Games for Everybody Part 5

If the bear catches any while running for the goal, they become "bears." These "bears" hide together and the game continues until all the children are "bears."

HOOP RACE.

All children love to roll hoops. For a little folks party, plan to have as many hoops as children, so each can have one.

Bind these around with tape or ribbon. The children contest one at a time. The child who succeeds in rolling his hoop around the room three times without having it turn over or stop, wins the prize.

If the room is very large once or twice around will be enough, so the children aren't tired out.

b.u.t.tON FUN.

An amus.e.m.e.nt for small children, is to gather together as many b.u.t.tons of all shapes and sizes, plain and fancy, as can be obtained.

The largest b.u.t.ton is the father, the next size is the mother, several children arranged according to size, and a tiny one for the baby.

Plain b.u.t.tons are called servants, others animals and pets. The children arrange their families in pasteboard boxes, using pasteboard cards for chairs, carriages, etc. All children like to play "house,"

and a whole afternoon can be whiled away making stores out of cards, to do shopping in, and boats for the b.u.t.ton-children to play in. "School" also can be played and the boys enjoy forming rows of soldiers and parading up and down.

STEPS.

One child is chosen out. This one stands by a post or door with his back to the other players. The rest of the children stand in a row at the other end of the room or porch, as the case may be.

The one by the door counts 5, slowly or quickly, and then turns around. While he is counting and his back is turned, the others take as many steps forward as they can without being caught. If anyone is moving when the player turns around, they exchange places, and the game continues, the children advancing step by step toward the goal. When one has reached the goal and touched it, he can go back again and begin all over. The one who touches the goal the greatest number of times just by stepping, and has not been caught, wins the game.

HE CAN DO LITTLE.

All the players sit in a circle. One, knowing the catch, begins by saying: "Ahem, he can do little who cannot do this." While saying this, he taps a stick on the floor several times.

This stick pa.s.ses from one to the other in turn, each one thinking that the stick must be tapped a certain number of times, but the catch is that just before saying "He can do little who cannot do this," each one ought to clear his throat as the leader did at first. Allow the game to continue around the circle two or three times before explaining the catch. A forfeit is paid by each player who does not do it correctly.

WINK.

All the girls sit in a circle, and the boys stand outside, one boy behind each girl's chair. One chair is left vacant, but a boy stands behind it, and by winking at the girls one at a time, tries to get one for his empty chair.

As soon as a girl is winked at, she tries to leave her seat, and take the vacant one, but if the boy behind her touches her before she leaves the seat, she cannot go. Each boy has to keep his eye on the one who is winking and on the girl in his chair, for if he is not watching, she may escape before he has time to touch her, and then it is his turn to do the winking and get a girl for his chair.

If the winking is done quickly it adds to the interest of the game. No boy can keep hold of a girl all the time; he must only touch her when she starts to leave her place, and then if she is beyond arm's length, he cannot call her back.

DOUBLE TAG.

The children stand in pairs, one behind the other, in the form of a circle, all facing the center.

Two of them are out, one who runs away, and the other who tries to catch him. The one who is running away may place himself in front of any couple for safety and he cannot be tagged, but the child at the end of the trio must run, and if he is caught before he can stand in front of another couple, he is the catcher and pursues the other child.

PUSS IN THE CORNER.

All the children except one stand in corners, or in any fixed stations if there are not enough corners to go around. The one who is out stands in the middle to represent "Puss." The players then beckon to each other one at a time saying, "Here, puss, puss," and run and change places with the one who is called.

Puss tries to get one of the vacant places. If she succeeds, the child who is left out is "Puss," until she manages to obtain a place.

I HAVE A BASKET.

One child begins by saying: "I have a basket." The one to his left says: "What is in it?" The first one replies with the name of some article beginning with "a," as "apples."

No. 2 says: "I have a basket," and the next one to him says: "What is in it?" No. 2 replies: "Apples and bananas," (or some other word beginning with "b").

No. 3 says: "I have a basket." No. 4 asks the same question as before and No. 3 responds with "Apples, bananas, and cats," and so on, each in turn repeating what the others have said, and adding another article, which commences with the next letter of the alphabet.

Whoever forgets what the other articles were must pay a forfeit. Thus it continues until the last one has named all the articles in order, and ended with "z".

STILL POND, NO MORE MOVING.

All the children form a circle, joining hands. One is blindfolded, given a cane, and stands in the middle of the circle.

The children march around her, going fast or slowly until she taps on the floor three times with the cane and says: "Still pond, no more moving." The children drop hands, and remain perfectly still, right where they are.

The one in the middle feels her way toward the children, holding the cane in front of her. The first child who is touched with the cane must take hold of it. The blindfolded one says, "Grunt like a pig,"

and the one holding the cane must grunt, disguising her voice if possible. If the blindfolded one guesses who she is, they exchange places, and the game goes on as before, but if she fails, she has another turn and may tell the player to "Bark like a dog" or "Mew like a cat" until she guesses the right one.

RING ON A STRING.