What games did you play at school?
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381809)
Rockingham, Australia
April 9, 2022 3:26am CST
I’m on a roll here with stories from my school-days. At the time I started school, Australia was welcoming a lot of what were politely called ‘New Australians’. These were people from European nations; many displaced persons or refugees from World War II. They came out with nothing to try to make a new start.
The children soon integrated into our classes and quickly learnt English. Many would have to go with the mothers to appointments or shops to interpret for them. I remember some of us figuratively putting a fat Dutch boy into a pot and cooking him in some game we were playing.
Marbles was a popular game as was football and ‘brandy’ - lining kids up agains a brick wall and trying to hit them with tennis balls. Playing chasey, skipping rope, playing with hoops – games seemed to wax and wane in the popularity stakes.
Maybe you’d like to write a post about the games you played at school. 
Photo is of me at an agricultural show (State fair). I had an infected ear at the time.
Photo is of me at an agricultural show (State fair). I had an infected ear at the time.25 people like this
28 responses
@JudyEv (381809)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Apr 22
The photographer had them. I'm surprised they were so tame. We were well out in open spaces.
@JudyEv (381809)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Apr 22
Volleyball is a great game. I was useless at sports but during play- and lunch breaks we'd play all sorts of things.
@JudyEv (381809)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Apr 22
@58lordstreet And for some sport sessions, we had medicine balls which were incredibly heavy. I'm not sure of the purpose of them.
@58lordstreet (1668)
•
10 Apr 22
@JudyEv it used to kill my wrists because the school only had basketballs not proper volleyballs
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381809)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Apr 22
Haha - good for you and I've read your contribution. I hope you get lots of comments - and lots of pennies.
@bunnybon7 (50970)
• Holiday, Florida
9 Apr 22
you cutie you. I just posted about how I bought my own school clothes at 12 yrs. 
2 people like this
@LeaPea2417 (40020)
• Toccoa, Georgia
9 Apr 22
In elementary school the main game we played was Kick Ball. In middle school it was Volleyball. I never liked those games but I had to play it. By the time I got to High School and sports was more of an elective, I didn't play any sports.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (40020)
• Toccoa, Georgia
11 Apr 22
@JudyEv In elementary school I liked to swing on the swing set.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381809)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Apr 22
@LeaPea2417 Swings were always good fun.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174216)
• United States
10 Apr 22
What did your parents do to doctor your earache? Dad used to blow smoke from his pipe into our ears and mom would immediately stick a cotton ball in and tell us to leave the cotton alone. That might happen a couple of time aver a day and the ear felt much better.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174216)
• United States
10 Apr 22
@JudyEv I don't know why dad blew smoke into our ears. But it seemed to work.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381809)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Apr 22
@DaddyEvil Some of the 'old wives tales' did work well - for whatever reason. Maybe it was just having belief in it that made it work.
1 person likes this
@58lordstreet (1668)
•
11 Apr 22
@JudyEv grandmothers footsteps or something like that
2 people like this
@FourWalls (86575)
• United States
9 Apr 22
Red Rover was popular (two sides made chains and called “Red Rover, Red Rover, we dare (child’s name) over.” And the object of the game was for the child to get past the “blockade” the other side had made. Dodgeball was fun, too. Those were the early grade games. I remember having a trampoline in physical fitness (PE) class in, I think, the 4th grade. That was a lot of fun!!
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86575)
• United States
10 Apr 22
@JudyEv — a meteorologist in Alabama calls them the state bird because they go flying all over the place during severe weather.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381809)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Apr 22
@FourWalls When they first came out, they didn't have the net walls on them like they do now. I can imagine they'd take off easily in the wind.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222288)
• United States
9 Apr 22
Cute picture with you and the birds! I remember we jumped rope and played Red Rover.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381809)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Apr 22
@LindaOHio We very seldom had any ice around to play with.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222288)
• United States
10 Apr 22
@JudyEv When we waited in the parking lot for school to start we slid our lunchboxes along the ice that formed on the ground. I'm surprised the thermoses survived.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
10 Apr 22
I remember kick ball being a popular game on the playground. We also played a game with baseball cards called matchies. In “matchies,” a player drops a card from about waist high and his opponent tries to match it (face or back) by a similar drop. A match wins the first card; a nonmatch loses the card.
1 person likes this
@58lordstreet (1668)
•
9 Apr 22
kingy ..... not really sure of the rules now , think you had to hit the person with a tennis ball on the legs or feet .Cant find anything about it so I may have imagined it lol
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381809)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Apr 22
Mostly it was just boys and sometimes they'd get told off for throwing the ball too hard. Hopefully they did aim for the feet or legs.
@JudyEv (381809)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Apr 22
- that is very posh indeed!! I don't think that will be matched. @JudyEv (381809)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Apr 22
@58lordstreet Yep. Polo would be up there with lacrosse.
