ALL FUN AND GAMES

Here are three of Thérèse Hoyle’s favourites.

Snakes

Time: 10 minutes; Age: 6–11; Ideal number of players: 5+ Equipment: One long skipping rope.

How to play: Two players hold the end of a long rope and wiggle the rope back and forth (at a suitable speed) so that it looks like a snake. Everyone else is a jumper and they take turns trying to jump over the snake without touching it. If a jumper touches the snake, he changes place with one of the players holding the end of the rope.

The Laughing Circle

Time: 10 mins; Age: 5–11; Ideal number of players: 10–20 Equipment: None. How to play: The first person lies down on his back. The second lies down on his back with his head on the first one’s stomach. The third lies with her head on the second one’s stomach and so on. The first one says “ha” while trying not to laugh, the second follows with “ha, ha” and so on. This game generally ends up with players in roars of laughter. You can try other sounds in the same way, for example, ‘ho’.

Grandmother’s Footsteps

Time: 15 mins; Age: 5–11; Ideal number of players: 6+ Equipment: None. How to play: Players stand at a “home” base in a line. Grandmother stands with her back to them about 10 metres away. The players creep forward, but when Grandmother whirls round they must stop advancing and freeze. If she sees any of them moving, she sends them back to the starting line again. The child who is the first to touch Grandmother becomes the next Grandmother.