Playground Games

Red rover. Dodge ball. Freeze tag. London bridge. Simon says. Do these ring any bells for you?

Recess, blessed recess! What child does not love the word? Children have not changed much in the 50+ years since I was in elementary school when it comes to recess. We’d watch the clock, waiting the morning recess bell to ring. Weather was not an issue unless the rain was pouring down. We went out in drizzle, hot sun, freezing cold and even in the snow. We didn’t care; we could run and yell and as long as we weren’t fighting no teacher intervened.

Recess always involved games of one kind or another. While baseball often dominated the Spring recess periods, not all of us played. We had other interests, like jump rope. There were rhymes that went with the actual jumping of the rope, like “Mary Able set the table and don’t forget the sugar, salt and red…hot…pepper!” On that last word the rope would be turned as fast as possible to see how long the jumper could stay “in.” Another favorite was “Johnny on the ocean, Johnny on the sea, Johnny broke a milk bottle, blamed it on me. I told Ma, Ma told Pa, Johnny got a whipping and a ha ha ha. How many whippings did he receive?” Then the rope would turn faster as the turners counted. We always tried to get Johnny a lot of whippings.

Hide-and-seek was another favorite game, with chants of its own. The person who was “it” counted to 100, then called, “Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie, who’s not ready holler I!” If you had not yet found a hiding place, you sang out, “I!” Then “it” would continue counting and repeat the rhyme again. When there was no response, “it” would yell, “Ready or not, here I come!”

Recently I heard about another playground rhyme, this one for the teeter-totter. The one who managed to put the other person high in the air on the teeter totter would chant, “Buster Brown, Buster Brown, what will you give me if I let you down?” I had never heard that before and it made me wonder how many other games and rhymes I missed.

In A History of Marshall County from Forest to Field (1925) author Scott Powell mentioned play parties. Where I grew up there were no such parties and I am fascinated (and a little jealous of) this Appalachian tradition. Powell wrote of a play party called a kissing party where a newlywed couple would be present and all young single men were expected to kiss the bride. These frontier men were bashful and taught to respect women and at one party many of them could not bring themselves to kiss the young bride. As one after another avoided kissing his wife, the new husband grew angry. Finally, he took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and threatened to beat the daylights out of all of them if the men insulted his bride by refusing to kiss her. Needless to say, all complied and the blushing bride was well-kissed by the end of the party.

I wandered by a playground just before school let out for the summer.  A jump rope was turning and I could hear a sing-song chant, although I could not make out the words. It was good to know that some things about childhood never change. Soon the playgrounds will be full of running feet again, and singsong rhymes will fill the air. Maybe I need to find myself a jump rope.

(This article was published in Two Lane Livin' last month. Sharing it here for your enjoyment if you missed the TLL version.) 

My thanks to the website Karen's Whimsy for providing great, free clipart.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Conferencing with Librarians

Today was the WV Library Association's spring mini-conference. My proposal to present a session on this year's summer reading theme was accepted so I've been busily working on stories and other things for the workshop.

Can you see the shakers and other rhythm instruments everyone is holding? (And the big Aiken Drum flannelboard story behind me along with bits of a flannelboard story from Korea?) The instruments went with a chant we were doing in an African story; the lady standing with me was a great story volunteer. I shared stories from China, Japan, Turkey, Africa and England along with songs from Chile, Africa, and China and a movement activity from Antarctica. Yes, Antarctica--I couldn't find a story for that cold continent so I rewrote a penguin fingerplay to include movement. In the photo we are doing the song from China--on the back of their animal pictures, I put the words to the song so it was easy to do.That little trick can be used at their storytimes for other stories and songs.

This year's theme One World, Many Stories is custom-made for storytellers. My presentation explored each continent through story, song, craft and even snack foods. I can well remember when I was a branch library manager and presented many children's programs. Finding time to research themes, find crafts and all the other activities to go with a program could be daunting--and I had the luxury of being part of a large library system with lots of resources. I know how it can be for smaller libraries with limited resources and staffing so I wanted to offer them program materials that could be used to create quality programs easily and inexpensively.

Along with program ideas, I brought many items for display--cloths and scarves from many lands that I've collected over the years (most from thrift stores), a paper umbrella from Japan, puppets, Chinese health balls, beads, matryoshka and kokeshi dolls, flags, etc. With an international theme like this one, the displays can be rich with color and texture. I could not bring all of the items I've collected because I think Larry would have gone on strike. Bless the man, he totes my stuff uncomplainingly in and out of so many places.

One of the ideas shared today: cut open a stuffed animal toy and remove some stuffing to make a good puppet. I needed an elephant, and this little fellow works quite well with a cut in his back and a handful or two of stuffing removed.

One craft idea I shared today was a zen garden. I discovered these while researching Japan and became intrigued with the concept of a waterless, plant-less garden. I thought about how much children would enjoy placing the stones and raking the sand, and came up with a miniature zen garden that is easy and inexpensive. All it takes is some sand, a paper plate, some smooth stones and a fork to use as a rake. Put the sand on the plate, place the stones and rake the sand into wave patterns. It's surprisingly hard to rake the waves evenly. The plate can be shaken slightly to erase the waves; then they can be re-done over and over again. Each librarian got a baggie of sand and stones, a plastic fork and a square black paper plate to make their own gardens. It's a little difficult to see the waves in my garden, but you get the idea. I found it so relaxing to do this; now I want to make a better one to keep on the coffee table.

I loved being with children's librarians again. Their energy, imagination and enthusiasm translates into the work they do with children every day. It's a lot of hard work, but each day brings new rewards. I was glad to be able to share some of my ideas with them, and I hope it makes at least a little bit of their work easier as they plan their summer programs.

Crafty Ladies, and Kids Too

Two of my sisters came to visit over the Fourth of July weekend, and Theresa even brought along her son, his wife and their three children. After the race on Saturday and the evening cookout and fireworks (more about both later) we were ready to settle down and be quiet on Sunday.

Both sisters have gardens and both love lavender, so we decided to make lavender wands. My lavender was a little past its prime but still fine for making wands so we cut a lot of stems and set to work. The concept was new to Susan, Theresa's daughter-in-law, but she was willing to give it a try. In the end, she outdid all of us, making a wand that was braided with three different color ribbons.

Hope, her granny Theresa and her mother Susan all work on wands.

I had some large glass beads in a bowl on the porch that I'd been thinking about using to make suncatchers. The beads were leftovers from a craft project I will be doing at a couple libraries this summer--the smaller beads in the packages I bought were fine but the big ones were just, well, TOO big. With so many willing hands available, it felt like just the right time to make the suncatchers. We used electric fence wire to string them and everyone picked out whatever combination of beads they wanted on their suncatcher.

Hope and her little brother Cade look hard at work, don't they?

My sister Maggie made the prettiest one, I think, in "ocean" shades, as she called it, and indeed the soft turquoises, blues, greens and clear beads were reminiscent of the ocean's colors. I wish I had taken pictures of the finished products because they were both imaginative and colorful. And all my beads were used, which made me happy. Maybe I will remember to post a photo one day of the ones I made myself. I bought the beads from Fire Mountain's online clearance sale and got a great deal on them; I made up over100 craft packets for my programs and still had about 50 or more of these big beads left.

When we were looking for ribbons for the lavender wands, Hope spied my box of supplies for spoon puppets. Of course we had to make those too!

Theresa was a good sport about helping with the finer bits of work--Garrett's puppet was colorful, with a metallic green dress and purple-pink hair. According to him and to Hope, they were making puppets to go with my story "Gracie's Cabin"--Garrett's puppet is Crazy Gracie, he told me.

Hope managed to do most of her puppet by herself. She made Annie Rose, I think, from the same story.

And here's Hope's finished product. To make these silly puppets, you only need a wooden spoon, some fabric about the size of a man's handkerchief, scissors to cut a tiny hole in the exact center of the cloth, some tape to hold the cloth around the stick after you put the stick through the hole, some glue (fast-drying is best!) to hold yarn hair in place, and markers, stickers, etc to make the face. In this case, we used peel-and-stick foam shapes. You can add ribbon, sequins, and all sorts of other things to decorate the puppets. To use them, just slip your hand under the cloth, hold the spoon handle with three fingers and stick out your thumb and index finger to make "arms" under the cloth. Simple, simple and yet I have seen children make the most amazing creations with these simple supplies.The spoons can be found at dollar stores, 4 or 5 in a package for $1.

It was a fun Sunday afternoon and evening, and when we were finished the kids had something to play with and the ladies had cool things to take home. And I had a little less stuff in my house, which is always a good thing.

If you need better instructions for making spoon puppets, try this book. It's the one I learned from and it has lots of other great ideas for making puppets with things you might have around the house. With the heat wave we're having right now, finding things for the kids to do in the house might be a good way to keep them occupied since it's too hot to be outdoors.

(Blogger has evidently made some big changes over the weekend, so please excuse any oddities about the placement of photos and text, etc in my recent posts. It's been a weird experience!).

Echo Songs

While browsing in some books this evening, I came across a mention of "echo songs." I knew about call-and-response songs and songs with a chorus for participation, but I'd never heard the term echo songs before. I expect all of us have heard or sung one at some time, and I've even used a few in performances. But I never heard them called echo songs.

What is an echo song? It's a song where the audience repeats each line after the singer. For example, here is Bill Grogan's Goat:

There was a man
There was a man
Now please take note
Now please take note
There was a man
There was a man
Who had a goat
Who had a goat

He loved that goat
He loved that goat
Indeed he did
Indeed he did
He loved that goat
He loved that goat
Just like a kid
Just like a kid

One day that goat
One day that goat
Felt frisk and fine
Felt frisk and fine
Ate three red shirts
Ate three red shirts
Right off the line
Right off the line

The man, he grabbed
The man, he grabbed
Him by the back
Him by the back
And tied him to
And tied him to
A railroad track
A railroad track

Now, when that train
Now, when that train
Hove into sight
Hove into sight
That goat grew pale
That goat grew pale
And green with fright
And green with fright

He heaved a sigh
He heaved a sigh
As if in pain
As if in pain
Coughed up those shirts
Coughed up those shirts
And flagged the train!
And flagged the train!

Most of the echo songs I've found have been silly children's songs like this one--fun to sing and share. Princess Pat and Bear in Tennis Shoes are other examples of echo songs.

Echo songs are excellent for getting audiences of all ages to sing. They don't have to worry about knowing the words and most of the melodies are simple and easy to follow.

There are even books of echo songs, like this one on Amazon.

I have used the echo technique to teach a song or refrain to an audience. For example, when I sing the Swapping Song, the refrain is sung quickly: "with a whim-wham-whaddle, with-a-jack straw-straddle, and johnny's-got-his-fiddle and he's-gone-on-home." It's easy for the audience to sing each part of the refrain after me until I can see they have it; then we sing it together. You can find lyrics to the Swapping Song on Mudcat.

So what's the difference between this method and call-and-response? In call-and-response the audience is often calling back something different to the singer, as in Did you Feed My Cow?:

Did you feed my cow? (Yes, Ma-am)
Could you tell me how? (Yes, Ma-am)
What did you feed her? (Corn and Hay)
What did you feed her? (Corn and Hay)

Did you milk her good? (Yes, Ma-am)
Now did you milk her like you should? (Yes, Ma-am)
How did you milk her? (Squish, Squish, Squish)
How did you milk her? (Squish, Squish, Squish)

For a classic version of this song,you can go here to buy a download of the incomparable Ella Jenkins performing it. Call-and Response is a lot of fun to sing with audiences although they usually need to be taught their "part" in advance.

There are many websites with more songs like those I've mentioned. Three of the best I've found are:

Kididdles is one of the best online with hundreds of songs and lyrics.

Another good site is Bussongs, which claims to have the largest collection of children's music online.

The National Institute of Environmental Health maintains a healthy collection of children's music, complete with midi files so you can hear the melody.

Secret Hiding Place

Tipper at Blind Pig and the Acorn wrote a post about her children's "camps" made with sheets on their Granny's porch. Her post made me remember things from my childhood and the ways we played, especially in the hot summer months of the pre-air conditioning world.

When I was little we lived in a tiny house in the woods that offered opportunities of all kinds for play. Pine forest, a crawl space under the house, sheds and ditches and a rose arbor were all perfect for the kinds of games we played. I was only 5 when we moved, but my memories of the little house are vivid. I remember well my first secret hiding place; it was in the woods, surrounded by bushes and not visible to anyone passing on the path nearby. A perfect place to hide.

(photo below was taken in Centreville, before we moved to the big house in Manassas. Apparently a game of cowboys and Indians was in progress.)

Our next house was big and old with large rooms, high ceilings, tall windows, and cool plaster walls. In summer, the windows were open and sliding adjustable screens let in any breezes that might stir the mimosa in Mrs. Blakemore's yard or the old silver maple in our back yard. A large fan on a stand rotated in the dark downstairs entrance hall and often we'd put our fingers through the open cage and let them rat-a-tat-tat on the blades as they whirled. Sometimes an unfortunate child would get their fingers in the wrong place and get whacked hard by the spinning blades, but I don't remember any cuts from the fans.

Dad made schedules for his thirteen children in the summer, and created to-do lists with incentive prizes for doing certain chores. This worked well to motivate us right after school was out, but after a while we'd get tired of the lists or we'd have developed a game we liked to play. So we'd do the assigned work but the incentive lists usually languished after the end of June. Dad's strategy was probably to keep us busy while we adjusted to being home--and to keep us out of Mom's hair while she adjusted to us being home.

By July one or two games were usually in full swing. We didn't play games like most people think of them; for us, games went on for days or weeks, even all summer. Our favorite was the Town we created in the back yard. There was little grass in the area immediately to the right of the back porch steps. We kept it worn off with our play. In the bare dirt we used our little beach shovels or Mom's garden trowel to create roads, dips, curves, intersections, shopping centers, schoolyards and farms. Each of us had a role to play--farmers, mothers, fathers, shopkeepers, teachers, doctors. I was usually the orphanage keeper and my name in our games was Uncle John and Aunt Susie (dual personality, I guess). Many an emergency, conflict, injury, death, wedding and party happened in the course of an afternoon ---who needed General Hospital with all the drama we had going on in our yard?

When it rained the fun moved indoors. Upstairs would become a Wild West town. We'd raid the attic for clothes, Joe would wear his play gun and holster, someone would have the popgun, and always we'd have a dance with Joe as the caller, standing on the dresser and singing ("I belong, I belong, on the lo-o-o-ne pray-er-ee"). Indians would raid, cattle stampede, gunfights were many and bloody and bodies often littered the floor. Joe or Tom played the sheriff and would pronounce guilt or innocence and generally keep the peace. When the town got too rowdy, the real boss--Mom--would make us settle down.

We played long-running Monopoly games that resembled some of the pictures I've seen of poker games--intent faces, piles of money, deal-making and breaking, occasional fights and tears. A single game once lasted almost a month, with money changing hands as quickly, and probably as crookedly, as on Wall Street.

When we got tired of each other's company, we all had our secret hiding places. I had several: the attic was best for reading, and there was always a breeze through the little half-moon window in front with the far-off view of the Bull Run Mountains. Under the front porch was cool and damp and kind of scary, and a good place to go with Judy if we wanted to be alone. The cherry trees were excellent in June when they were filled with cherries and a girl could climb into the branches and eat to her heart's content. There were plenty for me, the birds and for mom's jam-making. The side yard with my redbud tree and bluebell garden was fairly sheltered and if Miss Mary, who lived next door, wasn't home I could climb up into the redbud tree where I would be out of sight and could spy on brothers and sisters who played on the swingset. Why did I want to spy on them? I have no idea. Maybe I should blame it on Nancy Drew, since I read every one of those books and all of the Hardy Boys too during my attic visits.

I wonder if children still play games like these, and if they still have secret hiding places? As an adult, I sometimes long for the redbud tree and the sanctuary it offered when my little life felt too tumultuous and overcrowded with siblings.

Tipper's daughters still have that magical gift of childhood, the gift of play. I hope there are many other children out there with the same gift, touching the past and inventing futures to suit themselves. I am afraid that today's children are losing the magic of creative play. I hope that in some small town in America, there is a child building a castle under the dining room table or a fort behind the sofa. I hope a little girl or boy is exploring under a forsythia bush and finding a hidden-way world that only he or she knows. I want to believe that children are still chasing birds with salt shakers, looking for four-leaf clovers, lying on their backs and finding shapes in the clouds, catching tadpoles in puddles and finding wild berries along the sides of dusty roads.

I hope childhood is still the place of possible hopes and inspired dreams, where anything can and will happen for the child who imagines it into being.

Granddaughter Haley in the yellow apple tree--one of her hiding places at my house.