Tell Unicef UK the playground games you loved as a child - £300 voucher to be won!

[EmmaMumsnet]

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Unicef UK are launching this years Soccer Aid Playground Challenge and would love to hear about the playground games you used to play at school and what games your children play now. The playground is the highlight of the school day where children can burn off all their energy and play with their friends; share below what you loved to play when you were at school and if any of the games have passed down generations.

Here’s what Unicef has to say: “This year, we’re asking all schools across the UK to join us for the Soccer Aid Playground Challenge to help raise money to help give more children around the world a childhood full of play. The idea is simple – teachers team up with their pupils, design an obstacle course that they will take on together, and fundraise to help children in danger in June 2019. Ask your school to sign up here and we’ll send everything you need for kick off - including fundraising and teaching resources to bring Soccer Aid to life for the whole school.”

Alex, Head of Sports for St Dunstan’s RC Primary School, Manchester says: “The Playground Challenge was the perfect way to get the whole school together for a great cause. Everyone (including staff!) had the best time raising money to help children all over the world.”

So what playground games did you love as a child? Were you Queen of hopscotch? Or perhaps you practised your circus skills with stilts? Maybe you created your own playground football league or were seriously skilled at skipping? Do you know if your children still play the same games now at school?

Everyone who posts below will be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list)

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Terms and conditions apply

My favourite games were Red Rover, French skipping and the bounce ball wall.

We played skipping and elastics. Also hide and seek and another form of hiding game called 40 40.

Grandmother's footsteps, and another game called letters in your name, where the caller would call a letter and if it was in your name you could step forward as many times as it occurred in your name. Winner was first one to get to the finish line. And tv programmes where someone sang the theme tune and you had to guess the programme.

And Shirley Temple. Tis was a game where everyone was in a ring, and the "Shirley Temple "was in the middle. The song went "I'm Shirley Temple, the girl with curly hair, I've got two dimples and I wear my skirts up there. I'm not able to do the sexy cradle, I'm Shirley Temple the girl with curly hair." She would then choose someone from the circle and dance round with her to "Slemmy, Slemmy, I see Slemmy! Hands up there, skirts up there, I see Slemmy!" Then the new girl would be Shirley and the previous Shirley would return to the ring. I have since learned that the "sexy cradle" should have been Betty Grable and Slemmy should have been Salome, but that's what we sang in the late 60s/early 70s.

Tig and it’s lovely to see how it has endured, my kids play this at school with their friends too 30 odd years later.

Skipping! Always skipping!

tinker tailor with elastic was a firm fave followed by the good old fashioned tig lol

elastic
skipping
british bulldog,
queeny queeny who's got the ball
dobby off ground

Another British Bulldog player here (albeit a slightly modified version with a name that would be too outing to share as it was so specific/unusual!) - ours was modified so it was a bit less violent, but still got banned once a year after someone got injured...

British bulldog - until it got banned. Also banned was something we used to do on windy days, I don't know if it had a name as such but it involved lifting the bottom corners of your jacket up to near your shoulders, the wind would make your jacket into a sail and you'd literally be blown across the playground.

Skipping, by yourself or with two others turning a long line. There was a brief craze for Double Dutch skipping after the song in the 80s. Also very popular at our school was French Elastics.

British bulldog got banned at our school. It was absolutely brutal! (We played at at home in our terraced street though)

We liked kerby, and chase. My little ones don't have a jerb in their playground and I'd feel sorry for them of they didn't have masses of equipment and older children who are play buddies and help organise games and make sure everyone is included

Child of the 70's, I loved juggling and skipping (the version where two others held the rope). I think I liked the songs that went along with both of these games. More physical games like British Bulldog (or Cocky Rusty as we called it!) I never liked.

What time is it Mr Wolf & Hopscotch were big in my day. When my girls were in Junior school the school provided hoops, footballs & cones at Playtimes & lunch. Games were supervised by playground "helpers"

Oranges and lemons say the bells of St Clements.
I owe you 5 farthings said the bells of St Martins
When will you pay me said the bells of Old Bailey
When I grow rich said the bells of Shore Ditch
(then there might have been another verse I've forgotten)
Here comes a candle to light you to bed.
Her comes a chopper to chop off your HEAD!!!

Anyone remember that one?

I loved tag hopscotch and leapfrog. I also did a lot of skipping.

Have very happy memories of playing what's the time mr fox, British bulldog, tag and hide and seek. Also here we go round the mulberry bush.

They've all been banned..

I always LOVED playing elastics, it was where someone brought in their elastics (basically lots of rubber bands joined together, a bit like loom bands) and two children would stand inside the large elastic loop and do all sorts of clever jumping and dance moves whilst keeping the elastics round their ankles. I was never lucky enough to own a set and I was pretty rubbish at it, but it was always a good day in the playground when someone brought their elastics in!

Cat and mouse, melting candles, polo, what time is it Mr Wolf (still played today by kids at school), tiggy Bob-down, red rover... Oh, there were loads. Although we had three playtimes- morning, lunch and afternoon. All the primary schools I know of now only have two - morning and lunch. I think it's a very sad state of affairs. Children need to burn off steam and an extra fifteen minutes of running around would do them a world of good in the age of childhood obesity.

I liked elastics, as people have already described it. I don't think my children have any idea about that game.
Also bulldog (banned by school), marbles (also banned by school), and stuck in the mud.

elastics and british bulldog

In the summer, we were allowed to play in the field, which was rough cut so hay would form in the longer grass areas. We used to build 'houses' out of the hay, so the ground floor plan of a child size house, and we would invite our friends to come and visit, like we were grown ups!

I believe marbles were very very popular when I was in primary, can't see it happening these days due to health and safety:(

Skipping games
British Bulldog (until it was banned!)
Hide and seek

Oh, elastics, I absolutely loved playing that, plus leapfrog and hopscotch. Great fun!
Plus we had a tuc shop which was great.

Elastics, skipping, 'it', British bulldog, grandmas footsteps. We played races, gymnastics and hide and seek when the fields were open in summer.

French skipping