Yesterday afternoon, I was listening to the neighborhood kids playing. They were laughing and running around, but most of their playtime was spent planning what to do. They were making up rules and setting up situations to act out.
So today, it’s game plan day. Gather together your playing pieces—cards, dice, crayons, index cards, glasses of wine, anything goes—and a few friends. Then start thinking. The goal’s to come up with a complex structure; playing the game itself is not the focus, though it could be a lot of fun…
A sample game called “Chairs”
“You can be the lady. You stand here,” says the bossy girl.
“I want to hold an umbrella,” says the less bossy one.
“OK, but only if the die says six. Otherwise, you get a cushion, OK? When I say ‘Go!’ we all run around and when I say ‘Stop!’, pose like a chair. Then the lady gets to sit on us and decide who is the most comfortable.”
“That’s silly,” the lady complains.
“You have a better idea?”
“What if everyone poses like a chair or a table? I can try to sit a cup on them. And if it falls over and they get wet, they lose.”
“Yeah, that’s good! Everyone ready…Go!”
Ok, you be the weasel and I’ll be the skink. Now, wear this spoon on your nose and run to the second tree. I’ll meet you there in two minutes with the duffel bag. Go! :-)
Posted by: Jenny on April 20, 2004 12:44 AM