Hobbies And Interests
Where Is My Glove?
This game does not require any gaming equipment, just a small item that fits inside a hand. Gloves worn for tea, or a small button, work well for playing this game. Pick one girl to be the leader and begin the game. The leader asks the other girls to cover their eyes or turn and face a wall so they cannot see what the leader is doing. Have the girls sing the verse of one song while the leader hides the item. Parlor songs like, "Row, row, row your boat" or "B-I-N-G-O" keep girls focused while the leader tucks the small item away. When the leader has hidden her item, she returns to her seat and gives the signal to the other girls to begin their search. The first girl to find the small item becomes the leader and the game repeats until everyone has had a turn.
Hello! How Are You?
At the beginning of this game, the girls sit in a circle or around a table. Point to each child and have her tell the group her first and middle name. Do this around the table. Next, you pick a girl to start the game. She must turn to the girl next to her and say, "Hello! How are you? My name is Margaret Jane." Instead of saying "Margaret Jane," she will use the other girl's first and middle name. If she gets it right, she gets to continue around the table until she gets it wrong. Then the next girl at the table gets to try. This name guessing should always proceed with "Hello! How are you?" If the player fails to say it, she automatically forfeits her turn.
Rummy Cards
Teach girls cards games to play during quiet time in the parlor. Shuffle the cards and give every child seven cards. Place the remaining deck in the center of the table. Show girls how to play Rummy by collecting three or four of a kind or straights, which consists of three or more cards in order. Call these collections "groups." Girls wait their turn then choose to draw a card from the deck or the discard pile. After looking at their hand they must decide which one of their cards to discard. The players should lay their cards on the table as they complete their "groups." The first girl to play all her cards, either through discarding or making "groups," wins. Make the game more complicated by having girls hold all their groups in their hands rather than discarding them. When a player has completed her groups, she says, "Gin!" and lays her cards down.