Summer Classics
9 games you can play with your kids this summer—no power required.
01Hide and Seek
One person is “It.” (No, not the evil clown.) While “It” closes his or her eyes and counts to a 20—or 50, or 100—everyone else scatters and hides. Then the seeking begins. Last one to elude discovery wins\! Number of Players: At least three. Equipment: None.
02Kick the Can
Another It game. A person (or team) is “It” and a can is placed in the middle of the playing area. The other people run off and hide while “It” covers their eyes and counts to a certain number, then tries to find everyone. If a person is tagged by “It”, they go into a holding pen for captured players. If an un-captured player manages to kick the can, the captured players are released. The game ends once all the non-“It” players are in the holding pen. Number of Players: Ideally at least three. Equipment: A metal can (ideally empty)
03Four Square
Make a two-by-two matrix out of chalk squares; one player is responsible for each square. You bounce the ball from square to square—no catching or holding\! If you hit the ball out of bounds or can’t return a ball hit into your square, you’re eliminated. Number of Players: Four, unless you take turns. Equipment: Sidewalk chalk, a playground ball
04Jump-Rope and Double Dutch
It’s fun to jump by yourself, but it’s better with a long rope, a couple of friends, and some jump-rope rhymes. Alternately, there’s double dutch. (The first time you try it, you *will* trip, but once you understand how to do it, it isn’t as hard as it looks.) Number of Players: One for single jumping, three with a longer rope or for double dutch. Equipment: One or two ropes.
05Hopscotch
On a chalk hopscotch grid with squares numbered from one to nine, start by tossing a small rock onto Square 1. Hop over the rock and hop—one foot or two, according to the grid pattern—all the way to the end. Turn around and come back, stopping on 2; balancing on one foot, pick up the rock in 1 and hop over 1 to the start. Continue this pattern, beginning each time with the subsequent square; if you miss the correct square with the rock, your turn is over. Number of Players: Unlimited (but one goes at a time). Equipment: Chalk and a rock
06Jacks
Scatter the jacks onto any flat surface, often by just tossing them out of one hand, as if rolling dice. The ball is then tossed up, is allowed to bounce once, and is caught before the second bounce. The player tries to scoop up jacks and catch the ball with one hand before the ball’s second bounce. The number of jacks to be picked up goes in order. First you pick up one (“onesies”), then two (“twosies”), then three and so on. There are many variations to the rules of this game including things like “pigs in the pen” and “double bounces.” Number of Players: Any, taking turns. Equipment: A set of jacks and a small rubber ball.
08Crack the Whip
All the players hold hands in a line. The person at one end of the line runs around, changing directions quickly. The tail of the “whip” of players tends to get moved around with a lot more force than players closer to the front. The longer the tail, the harder it is to hold on. If the players at the end fall off the end of the tail, they can attempt to get back on, perhaps in a position closer to the front. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: None.
09Telephone
With players sitting in a circle, one person thinks up a sentence or phrase and whispers it to the next person. That person repeats it to the person on their other side. This continues around the circle. When it finally reaches the last person, that person says the (now-mangled) sentence out loud. Hilarity ensues. Number of Players: A small group. Equipment: None.
