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Playground games for kids Posted by on Jul 28, 2011 in Culture

I’m not sure if kids still play games like this outside, but these are the games I remember when I was small.

The games are very simple, easy to prepare and learn and lots of fun.

To play the first two games:  “Niebo i Piekło”  and “klasy” one need just a bit of the pavement (asfalt) or sidewalk (chodnik), a piece of chalk (kreda) and a small rock or stone (kamyk). These games are similar to American game called hopscotch.

The player starts by throwing a rock into the field with number “1” – then she/he jumps with one leg and tries to move the rock to the next field “2” by kicking it ; continue jumping on the same one leg through all the sections keeping the balance, making sure that the leg does not touch the line. If the participant would make this fault – the next person starts and she/he need to repeat it after waiting for her/his tour again. After a player finishes her/his turn successfully, she/he can continue by throwing the rock into the field number “2” and repeating the same thing until she/he successfully finishes all 6 rounds. The first one to finish all the rounds wins. If a player kicks the rock in the halfcircle niebo (heaven) he gets one extra round, if he kicks the rock into piekło (hell) he would lose one round.

Game “klasy” is similar to the previous one – the player jumps on one leg through the blocks “1”, “2”, “3”, then she/he may rest by putting her/his both legs on the pavement – the left on number “4” and the right on “5” , then jumps on “6” and “7” + “8” with both legs, then she/he flips the legs turning 180 degrees and repeats it again.

There are some variations of these two games – the participant can jump in more difficult verions with only left leg or with legs crossed.

These two games described above were mainly for girls up to 7-8 years old , the one below was usually played by boys, even up to 14 years old.

Boys play with the “ball” called “Zośka” which is either a sack full of barley (jęczmień) or sand (piasek). Each boy stands inside one circle ~1 m radius. Boys throw the ball by use of every part of the body except hands out of the circle – the most used parts are usually feet (stopy) and knees (kolana).

You lose your turn if:

  • the ball touches the pavement inside your circle – you need to maneuver so that you would either throw the ball out or hold it on the top of your shoe for instance.
  • you go outside your circle while playing with the ball.
  • when passing the ball, it does not reach the circle of the other boy.
Have you ever played these games? Maybe you played them differently? Please let us know in comments below.
Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)
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About the Author: Kasia

My name is Kasia Scontsas. I grew near Lublin, Poland and moved to Warsaw to study International Business. I have passion for languages: any languages! Currently I live in New Hampshire. I enjoy skiing, kayaking, biking and paddle boarding. My husband speaks a little Polish, but our daughters are fluent in it! I wanted to make sure that they can communicate with their Polish relatives in our native language. Teaching them Polish since they were born was the best thing I could have given them! I have been writing about learning Polish language and culture for Transparent Language’s Polish Blog since 2010.


Comments:

  1. kids shorts:

    Kids playing are more likely to develop their skills in socializing with other kids. They will be more creative, and able to express their selves.