MP has got me reminiscing about my playground days and the games we used to play. Favourites were

British Bulldog
Elastics (really long piece of elastic placed around ankles and a 3rd would have to do various actions - like a giant cat's cradle)
Cat's cradle
Leapfrog - how high could YOU go
I-spy - using a telescope type thing that you could see around corners with
Skipping rope - never mastered the double jump rope thingy though

In winter - making a skid patch on the snow

Your turn

How young are talking? I had a pedal car.

The kid next door had a much better one.

I had a red one

As young as you like, if it involved a playground

Typical female. had to mention the colour. I mean, how fast did it go?

Does train spotting count?

As fast as me wee legs would go Unstoppable downhill

My neighbour also had a push along steam engine. He kept his snacks in the tender.

Elastics- which we called French Skipping. Skipping (under the moon and over the stars) but the best one was making jumps in the back garden out of dustbins and brooms, or whatever we could get our hands on, and then be horses and jump over them.
Also seasonal games like conkers and snowball fights ( the latter was rare as we lived in Wiltshire, which isn't generally snowy.)

Juggling tennis balls against the wall

Penny toss - throwing money to get closest to a wall - closest wins the money

The hand clapping things - sorry cant think

marbles

Marbles.

used to love the metallic ones and the really big ones

metal ones were called steelies

Can't remember what we called the big ones.

We called the big ones "dobbers"

That was a particular favourite of ours. I grew up in a terrace of 7 houses on an estate and we used to bounce the balls against the wall of the end house (we were in the middle one, thank goodness)


The man who lived there was a fireman and if he was on nights he used to spend most of the day chasing us away


I was just trying to remember some of the songs we'd sing while we were playing but they've all escaped me.

We also used to play 'What's the time Mr Wolf' and another game I can't remember the name of where one person stood across the road and would shout instructions like '3 giant steps' ''2 baby steps', I think you had to get across the road to them without being caught out. Or something.

And trying to work out how many different things you could do in between ball bounces/throwing the ball. Under the legs, clapping, turning round, touching the ground etc

This is such an inspirational thread <writes list of things to teach kids>