Hobbies And Interests
Duck-Duck-Goose
Duck-duck-goose is a for a group of four or more. The children sit in a circle and one child walks around the circle patting each player on the head saying "duck." When she says "goose," however, the chosen child must stand up quickly and tag her before she has a chance to steal his seat. If she's tagged, she starts over. If she steals the seat, the other child is now "it."
Hopscotch
Hopscotch is a game for two or more, yet children also play alone to practice. The hopscotch "board" is a pattern of squares painted or drawn with chalk on the ground. Each square is worth a certain amount of points. A marker (bean bag, coin, rock) is thrown by the first player onto the first square. If it lands in the square without going into another square or out of bounds, the player hops on one foot down the pattern. If he completes the board, he gets the number of points in the first square. The next turn will be throwing the marker into the second square and repeating until all squares have been played. If the child doesn't complete the board properly (i.e., both feet land in a square or one foot lands out of bounds), the turn is over and passes to the next child. Children keep going until they miss a step.
Freeze Tag
Freeze tag is a game for three or more, with one player designated as "it." The other players run and the "it" player tries to tag them. Tagged players stop and freeze in place. Frozen players can be unfrozen if a not-it player tags them. The last person tagged becomes "it." The person who is "it" needs to make sure all players are frozen in the end, with the last person tagged and frozen becoming "it."
Red Light, Green Light
In red light, green light one player is the "light," and stands at the opposite end of a field or large backyard from the rest of the players, who stand in a horizontal line. The "light" player begins the game by turning her back on the other players and saying "green light." The other players then run forward. Whenever she chooses, the "light" player says "red light" and turns around, at which point all players must stop. If someone is still moving when the "light" player turns, they are eliminated from the game.
Mother, May I?
Mother, may I? is played with three or more children. One child plays "mother" and the players ask her questions like "Mother, may I take two steps forward?" The "mother" answers either "Yes," or "No, but you may ..." and makes a new suggestion. The suggestions can be to move forward in another way, move backward or do something silly, like dance. Players take turns asking questions, and the first one to reach "mother" wins, becoming the new "mother" for the next round. If a player asks a question without saying "Mother, may I," he loses a turn.