Playground games from French skipping to French Knitting and Square Ball and Jacks between a game of tag

@Jackalyn (7559)
Oxford, England
September 17, 2018 12:28am CST
Did you ever play any of these games? I guess everyone played "tag." and off ground "tag." Then there was skipping. "High, Low, Dolly Pepper, (something something ).."easy under." "Pat a Cake" with hands. Peter and Iona Opie wrote a book talking of the enduring nature of playground games. But did anyone else play the following? French skipping...this was yards and yards of elastic bands joined together in a big circle. Two people held it apart while you dipped one foot in and out five times, then kind of twisted the bands and jumped out. The aim was to achieve this as the band got higher and higher, Jacks or fivestones...You had five metal or wooden "jacks" and a small ball. You had to bounce the ball while picking up the stones, one by one, then two by two and so on. Square ball...Here, you had to have a square divided into four. in one square was the semi circle where the person who was top would bounce the ball to start the game. the aim was to bounce the ball into the squares, but if you touched the lines you went down a square. French knitting..yards and yards of never used coils of "knitting" from a wooden doll. Do you remember these games, or what did you play? Do your children still play the same games?
6 people like this
8 responses
@anya12adwi (6037)
• India
17 Sep 18
I never did french skip but yeah I played tag way past in my childhood days.. Your post made me nostalgic!!
2 people like this
@Jackalyn (7559)
• Oxford, England
17 Sep 18
I thought it might bring up some happy memories for people.
2 people like this
• India
17 Sep 18
@Jackalyn No, it surely did.. and it is just that those days were better, more happier..
@xstitcher (30284)
• Petaluma, California
23 Sep 18
@anya12adwi Yup. Child hood memories are definitely better. I feel bad for what kids have to deal with nowadays.
1 person likes this
@allen0187 (58444)
• Philippines
17 Sep 18
I've played hide and seek and tag when I was younger.
2 people like this
@xstitcher (30284)
• Petaluma, California
23 Sep 18
We called "Square ball" "Four Square". "French Skipping" sounds like what we called "Chinese Jump rope" -- sort of. Ours wasn't "yards and yards" of elastic bands. Don't know the "High, Low, Dolly Pepper..." thing. I'm guessing a lot of these games were before me.
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (134458)
• Roseburg, Oregon
17 Sep 18
We played hide and seek and tag and jacks when I was a kid.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (458011)
• Switzerland
2 Oct 18
May be we called the games with a different name, I cannot remember those you mention. We jumped the rope, play hide and seek, Hopscotch, we played with a ball. Kids play with the balls a lot during summer here and now they have a trampoline where to jump.
1 person likes this
@Starmaiden (9311)
• Canada
17 Sep 18
We played hopscotch, jump rope, hula hoop, frizbie, hide and seek and tag. There was also Red Rover.
2 people like this
@Shavkat (137214)
• Philippines
17 Sep 18
When I was a kid, my playmates and I love outdoor games. Unfortunately, millennial kids are not into them.
1 person likes this
@theend (2778)
• Gifu, Japan
17 Sep 18
Are you nostalgic about your childhood?
1 person likes this