for the next round. The person in the middle can’t leave until another person is tagged and they are replaced.
Stick Ball - This game is played with a baseball bat or sometimes a broom or just a stick, and a ball usually a tennis ball so to reduce the risk of breaking windows. There are no teams, just one person taking a turn to bat and everyone else in the outfield. The batter tosses the ball up and hits it. He/she then places the bat on the ground in front of him/her. The person who gets the ball rolls it at the bat from the place where the ball was picked up. When and if the ball hits the bat it pops up into the air. If the batter does not catch the ball, the person who rolled it is then becomes the next batter. If someone in the field catches fly ball before it touches the ground, they are automatically the next batter.
Hopscotch - Hopscotch is a wonderful hopping game that can be played on a sidewalk or pavement 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 considered out if the marker doesn’t land in the proper square, the hopper steps on a line, the hopper looses his or her balance when bending over to pick up the marker and puts a second hand or foot down, the hopper lands in 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 previously was and it’s the next person’s turn. Sometimes a rest area is added on the end of the hopscotch pattern where the player can rest for a second or two before hopping back through.
Farmer in the Dell - This game needs about 15 or people or more to stand in a circle. A person is chosen as the Farmer and stands in the middle. Everyone sings, “The farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell; Heigh ho, the Derry-oh the farmer in the dell” and walks around in the circle with the Farmer standing still. The next verse is “The farmer takes a wife . . .,” which is sung as the Farmer person chooses another person from the circle to come to the inside. The next verse is “The wife takes a child . . .,” when the wife person inside the circle chooses a third person to be the child. This continues with “The child takes a dog . . .,” “The dog takes a cat . . .,” “The cat takes a rat . . .,” and “The rat takes the cheese . . ..” The final verse is? The cheese stands alone . . .,” when all people on the inside of the circle go back to the outer edge of the circle and sing as the last person chosen “stands alone” in the circle, the game is then finished.
Think back to some of your old favorite games. Write them down. Teach and play them with your children and grandchildren. It creates a special bond, makes special memories and gives them a glimpse of what growing up might have been like for you.
