Outdoor Games Today’s Kids Probably Don’t Know How to Play

 

1. HOPSCOTCH

Though there's an abundance of colored sidewalk chalk available for sale still today, kids rarely use it to draw a hopscotch grid. Back in the day, we usually had a choice of traditional white or maybe yellow chalk (often palmed from the blackboard ledge when the teacher wasn’t looking) with which to draw the playing field. Part of the fun of the game was the search for the “perfect” throwing stone (at least one flat side was preferred to avoid unnecessary bounce). Hopscotch wasn’t always strictly a kids’ game; Roman soldiers used to play the game in full armor as a military exercise.

2. KICK THE CAN

This game is sort of a hybrid of hide-and-seek and tag, but instead of actually touching the players, “It” must spot them and jump over the can (or bucket or other handy receptacle) while calling them out: “Over the can on Sandy—behind the big evergreen in Kosnik’s front yard!” If properly identified, that person was “out”. However, while It's back was turned, all the hidden players conspired to quietly run over to the can and kick it before being noticed. Much like flashlight tag, kick the can required players to run and hide all over the immediate neighborhood without regard for private property, which may very well have led to the “Hey you kids, get off of my lawn!” trope

3. JUMP ROPE

The advantage to jump rope was that it could either be a solitary activity or played with an unlimited number of people. All that was necessary was a length of rope (or something rope-like; in a pinch, even an electric extension cord would suffice). There were an abundance of skill games that every kid knew, all of which had their own “chant”. For example, “High, low, jolly, pepper” required the jumper to first skip over the rope at a level several inches above the ground, then skip in a crouched position when the rope was lowered, then spin in place while jumping, and lastly trying to keep up while the rope was twirled in double-time. Tripping up meant losing your turn, and it was time for the next player to see how many choruses of the song he or she could get through before stumbling.

4. CHINESE JUMP ROPE

Chinese jump rope did originate in China, and there is jumping involved, but the “rope” is a misnomer. The equipment involved was either an official industrial-strength elastic band sold in drug and toy stores every summer in the 1960s as a “Chinese jump rope” or an extra-long circle of thick rubber bands tied together. The two “ends” held the stretched band in place around their ankles, and the jumper was required to perform a series of prescribed maneuvers inside and outside the band before progressing to the next level.