Offline Fun
Do you remember when we were little—before computers, cell phones and DVDs invaded our lives, how we used to play a lot of fun games? We used to play at school during break and in the afternoon with the neighbourhood kids. We spent hours playing games like hopscotch and catch—we never got tired of them because we had such a good time. Why not introduce your child to the games we enjoyed when we were little? Who knows—they might actually become a hit!
Hopscotch
Hopscotch is a wonderful hopping game that can be played on a bare patch of ground or on a floor indoors. All around the world, children have enjoyed drawing grids on the sidewalk or the ground and then jumping or hopping from one end of the grid to the other. Children used to draw different kinds of grids—and hundreds of variations of the grid can be drawn. Some are round and curl in a circle and others are a large square with many small squares inside. Although it is sometimes rumoured that hopscotch was invented by the Romans or the Chinese, historical findings show the first recorded reference to hopscotch to date back to 1677.
How to play:
The first player stands behind the starting line to toss her marker in square one. You must skip over the square your marker is in—in this case, square one—to square two, continue hopping to square eight, turn around and hop back again. Pause in square two to pick up the marker, hop in square one and out. Then continue by tossing the stone in square two. All hopping is done on one foot, unless the hopscotch design is such that two squares are side-byside— then the two feet can be placed down with one in each square. Remember: players must always hop over any square where a marker has been placed. The game has some additional rules. If any of the following things happen while hopping, the player must stop and another player takes a turn:
- The player puts her foot or feet on the lines of the square.
- The player jumps with two feet in squares one, two, three and six.
- The player’s other leg (the one which is lifted) touches the ground.
- The player falls down.
Not only is hopscotch a great pastime for your child, but it also promotes fitness, strength, balance and coordination.
Hand clapping games
A hand clapping game is a cooperative, non-competitive game, generally played by two players clapping in accompaniment to singing or reciting a rhyme. Because such games require communication skills and coordination, they are appropriate for children aged 24 months and above. How to play: A player sits across from her clapping partner. They begin by clapping hands together at the same time, and then each player reaches out with her left hand to clap her partner’s right hand. Next, she claps her own hands together again and reaches out with her left hand to claps her partner’s left hand. Then they repeat, clapping with each beat.
Chinese jump rope
Jump rope games have long been popular around the world. Jump roping helps develop coordination, teaches
healthy competition and is simply great fun. It also improves cardiovascular health. Requirements for this game are a rubber band or rope and at least three players.
How to play:
Two players stand opposite each other, three metres apart with the rope positioned around their ankles. The jump pattern is chosen and the jumper tries to complete the chosen pattern. If successful, the band is moved higher. There are four jumping levels: ankle-high, knee-high, waisthigh and under-the-shoulder. If the jumper makes a mistake, players rotate their positions and the next player becomes the jumper. When a player returns to jumping, she continues the game from the last uncompleted level. The player that first achieves all levels wins the game. One popular jump pattern has the jumper jump in the rope with both feet, jump out of the rope with both legs (straddling each outside rope), jump from side to side straddling each side of the rope and, finally, jump on the rope and out again. At the end, the jumper has to jump out and straddle the rope.
Chase and tag
In games of chase and tag, the objective is to tag (touch) other players to get them out of the game. Playing games like tag and hide and seek is a form of exercise.
How to play:
Usually, one player is the “tagger,” chasing and tagging other players, one of whom then becomes the new “tagger”. In other versions, players must be tagged by a ball, sometimes thrown at the player.
Hide and seek
All children love to hide—and the ‘seeker’ has just as much fun trying to find his hidden friends. The game is best played with four or more children.
How to play: First, one player is chosen to be the hunter (seeker). The hunter counts out loud with her eyes closed to an agreed number while the other players hide. The hunter then tries to find the other players one by one. The last player found gets to pick who will be the hunter next.
These traditional games can bring your child hours of fun, so the next time you hear the familiar “Mama, I’m bored; I have nothing to do,” take out this copy of Family Flavours and show her how it is done!
