Recess at School

All testing is completed! We are down to the last few days of school. That's a great time when you are a kid (well... teacher, too). Usually, this means a little more free time within the day and lower stress levels. 

The weather is great.  I am watching all the kiddos outside playing right now. Hallelujah! Bring on the fun. 

Made me think about recess in the "old" days of my elementary years. You don't hear of these games much anymore. But here are  two very popular outside games that we played all the time.

Red Rover, Red Rover In this game, the kids form two opposing lines and attempt to "break through" the opposing team's line. At first, two teams are chosen of equal size, and they form two lines, facing each other and holding hands. One side starts by picking a person on the opposing team and saying "Red Rover, Red Rover, send ___ right over." Jason then lets go of his teammates and begins a headlong rush for the other line. His goal is to break through the line by overpowering the kids as they hold on to each other. If Jason breaks through, he chooses one person for the opposing team to join his team, and they both go back and join in their line. If he fails to break through, Jason becomes part of the other team. Each team alternates calling people over until one team has all the people and is declared the winner. Note that since all the players are on the winning team at the end, there really are no losers in this game.

Drop the Hanky

Have the children form a circle and stand facing each other.

Choose one child to be "it" by drawing straws or guessing a number. The child who is "it " holds a handkerchief or a piece of cloth and begins running around the outside of the circle.

Wait for the "it" child to eventually drop the hanky behind one of the other children, whereupon he will take off running as fast as he can. The child behind whom the hanky was dropped must pick it up and run after the "it" child to try to catch him. The "it" child's goal is to run completely around the circle and get back to the open space before the child with the hanky does.

Watch for the child with the hanky to catch the "it" child; if she does so, the "it" child must be "it" again, and try once more to get a spot in the circle. The game can be played for long as the children remain interested.