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

[EmmaMumsnet]

NOW CLOSED

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

I loved those cats cradle things, where you could stretch the string or elastic out on your hands and a friend would move them around to create different sequences to create the cats cradle! You took it in turns if I recall and it transferred on to each others hands.

I also loved "French skipping" games with 3 or more players that uses elastic around the ankles, and you jump over it while singing a rhyme, and raise it higher each time. I had a pink elastic that we used a lot!

Ooh and i just remembered Oranges and Lemons!! And being chopped!

Of course, there were the rhymes to decide who went first.
"Ibble obble chocolate bobble, ibble obble out".

There was "patball": bounce a tennis ball on the ground so it hit a wall and bounced back to you, and you'd try to "pat" the ball so it did the same again.

Tails: running around with a sock or similar stuffed into your waistband as a tail; you would try to grab someone else's, while defending your own. As adults, we sometimes play this as a warm up before netball!

Another game we liked was to cover someone's eyes, and then clap to see if they pointed in the right direction, doing it from lots of different places, and giving them a score out of ten. It sometimes ended with telling them the last one would be very quiet; and then we would make no sound at all, try not to giggle, and time them to see how long it was before they said something, or lifted their blindfold, or we all burst out laughing.

Sardines was my absolute fave. I've totally forgotten the rules though, and the DC don't seem to play it at school any more.

Me and my friends loved playing seven stones. We'd pile up seven reasonably flat stones into a tower, draw a line about 2 ft away from it on both sides, then two teams would line up, one behind each line. The person at the front on team A would try to knock over the stones with a tennis ball. If they missed they went to the back of their line and the team B had a turn. If team A managed to knock the stones over they would all scarper as team B got the tennis ball and tried to hit them below the knee. Team A would have to try to avoid the ball and build back up the stones. If you were hit you were out, but if your team managed to build back up there stones before all members were caught, you won the round. If not the other team did. We loved it and got quite competitive!

Elastics mostly but also what's the time Mr Wolf. I did injure myself badly playing this though as I went headfirst over a fence and down the 6 foot drop on the other side!

British Bulldog was ace! But banned eventually. What's the time Mr Wolf. Ooh POLIO!!! Various skipping games and Power Rangers.

When I was younger (primary-aged) I remember playing jump rope, tag and hand/clapping games and forty-forty. At secondary age we had a revival of some of those and would spend many break times playing sardines, forty-forty or British bulldog.

Has to be hopscotch!! Do think we need more playgrounds & more green spaces

I loved playing elastics and skipping with a long rope!

I loved queen I’ve, queening who’s got the ball, what’s the time mr wolf, playing with a large piece of elastic stretched around two peoples legs ( no idea what that was called) clapping games, conkers and off ground tag.

Elastics and long rope skipping, one person each end rotating the rope. It was great fun. Also conkers.

Elastic and kiss chase also lots of clapping hand games

We used to play a game called 40 40. I remember really liking it - everyone hid except for one person (the catcher) and you had to try to get back to a central base without the catcher catching you. Cross between it and hide and seek.
I was rubbish at it. Totally rubbish. But it was fun. I'm sure it's played now but under another name.

A rhyme that went eggs, bacon, chicken and cheese, what do you want before you sneeze, around the world in 80 days, on your flying carpet.

@ImportantWater Ours was 'eggs, bacon, fish & chips, strawberry jam and ice cream, which do you prefer, her...fast, medium or slow' then the rest was the same as yours 😁

Also 'Polo' and the one with pigeon steps, giant steps - did you have watering can?- You had to spit as far as you could 🤭 and lamppost where you laid flat on the ground.

The 'Please Mr Crocodile' one (we called him Mr Fisherman and said ugly daughter) it ended with whoever had the colour running to the other side, the person who got caught was 'it' next.

Anyone remember 'Peggy leggy'? - 'Peggy leggy lost her leggy on the way to school, what by?' then everyone chose something and the person whose thing was picked, and the picker, had to push the other one over whilst hopping on one leg. The winner got to be the picker.

Happy days 😊

I loved playing hop scotch and with the skipping ropes! Wish I could still do it without getting this look haha!

'It', or tag as my children call it. Loved this in the playground. Football and bulldog were popular. Did a fair bit of skipping and playing on play equipment too. At high school mine had massive playing fields which we used to go to the very end of and sit and chat when I was a teenager. Not quite as active!

The same as others in here, what’s the time mr Wolf and kiss chase etc.
We also invented clubs like book club where we would discuss Judy Blume books and rubber club where we would compare and rate our rubbers
I also was in charge of a game in the juniors where we would act out the previous nights episodes of The Bill. No one really was allowed to watch it and my bedtime was halfway through it so it wasn’t really a very good game.

Four corners: four spots of the playground were numbered 1 to 4 (or would probably now be Gryffindor, Slytherin etc). "It" was blindfolded so they couldn't see which corners people had chosen to stand in. "It" would call out a number, and everyone in that corner was out; repeat until there was only one person left, who was the winner. We had the rule that if "it" called out a corner with nobody in, then somebody who was out would become "it".

The Big Ship Sails Down the Ally Ally O - there was a large metal ring attached to a wall and we'd all go under the first person's arm as they held the hook so we all ended up with crossed arms.
Pushing one another off the (low) stone wall. And later on, playing on a ladder that was in the eaves of an out of sight bike shed!
Climbing on the wall behind the outside loos and terrorising the baby goats in the field behind the school! Climbing trees in the little orchard and playing cops and robbers.

It sounds really rough written down but it was lovely. Rural schools in the late 60s/early 70s.

British bulldog........till it got banned!

Skipping Skipping Skipping, boys and girls alike. With a long rope going around, as many children as possible skipping before the rope got caught or one of us missed a skip. My mums washing line made the best skipping rope. It kept us fit, we worked as a team, and it was very cheap.

'Whats the time Mr. Wolf?' British Bulldog, Tag, so many! We used to play Jaws in my street as a child, the pavements were safe land and the road was the sea and we had to run across without getting caught! Couldnt do this now with so many cars around x

Duck, duck, goose! Red rover was another favourite as were various skipping games with a long rope :-)

my sisters and I used to collect rubbish mostly wrappers and plastic bags ( not bottles or other containers) from people too lazy to get up and go to the bin we would double /triple bag them and make them into a football and sometimes most people around the park would join in aahh those were the best days , I cant do it with my kids now because people give us funny looks lol

Skipping and Cat's Cradle kept us entertained for hours, in the Autumn we would design houses or towns with the piles of leaves everywhere!