GAMES AND PLAYS 



2377 



GAMES AND PLAYS 



Frog in the Middle. This game may be played 

 by any number. One is chosen to be the frog and 

 must sit with crossed feet in the center. The 

 other players, who stand in a circle about him, 

 keep repeating, "Frog in the middle can't catch 

 me !" They dance back and forth in front of the 

 frog, seeing how near they can go without being 

 tagged. The frog tries to tag them, but must not 

 change his position. Anyone tagged must be 

 frog. 



Other Games. Any crowd of children is cer- 

 tain to have its favorite games, in addition to 

 those listed above. One or more can always 

 be found who will be only too eager to lead 

 the rest in Pussy Wants a Corner; Farmer in 



the Dell; King William Was King George's 

 Son ; Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush ; 

 Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley, 0; I Spy; and 

 any of the various kinds of tag. It is diffi- 

 cult for an older person to understand the 

 charm which such a game as The Farmer in 

 the Dell, for instance, holds for children. True, 

 there is little action, but the children find very 

 attractive the circling about in time to the 

 meaningless chant while the chance of being 

 "taken" next keeps each little player keyed up 

 and interested. The one directing the play 

 should see that all are given turns. 



Games for Older Children 



As children get older a change is noticeable 

 in the play element which most appeals to 

 them. They no longer are satisfied merely to 

 keep on the move, while the little verses which 

 accompany so many of the young children's 

 games seem to them foolish. Instead, they 

 have the competitive instinct strongly devel- 

 oped they are intensely anxious for their 

 own side to win. Races, therefore, of one sort 

 or another, are likely to appeal to them par- 

 ticularly. 



In the Schoolroom 



Overhead Race. Any objects which are not 

 too heavy, as bean bags or books, are held aloft 

 by the pupils in the front seats. All the other 

 children sit erect also, with arms raised high 

 above their heads, and at the given signal the 

 bags are passed back from hand to hand until 

 they reach the last pupil, when the process is 

 reversed and the bags are passed forward. When 

 a first seat pupil receives his bag again he rises 

 to show that his row has won. This game never 

 falls to rouse great enthusiasm, and the breath- 

 less haste which it calls for stirs up sluggish 

 blood. 



Another Bean-Bag Game. This is an excel- 

 lent game but unless a number of boards are 

 provided only a part of the children can take 

 part in it each day. In a piece of thin board or 

 heavy pasteboard are cut five holes, each six 

 inches square, and these are numbered 10. 20, 30, 

 40, 50. This is placed in a slanting position, with 

 one end raised about nine inches from the floor, 

 and the players take their stand about ten feet 

 from it and try to toss bean bags through the 

 hole. Each successful throw credits the player 

 with points according to the number of the hole 

 through which the bag has passed, while every 

 bag which falls on the floor takes ten from his 

 count. Thus if a player throws six bags, send- 

 ing one through the 10 hole, two through the 20, 

 one through the 40, and two on the floor his score 

 will be 10 + 40 + 40 20, or 70. 



First In, First Out. Groups of three erasers 

 or bean bags are placed in squares, marked on 

 the floor with chalk in front of alternate rows. 

 Beginning with the pupils in the front seats of 



these alternate rows, the players take one object 

 at a time from each of the squares, placing them 

 in similar squares at the back. They must run 

 down one aisle and return by the other. As soon 

 as all the objects are gathered they are brought 

 back in the same way, and the pupils in the -second 

 seats continue the game without any interrup- 

 tion. Then the pupils in the third seats repeat 

 the process, and so on down the row. The row 

 which finishes first makes known the fact by 

 clapping. Such a game is exciting and very en- 

 joyable, and is excellent for giving an outlet for 

 the repressed energies of children between the 

 ages of ten and fourteen. 



A similar game may be played in which the 

 players run to touch front and back wall in 

 succession and then take their seats. Such a 

 game is excellent when time is limited. 



Out-oj '-Doors 



Tug of War. A chalk line is drawn and the 

 players divide into two parties, one on each side 

 of the line. Each group then grasps one end of a 

 long strong rope and at the word of command the 

 two sides begin to pull against each other. The 

 side which pulls its adversaries over the dividing 

 line wins the game. 



Catch the Salmon. Two boys are chosen as 

 "fishermen" and each grasps an end of a piece 

 of strong rope. All the other players, the "sal- 

 mon," take their place in the "sea" which is the 

 space marked off by a chalk line. The salmon- 

 catchers may not cross this line, but may ad- 

 vance to it and try to throw their rope over a 

 "fish," for the fish are daring and come very 

 close to the line. Once caught a salmon may 

 twist or jump or stoop, but he may not free him- 

 self with his hands, and when he is dragged 

 across the line he must cease to struggle he has 

 been "landed." 



Run, Sheep. Run. The players divide into 

 two sides, each with a leader, and a goal is de- 

 cided upon. One party remains at the goal, 

 while the other goes off and hides, agreeing with 

 its leader as to certain signal words. The leader 

 then returns and stays near the other flock as it 

 hunts for the hiders, calling out his signals from 

 time to time to warn his flock. When he feels 

 that the seekers are getting so close that dis- 

 covery is certain, or when they have gone so far 



