Classic outdoor games for children

It seems that many of the classic childhood games that were played outdoors with little to no equipment, gadgets and the like are being lost. Kids don’t hear about these games most of the time, let alone how to play them.

Many of these are great exercises, cost nothing, and best of all, build wonderful childhood memories. Many of my best childhood memories are hours and hours of playing these various games with my brother, cousins, and anyone else who happened to be around.

Here is a list of some of my favourites:

Red Light Green Light – One person touches the “traffic light” and the rest try to touch it. Whoever touches it first wins. To start, all the children form a line about 15 feet away from the person at the traffic light. That traffic light faces away from the line of children and says “green light.” At this point, the children can move towards the light, some running, some walking or sneaking. At any moment, the person at the traffic light yells “red light” and turns around. If any of the kids are caught moving after this has happened, he’s out. This continues until the first player to touch the traffic light wins the game and earns the right to be the “traffic light” for the next game.

Kick The Can – This is a combination of hide and seek. One “it” person closes their eyes and counts to a high number, while everyone else hides. So, the person who reported that they have been guarding “the can” runs around the neighborhood to find everyone. The tricky part is that once a person is found, they have a race, where the person who was just found has to try and kick the can before the counter touches them. It seems like there are always kids hiding in a silly, easy-to-discover place, intending to run for the can if they get caught.

Marbles: A relatively smooth playing field is needed, usually on dirt. A small hole is made in the center of the playing area. Each player picks up a marble and they are scattered randomly across the playing field. Each player uses a large marble called a shooter to try to shoot the other marbles into the hole like billiards. Players take turns shooting, and if a player hits a marble in the hole with his shot, he gets to keep the marble he shot and shoot again. Of course, the simple exchange of marbles is always popular too.

Duck Duck Goose – Children sit in a circle facing each other. One person is “it” and walks around the circle. As they walk, they touch people’s heads and say if they are a “duck” or a “goose”. Once someone is the “goose”, they get up and try to chase them around the circle. The goal is to tag that person before he can sit in the “goose” spot. If the goose cannot do this, it becomes “it” for the next round and the game continues. If the “it” person is tagged, the tagged person has to sit in the center of the circle. Then the goose becomes him for the next round. The person in the middle cannot leave until another person is tagged and replaced.

Stick Ball – The game is played with a baseball bat and a ball, usually a tennis ball, so we didn’t break any windows. There are no teams, just one person to beat and everyone else in the outfield. The person with the bat throws the ball up and hits it. He then places the bat on the ground in front of him. The person who receives the ball throws it at bat from the place where the ball was picked up. When and if the ball hits the bat, it jumps into the air. If the batter does not catch the ball, the person who rolled it must bat. If someone on the field catches a hit before he hits the ground, he’s automatically ready to hit.

Hopscotch – Hopscotch is a wonderful jumping game that can be played on a sidewalk or pavement or on an indoor floor. There are hundreds of variations of the diagram that can be drawn. Use your favorite version for the kids to play. Use chalk to draw a hopscotch pattern on the floor or use masking tape on the floor. Create a diagram with 8 sections and number them. Each player has a marker such as a rock, bean bag, bottle cap, shell, button, etc.

The first player stands behind the start line to throw their marker at square 1. He jumps over square 1 to square 2 and then continues jumping to square 8, turns around and jumps again. Pause at square 2 to pick up the marker, jump to square 1 and exit. Then continue to throw the stone in square 2. All hops are done with one foot, unless the hopscotch layout is such that two squares are next to each other. Two feet can then be placed down with one on each square. A player must always jump over any square where a maker has been placed.

A player is out if the marker does not land on the proper square, the jumper steps on a line, the jumper loses balance when bending over to pick up the marker and puts a second hand or foot on the ground, the jumper steps into a square where is a marker, or if a player puts two feet down on a single box. The player places the marker on the square where play will resume on the next turn and the next player starts. Sometimes a dome-shaped “rest area” is added at one end of the hopscotch pattern where the player can rest for a second or two before jumping again.

Farmer in the Dell: Participants need about 15 or more standing in a circle. One person is chosen as the Farmer and stands in the middle. They all sing, “The farmer in the valley, the farmer in the valley; Heigh ho, the Derry-oh the farmer in the valley” and walk in a circle. The next verse is “The farmer takes a wife…”, which is sung while the first person chooses another person from the circle to go inside. The next verse is “The wife takes a son…”, when the second person inside the circle chooses a third person to be the son. This continues with “The boy takes a dog…”, “The dog takes a cat…”, “The cat takes a rat…” and “The rat takes the cheese…” The last verse is “The cheese is alone…”, when all the people inside the circle return to the outer edge of the circle and sing while the last chosen person “stands alone” in the circle, the game ends.

Try to remember some of your favorites and add them to the list. Recreate lost childhood games and pass them on to your kids and grandkids to enjoy, plus share a link to examples of what you did as a kid. It will help them see you in a new light.