Children's Games From Around the World

England

• "Please Mr. Crocodile" is a popular children̵7;s game in England. The child in the center of a circle of classmates asks, ̶0;Please, Mr. Crocodile, may I cross your river?̶1; Mr. Crocodile answers, ̶0;Only if you are wearing blue̶1; (or other color). Children wearing blue step forward; the other children race away as Mr. Crocodile tries to catch them.

India

• Children in India play the game "dog and bone," the object of which is to be the team that captures the ̶0;bone,̶1; usually a handkerchief. Children line up in two rows with 12 feet between them; the bone is placed between the two. Each child is given a number and when their numbers are called, the children race for the bone.

China

• Chinese children have fun with a simple game called ̶0;knocking the stick.̶1; The game begins with each player drawing a line in the ground; these lines should be eight feet apart. One of the players places a stick (about a foot in length) on one of the lines. The other player throws another stick at the first one; players take turns until one player is able to knock the stick over the other line.

Nigeria

• In the Nigerian game, called ̶0;jumping the beanbag,̶1; children tie the end of a long rope tightly around a large beanbag. The swinger is the child who will stand in the middle of a circle and swing the beanbag around. The other children make a circle around the swinger who swings the beanbag on the rope near the ground. Children try to jump over the beanbag; if they miss, they are out and the game. It continues until only one player is left.

Germany

• Children in Germany enjoy the game ̶0;hit the pot.̶1; One child is named ̶0;it̶1; and is blindfolded while another child puts a piece of candy in the pot and then sets the pot somewhere on the floor of the room. Then ̶0;it̶1; tries to find the pot by crawling along the floor, banging a wooden spoon until he finally hits the pot. The child who hid the pot becomes the new ̶0;it.̶1;