Do kids still play these childhood games of my youth?

My bride and DD were gone to AWANA's at church and I was sitting on the front porch enjoying the quiet time and watching three deer grazing at the edge of the woods.

My mind drifted off to my youth and some of the games I used to play until it was too dark to see and Mama called us into the house to get cleaned up and ready for bed.

Hide-go-seek

Tag

1-2-3 Stop light

Steal the bacon

Kick the can

Capture the flag

Cranes and Crows

Four square

I spy

Flash light tag

Kick ball

Roller bat

Red rover

Catching lightning bugs

Jump rope

Are these classic games still being taught?

 

Kent

My 9 year old son and his friends both boys and girls still play all of these .

Hide-go-seek

Tag

1-2-3 Stop light

Steal the bacon

Kick the can

Capture the flag

Cranes and Crows

Four square

I spy

Flash light tag

Kick ball


They have fun , Yes most of them me and the hubby taught him and the neighborhood kids but they love them and cant play enough ..I remember some of them as a kid myself and i couldn't wait till summer when it didn't get dark till 8 or 9 ..Those were the days

 

Good for you!

Oh, here's one I just remembered, throwing rocks up in the air and watching the bats dive down for them thinking the rocks were bugs/food.

 

and catching June Bugs and tying a string to their legs, holding onto them like a kite........, catching lightening bugs.........:mrgreen: 1,2,3 stoplight was one of my favorite!

 

My favorite game as a kid was Jacks. Used to spend hours in the floor playing it. I could never get my DD interested.

 

I'll admit I don't even know what all these games are! But my kids play (and love) the following: jump rope, catching lightning bugs, although don't see too many of them, tag and hide & seek. We also play red light, green light, is that the same as 1-2-3 stop light? We even play mother may I, although I'm not sure if I remember the rules correctly... I was an only child for a long time, so I didn't have anyone to play with unless my cousins came over, so I love having 3 kids in the house to play with sometimes!!:mrgreen:

 

My grandson loves tag and hide and seek. My son and grandkids also love hop scotch.

 

My boys played some of these games. I did get them into jacks for a little while. We used to drive to MI every summer to see my family and we always played I spy while driving down the road.

I have a question though..what is steal the bacon, cranes and crows and roller bat?

 

"Kick the can". Great memories of growing up on Barbour Street in Clayton. Our can was always set up under the street light on the corner across from "dgsatman" grandmom's house. You could hide in the 4 corner lots (Bain, Lassiter, Beard and Satterfield yards). All the kids participated. In those days traffic was very light in this area so it was very safe. But Mrs. Sat used to say "now you kids play safe".
Thanks for bringing back great memories.

 

Steal the Bacon

The object of Steal the Bacon is take the "bacon" back to your own side without being caught.

In this game, two teams are chosen, and one umpire is selected. One object is required to be the bacon. (a glove, handkerchief, or beanbag is a common choice)

The members of each team are numbered. They form two opposing lines and place the bacon in the exact center between them.

The umpire then calls out a number. The players on each side who are assigned that number are the players for that round. No other team members leave their side of the field.

Neither player may touch the other until someone touches the bacon. Once a player touches the bacon however, the other player may tag him/her.

If a player is able to grab the bacon and carry it back over to his/her own side, that team scores a point. (VARIATION: in some games, points are scored by carrying it to the other teams side or either team's side)

If a player is tagged after touching the bacon and before he/she returns their own side, the team that tagged him/her scores a point.

Note that the sequence of play usually involves the two kids running out and hovering over the bacon, waiting for a slight advantage to grab it and run back before the other player can react.

The game is over when a predetermined number of points are scored, or when all numbers have been called.

VARIATION: The umpire can call more than one number, in which case several players from each side participate. In some games, players may tag any player on the opposing team, in others, a player may only tag the player on the other team that they share a number with.


Cranes & Crows

Draw two goal lines about 50 or more feet apart. You may want to define sidelines as well.

Split the group in half.

Each team forms a shoulder to shoulder line facing the other team at midfield, about 10 feet apart.

Name one team the 'Crows'. Name the other team the 'Cranes'.

When the leader, who stands apart from the teams, yells 'CROWS!', the Crows must run back across their goal line without being tagged by a pursuing Crane. If tagged, the Crow stops and joins the Cranes for the next run.

When 'CRANES!' is yelled, the pursuit is reversed.

When 'CRABS!', or "CRAB APPLE', or something similar is yelled, everyone should stay still - anyone that moves is transferred to the other team. This part is particular fun, especially when the Leader moves suddenly in any direction, with the kids anticipating what the Leader is going to say.

The game ends when all people are on the same team and either the Crows or Cranes are extinct.

Roller Bat

Uses a bat and softball.

One kid hits the ball. The batter lays the bat down perpendicular to the ball. The other kid starts from where the ball lands and tries to throw or roll the ball back to the bat in one throw. If the thrower hits the bat, then he gets a turn at bat.

The batter stays up until someone hits the bat.

 

Funny... my DH has told me many times about when he threw a rock up for a bat and the rock came back down and hit him in the head, causing a gash and making him bleed. He thinks it's funny that his father nearly passed out when he saw all the blood. :lol: Must have been a pretty big rock!


I know my kids still play hide and seek.

 

those were the good ole days, Kent! wow, I so miss them! :lol:

 

We used to play Blind Man's Bluff on rainy days or cold days, indoors. We took out a couple of lamps probably over the years fumbling around in the dark with a stocking hat pulled way down over our eyes but it was fun. I remember wedging myself up into window ledges and trying not to breathe...and fighting with my brother because we would all try to cheat by tilting our heads back to catch a glimpse of movement.

 

My grandkids play a lot of those games, haven't seen them doing the bat one though even though i remember doing it as a child. They did tickle me this summer while playing in the pool and i heard them yelling Marco Polo, i remember playing that as a child in our neighborhood pool

 

As soon I saw this thread, before I saw your post, "Kick the Can" at Granny's was the first thing that came to mind.
My Dad taught the next (our) generation how to play Kick the Can on the same corner at my Grandmother's.. Back then downtown was full of families with like-aged kids, the Woodards and the Dalys up the hill on Blanche St, the Peeles down the street, the Mitchiners down Barbour and all the other close-by neighborhoods (Lombardy Park) We'de come in from "the country" (WAY OUT almost to the Primary School )The McCormacs would come over from Crescent Drive, and David Grey would get right out there and play with us. Even in the late 60's there still wasn't a whole lot of traffic and we could still "play in the streets"! What great times we had on hot summer nights!!!

And speaking of playing in the streets, When it snowed , Barbour Street was one of the best hills in town for sledding. If it snowed REAL DEEP, we might have to walk into town to Granny's. We would moan and groan but once we got there it was all worth it! Seems like the older kids, the ones with drivers licenses went sledding over on "Piney Mountain" (Amelia Road up behind McDonalds) As we got older and could drive we'de try to "Shoot the Curves' over in Starmount subdivision off o'Neil Street. Most everyone ended up in the ditch or the creek sooner or later!

Great times growing up in Clayton!!! Thanks Bucky, for sharing your memories and keeping them alive.

 

You know that caught my eye. Want some company Kent?? :mrgreen:

 

I hear ya!

 

I was out for my morning run before my shift starts and I thought about an old Twilight Zone episode that was about Kick the Can. Dang if isn't on youtube:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfHjglAr4mE&feature=related (kids come in at 2:50 - 5:20 timeline)

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcQlxed5icI

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLjxDUrBzjE

 

Don't forget about Marbles. I've still got my huge tub of marbles at home. I bet some of them are worth some money!

 

What about: Burp, and I'll tell ya what you had for lunch

That was always my favorite. Now do I really need to explain it?