GAMES AND
RECREATION
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Pictures by Leslie and
Shawna
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The children would play at
holidays and celebrations. The family had fun and games when they had
some free time. Children did not have as much free time as children
do today. Some children played in their yard. Others played in the
school yard after school. Mostly they played outside. Children had
lots of fun at fairs. Everybody had bonfires on streets. A public
celebration was held in the ballroom of a large inn. There were many
games that were played in Colonial times.
Blind
man's buff was a game of
tag. Huzzlecap was a game where they had pennies and pitched them.
They also had races the same way we have races now. The kids also
played catch the greasy pig. You had to grease a pig first, then try
to catch it. There was another game called climb the greasy pole.
First you grease the pole then climb it. If you got to the top you
would be the winner. Kids sang "Here we go around the mulberry bush"
and "London Bridge is falling down." Most of all, the boys liked to
play ball. They played with a leather ball filled with feathers. Boys
had drums to bang and popguns to pop. They had hoops to shoot, kites to fly, trees to climb, and icy
ponds to skate on. Their skates were made with wooden runners.
Colonial girls played mostly with
dolls. Their dolls were made with rags and corn husks. Some girls had
wooden dolls. These were not meant to be play things. They were
really fashion dolls. In big towns, like Boston, the dolls were put
in shop windows. All children liked to play quoits. The adults had dancing competitions. Shoes were
the prize for dancing.
by Brian P., Leslie, and
Shawna
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Hoops
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TRY
THIS
Take some old ice skates
and take the blades off. Then make some wooden blades and put them on
the skates and see how well you can skate in the winter.
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Play Blindman's Buff
This is how you play. You
go outside and blindfold him or her and they try to tag you.
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Quoits
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