Playing

On the drive home, we passed an empty lot where some medium-sized boys were playing with a football (Nerf). It was really nice to see them enjoying being outside, being active, figuring things out among themselves. 

It reminded me of the neighborhood kids getting together to play chase when I was a kid. If they had had a ball of some kind that really would have been an amazing game, but they didn't so they did variations. Sometimes we were allowed to climb trees to get away. Sometimes we had to hop on one foot. 

Sometimes the boys played marbles. Girls were definitely NOT allowed to play marbles - maybe because it generally invovled wagering, in which you could lose your marbles. If you didn't have marbles, you would have to play with a folded up cigarette carton some adult had discarded.

The girls played Five-stones. It took a while for me to figure it out, because each successive round is different than the one before. First round, you throw your five stones on a smooth, flat surface. Clean flagstones on the front porch work best. Then you make a goal by arching your fingers against the flagstone. You throw one small stone up in the air. While it's in the air, you slide one of the other four stones through the goal, and catch the one you threw before it lands. You have to get each of the four stones through the goal without touching any of the others. Second round, two go through the goal with each toss. Third round, three and one. Then, or course, all four at once. Rounds five through eight, your opponent makes a square on the playing floor with both hands. Then you have to actually pick up the correct number of stones and deposit them into the square before catching your in-the-air stone.

If you touch your other stones, if your throwing stone lands before you finish your move, or if you fail to move the right number, you forfeit your turn and someone else plays. If you have to repeat a round while your playmate gets to move to the next, obviously she has more skill. Skill is needed to pick the right sized and shaped stones for your five. You also need skill while casting out the five, depending on which level you're on, and picking the correct stone out of the five to throw. Of course, you need judgment when throwing your stone too. If you throw it too high, it comes down too fast to catch, and if you don't throw it high enough you don't have time to finish your move. There are other levels, but I never played them because I didn't have enough experience.

You can play by yourself, but it's much better in tournament, the girl who can get through all rounds first being declared the winner.