Lost Outdoor Games From Times Past

It appears that many classic outdoor childhood games that were played with few or zero toys, gadgets and such are getting lost. Children are not playing about these games as much as they used to, and many don't know how to play them.

These games can be a great form of exercise, cost nothing or next to nothing and most importantly building sweet lifelong memories of childhood. Some of my most precious memories were playing some of these games with friends, family and any child in the vicinity.

Here's some of my favorite games: Red Light Green Light - A person plays the "stop light" and the rest attempt to touch him/her. Whoever touches that person first is the winner. To start all the kids form a line about 15 feet away from the stop light person. That stop light person turns his/her back away from the line of children and says "green light". Then the kids move towards the stoplight person. At any point, the stop light person calls out "red light" and turns around. If any of the children are seen moving after calling out red light, they are out. This continues until someone reaches and touches the stop light person and wins the game and earns the right to be "stop light" for the next game.

Kick The Can - This is a mix of both hide and seek and tag. One person chosen is "it" and closes their eyes and counts to a number agreed upon my all. Everyone else hides during this time. Then, the person who counted and is in charge of guarding the can tries to find everyone. The tricky aspect is that when a person is found, they both race, to attempt to kick the can over before the "it" person tags them. There always seems to be those trickster kids hide in a dumb close by place, with the sole intent of running as fast as they can, for the can when they're caught, many times catching the "it" person off guard.

Marbles - A fairly smooth playing area is needed to play, many times on dirt. A small hole is created in the center of the playing area. A line is drawn with a finger making the parameter of the playing field. Each player puts a marble into the playing field, and they are randomly scattered around. Each player uses a large marble called a shooter to knock the other marbles into the hole similar to a pool player. Players take turns shooting, and if a player knocks the marble into the hole with his/her shot, they get to keep the marble they knocked in and shoot again. There are many variations to the game rules in marbles as well. Marble trading also used to be very popular.

Duck Duck Goose - Kids sit in a circle facing each other. One person is "it" and walks around the circle. As they walk around, they gently tap the person's head that they just walked past and say whether they are a "duck" or a "goose". Once someone is proclaimed a "goose" that person gets up and tries to chase "it" around the circle. The goal is to tag that person before they are able sit down in the "goose's" spot. If the goose is not able to do this, they become "it" for the next round and the game continues on like before. If they do tap the "it" person, the person tagged has to sit in the center of the circle. Then the goose become it for the next round. The person stuck in the middle can't leave until someone else is tagged and they are replaced.

Stick Ball - This game is played with a baseball bat or sometimes a broom or just a stick, and a ball usually a tennis ball so to reduce the risk of breaking windows. There are no teams, just one person taking a turn to bat and everyone else in the outfield. The batter tosses the ball up and hits it. He/she then places the bat on the ground in front of him/her. The person who gets the ball rolls it at the bat from the place where the ball was picked up. When and if the ball hits the bat it pops up into the air. If the batter does not catch the ball, the person who rolled it is then becomes the next batter. If someone in the field catches fly ball before it touches the ground, they are automatically the next batter.

Hopscotch - is a hopping game that is fun, good exercise and encourages balance. It can be played either on a cement area, sidewalk or indoor floor. There are many pattern variations, so try different ones, but chalk or tape 8 sections out and number them. Each person has some type of marker that's theirs, like a button, rock, or something else similar.

The first person stands behind the starting line to toss her or his marker in square 1. Hop over square 1 to square 2 and then continue hopping to square 8, turn around, and hop back again. Pause in square 2 to pick up the marker, hop in square 1, and out. Then continue by tossing the stone in square 2. All hopping is done on one foot unless the hopscotch design is such that two squares are side-by-side. Then two feet can be placed down with one in each square. A player must always hop over any square where a maker has been placed.

A player is considered out if the marker doesn't land in the proper square, the hopper steps on a line, the hopper looses his or her balance when bending over to pick up the marker and puts a second hand or foot down, the hopper lands in a square where a marker is, or if a player puts two feet down in a single box. The player puts the marker in the square where he or previously was and it's the next person's turn. Sometimes a rest area is added on the end of the hopscotch pattern where the player can rest for a second or two before hopping back through.

Farmer in the Dell - Participants needs about 15 or more stand in a circle. One person is chosen as the Farmer and stands in the middle. Everyone sings, "The farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell; Heigh ho, the Derry-oh the farmer in the dell" and walk around in the circle. The next verse is "The farmer takes a wife . . .," which is sung as the first person chooses another person from the circle to come to the inside. The next verse is "The wife takes a child . . .," when the second person inside the circle chooses a third person to be the child. This continues with "The child takes a dog . . .," "The dog takes a cat . . .," "The cat takes a rat . . .," and "The rat takes the cheese . . .." The final verse is? The cheese stands alone . . .," when all people on the inside of the circle go back to the outer edge of the circle and sing as the last person chosen "stands alone" in the circle, the game is then finished.

Reminisce about some of your favorite games and add to the list. Bring back the lost games of childhood to pass on to your children and grandchildren to play, plus share a special bond with them through the examples of what you did as a child. They will begin to see another aspect of your life.