Transcript Slide 1
Games & Recreation In Colonial Times By: Melanie Bis 7C4 ID2 In the Colonial days everyone was busy, but they always found some time for games and recreation. Games taught children how to aim and throw, how to solve problems and do things with their hands, and how to follow directions and rules. They also learned to be fair, to wait their turn, and to use their imagination. Every game was made of things they had around the house because they did not have factories to make them. In the Colonial days there were many children in families so they had many people to play with. Many of the games children play today were the games children played back then in the colonies. . •Play computer/video games •Watch TV •Play sports •Dance/gymnastics/drama •Play instruments Do any of you play soccer or baseball or softball? How many kids do you have on a team? If your nearest neighbor was a mile away, do you think you could get 1220 kids together to play a game? (No). So who do you think you would play with most of the time? (brothers and sisters) •Emerged from Ancient Rome •It was played in the dirt or on paper with a couple of rocks and acorns •Two players are needed •Object of the game: leave the opposing player with fewer than three pieces •Each player has nine pieces which move among the board’s twenty four spots and you try to line them up in rows of three •Place a piece on an empty intersection until you have three in a row. Then you remove an opponents piece. •You win when the other player is down to two pieces •Similar to bowling •Object of the game: knock down all nine pins •Pins were placed in a diamond formation on the lawn (lawns were bumpy which made the game tricky) •Set up nine wooden pins •Roll a wooden ball to knock down the pins •As they spun their hoops across the ground with a stick, the children would race each other from one point to another. •They competed with each other to see who could roll the hoops the fastest or farthest •Hoop was not easy to roll •Race the hoops around a circle or a building •First child around, still rolling the hoop, was the winner •Girls would toss and catch their hoops with two sticks •Dolls were made of rags and cornhusks •The more extravagant dolls were displayed and were not meant to play with •Using tiny stitches, girls stitched samplers and created birds and letters. •They made up mottos for their samplers. •Played with drums, marbles, hoops, popguns, tops (made of leftover wood and string) and kites. Their leather balls were stuffed with feathers. •Played with wooden toys •Archery helped them aim well and made hunting easier for them •Used sticks as imaginary horses •Ran sack races •Played games such as tag and blind man's bluff •They sung "Here We Go Around the Mulberry Bush" and "London Bridge is Falling Down“ •They climbed trees and skated on icy ponds. Instead of metal, their ice skates were made with wooden runners. •Quoits-ring toss, played with rope circles and stones, helped their aim and throwing •Played and listened to music •Jacobs ladder •Jump rope/hopscotch •Ball-in-cup •Read books •TOLD RIDDLES!!!! . Here are some Colonial Riddles: 1) What can be seen falling down, but never crying? 2) What kind of room is not in a house? 3) What has three feet, but cannot walk? Answers: 1) Rain 2) Mushroom 3) Yardstick http://www.lessonsnips.com/docs/pdf/coloniallife.pdf http://www.williamsburgkids.com/people/kidsplay.htm http://www.ehow.com/list_6856364_children_s-colony-games.html http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/415561/ninepins http://library.thinkquest.org/J002611F/recreation.htm http://www.ssdsbergen.org/Colonial/games.htm http://www.historicaltoymaker.com/History-of-American-Folk-Toys---Games.html http://www.pencaderheritage.org/main/teachtool/games.pdf Fun and Games in Colonial Times, By: Mark Thomas, Welcome Books, Copyright of 2002 by Rosen Book Works Inc.