Being OT on RCTN

No, no, no.

Tommy and Jere sitting in a tree K I S S I N G First comes love, then comes marriage, Then comes Tommy with the baby carriage.

And then you count how many babies are in the carriage. A couple of those girls were going to be Guinness Record material with 100+ babies. :)

I think it's more that you rarely see kids playing in large enough groups any more. Although we also did individual jump-roping, I mainly remember doing the rhymes at recess with two kids spinning a large rope and taking turns "jumping in" and "jumping out".

If anyone's interested, Hearthsong has a wonderful large jumprope:

|0|Normal%20Search%20Result|P1We got one of these for DD #1 and it was used for lots of things (mostly other than jumping rope!) through a couple of kids. Sue

We did it like that, but with a few intermediate verses:

First comes love, then comes marriage, Then comes Susan with the baby carriage. (always the girl!!)

Wish you luck, wish you joy, Hope you have a baby boy.

When his hair starts to curl, Hope you have a baby girl.

When that girl starts using hairpins, Hope you have a pair of twins.

How many babies did they get that way?

1-2-3-4- ("whipping", i.e. double-time - the rope)

Sue

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Yeah, it's a really nice, heavy, soft rope. And even if you've only got two kids, you can hook one end over a doorknob or something like that (if you've got a suitable jumping area) for jumping rope.

Best wishes, Ericka

I guess we were liberated, since we made the boy push the carriage. :)

It doesn't take large groups to jump rope. :-) It takes a minimum of two and a place to tie one end.

I think lack of sidewalks, parental fears, keeping children cloistered in houses (until mommy gets home from work), have kept many of these games from being learned from one generation to another. These types of activities are great for running off agressive behavior (you're pretty pooped after jumping rope).

I remember roller skating to school (old fashioned metal skates with ball-bearing wheels that fastened to your shoes). Riding my bike, playing hop scotch . . . so many, many activities that I rarely see children do today. In my immediate neighborhood, several families have purchased trampolines (and invariably within a year one of the children is in a cast). The kids really enjoy these, but they take up a good deal of the yard, are dangerous, and cost lots of money. A jump rope, a tin can and a pebble, are a lot cheaper and require some creative play.

Dianne

Susan Hartman/Dirty L>

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Well, there was always, "How do you spell Mississippi?" I don't remember anything violent about that and I never forgot how to misspell it, either (not that I would, anyway!)! :) I don't remember any others at the moment, though.

Joan

I miss that jumping rope so much -- not for me, I'm beyond it now, but I tried to teach my granddaughter, and she could never even master jumping in. Sad.

-- Jere

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As a child, I found jumping in to be the hardest part. I'm just not that coordinated. But I could stand next to a still rope and start from there (with the twirlers starting and me jumping as it came around the first time).

Elizabeth

Jere Williams wrote:

Same here. However, I Got Rhythm, so I was designated Steady Ender and never had to jump in. I turned the rope and the people who were better at jumping got to enjoy themselves.

Me too! took years to master it and many a skinned knee. Then we were all to old for jump rope.

Cheryl

Hey, looks like the bomb got stuck in the bomb bay lol

I would add that a lot of "old fashioned" games are viewed as just that.

Your comment about roller skating to school made me giggle. I don't know if they are "in" out there, but sneakers with a wheel in them are big here. The are tons of boys with them at the rink every night (and elsewhere). Not much distance in a "roll" but they seem to like it.

Cheryl

Yes, but I remember saying the same thing, and my parents/relatives responding it's that or nothing. Today's parents are too likely to feel guilty and get the kid what he thinks he wants.

Dianne

"Cheryl Isaak" wrote

It got organized--there was a fad for elementary school Skipping Teams, sort of a dance squad with ropes thing, and there were try-outs, and ordinary girls doing ordinary skipping didn't measure up. Just like you don't see as meny kids playing pick up baseball or basketball, since there are leagues, parents and coaches involved. Dawne

Spot on! Parents don't have enough sense to leave things be.