Games For All Occasions Part 2

The questions are repeated to the same air for every day of the week and Miss Jones is baking, ironing, or scrubbing. She is then sick or worse and finally is dead.

"What shall we dress her in, Dress her in, dress her in; What shall we dress her in-- Shall it be blue?"

"Blue is for sailors, So that will never do."

"What shall we dress her in, Shall it be red?"

"Red is for firemen, So that will never do."

"Pink is for babies So that will never do."

"Green is forsaken, So that will never do."

"Black is for mourners, So that will never do."

"White is for dead people So that will just do."

"Where shall we bury her?

Under the apple tree."

Miss Jennia Jones is "laid out" upon the floor and something white thrown over her.

After the burial is completed the children form a ring and sing:

"I dreamed I saw a ghost last night, Ghost last night, ghost last night-- I dreamed I saw a ghost last night, Under the apple tree!"

The ghost suddenly arises. The ring breaks up, the children fly with shrieks, and the one caught by the ghost is to take the part of Miss Jennia Jones in the next game.

OATS AND BEANS AND BARLEY

All the children form a ring with the exception of one player, who stands in the center. The children then dance round this one, singing the first three lines of the verses given below. At the fourth line they stop dancing and act the words that are sung. They pretend to scatter seed; then stand at ease, stamp their feet, clap their hands, and at the words: "Turn him round," each child turns round.

They then again clap hands and dance round, and when the words: "Open the ring and send one in," are sung the center child chooses a partner, who steps into the ring, and the two stand together while the other children sing the remaining verse, after which the child who was first in the centre joins the ring and the game is continued as before.

"Oats and beans and barley O!

Do you or I or anyone know How oats and beans and barley grow?

"First the farmer sows his seed, Then he stands and takes his ease, Stamps his foot and claps his hands, And turns him round to view the land.

"Oats and beans and barley O!

Waiting for a partner, waiting for a partner, Open the ring and send one in.

Oats and beans and barley O!

"So now you're married you must obey, You must be true to all you say, You must be kind, you must be good, And help your wife to chop the wood.

Oats and beans and barley O!"

PUSS IN THE CORNER

This game is really for five players only, but, by a little arrangement, six or seven children can take part in the fun.

Four players take their places in the different corners of the room, and the fifth who is Puss stands in the middle. If a greater number of children wish to play, other parts of the room must be named "corners,"

so that there is a corner for everyone.

The fun consists in the players trying to change places without allowing Puss to get a corner. When they leave their corners, the player in the centre tries to get into one of them.

When the centre player succeeds in getting into a corner, the one who has been displaced has to take his place in the middle of the room.

RULE OF CONTRARY

This is a simple game for little children. It is played either with a pocket-handkerchief, or, if more than four want to play, with a table cloth or small sheet.

Each person takes hold of the cloth; the leader of the game holds it with the left hand, while with the right he makes pretence of writing on the cloth, while he says: "Here we go round by the rule of contrary.

When I say, 'Hold fast,' let go; and when I say 'Let go,' hold fast."

The leader then calls out one or other of the commands, and the rest must do the opposite of what he says. Anyone who fails must pay a forfeit.

SOAP BUBBLE BATTLE

Two children act as captains, one of company A, the other of company B and each in turn choose a soldier until the children are evenly divided into two companies.

Stretch a rope or cord at a medium height across the middle of the room, with company A on one side and company B on the other side.

Each company is provided with a basin of soap suds (a little glycerine added to the water will make the bubbles last longer) and each soldier with a clay pipe.

Two soldiers, one from company A and one from company B stand at arms length from the rope and each blows a bubble from his pipe towards the "enemy" and over the rope if he can. If a soldier blows a bubble over the rope without it bursting his company wins a point. If he fails to do so, his company loses a point.

These soldiers step back and two more (one from each company) advance and blow a bubble and so on until all have had a turn. Some one keeps the score and the company having the most points are the "victors" and to them belong the "spoils" which consists of a tiny paper drum filled with candy, a small silk flag or any appropriate prize.

SPIDER WEB.

Attach one end of a number of strings (one for each guest) to the chandelier. Fasten to the other end of each string a small prize wrapped up in tissue paper. Have strings of various lengths and twine them around the table legs, chairs, etc., some may be "spun" around furniture, etc., in adjoining rooms, trying to hide the prizes as much as possible.

At a signal each child takes or is given a string from the chandelier and proceeds to wind it around an empty spool or piece of pasteboard, until a prize is reached. The strings must not be broken. An extra prize may be awarded to the child who first winds up a string neatly.

SEVERED FLOWERS

Cut from colored cloth or paper a number of petals for forming wild roses, using pink material; marguerite daisies of white material and pansies of purple. Five petals for each rose, five for each pansy and ten for each daisy.

Have the children sit around a table. Provide each one with a sheet of plain paper, three pins having the heads covered with yellow tissue paper and mixed petals enough to make one of each kind of flower.

At a signal the children begin to make the flowers by sticking the pin through the point of the petals and pinning each flower to the sheet of paper.

A prize may be given to the child finishing the flowers first or the child making the best looking flowers.