recess!

reesetee Even if you didn't join them, I'd think you'd want to get the hell out of their way and train your bike to do the same! Jul 25, 2007

uselessness Yes, and if I had been older I would have joined them. Beats my strategy, anyway. Jul 25, 2007

reesetee Did Florida have marauding bands of teenagers with baseball bats, riding in cars and knocking down all the roadside mailboxes? Jul 25, 2007

uselessness I blame Florida, home of all manner of tacky, oversized mailboxes that look like dolphins and pelicans. I mean, what kid in his right mind wouldn't want to take down monstrosities such as them? Unfortunately, my frail kid body and little bike weren't quite up to the task. Jul 25, 2007

reesetee Why don't people put mailboxes where they belong--stuck onto the side of the house? Geez....Poor 7-year-old unconscious U. Jul 24, 2007

jennarenn Where did he put it, by the road? Some people don't have the sense they were born with. Jul 24, 2007

slumry I say he should watch where he puts his dang mailbox. Jul 24, 2007

jennarenn Twice? That takes true talent. Jul 24, 2007

uselessness That's only the first time it happened. The second time didn't leave a scar but it knocked me clean unconscious. It was the neighbor's mailbox that time, not my family's, and let's just say he wasn't too happy about my driving skills. Jul 24, 2007

slumry So, so sad! :( Jul 24, 2007

reesetee Now that would sell. ;-> Jul 24, 2007

uselessness Definitely young. I want to see a stylized picture of seven-year-old me in a helmet, collapsed on top of the mailbox in the street, my bike twisted unrecognizably, tears streaming down my face, and the yet-to-be-formed scar still bleeding all over everything. :-P Jul 24, 2007

reesetee Now, would you want the Young Uselessness Elbow Scar or the Old Uselessness Elbow scar depicted? Jul 24, 2007

uselessness I hope it's a penny stamp. Those are always the best ones when the prices go up! Jul 24, 2007

reesetee They'll make a commemorative stamp for your elbow scar some day. Jul 24, 2007

slumry Rude mailboxes! Why didn't they get out of the way? Jul 24, 2007

uselessness Honored, I'm sure. ;-) Jul 24, 2007

reesetee Wonder how the mailboxes felt about that. Jul 24, 2007

uselessness I have a particularly nice scar on my left elbow. Not from recess games, unfortunately, but from my inexplicable habit of steering bikes into mailboxes. Jul 24, 2007

reesetee Yeah! What's so strange about having scabs on your knees, anyway? I view the scar on my left knee as a badge of honor, I tell ya. ;-) Jul 24, 2007

slumry Funny R (well, not really haha funny). I must have been about 10 when I read something about "a girl with scabs on her knees." It was the first time I considered that there was anything unusual about scabs on the knees. Of course it didn't help that the only time we were allowed to wear pants to school was if it was really, really cold (here that means under 25 degrees F!) Even when we did wear pants, we wore dresses over them. How quaint that seems now! Jul 24, 2007

reesetee This list makes the old scars on my knees ache. ;-) Jul 24, 2007

uselessness Violent games, but we were tough little kids. Anything else was just boring! Jul 24, 2007

slumry Oh, I am so glad you remember that one! I was thinking the same thing about the teacher's motivation! I did have second thoughts because it is not a playground game, but in our wet climate, we spent a lot of recesses in the classroom. Jul 24, 2007

trivet Those are some violent games, U!

Oooh - I remember heads up, seven up! I'm not putting it on the recess list, though - to much of an inside game. A teacher's favorite because it is such a quiet game - all that heads down & sneaking around...

King of the mountain rules! Jul 24, 2007

uselessness A couple more... king of the mountain? Duck duck goose? Follow the leader? Jul 24, 2007

slumry cat's cradle? Jul 24, 2007

uselessness Steal the bacon:

Two equal teams stand facing each other against opposite walls. Each player has a unique number that corresponds to his particular "enemy" on the other team. There's some "bacon" (a sock with bunched-up socks stuffed inside it, and tied to keep them in) on the ground right in the middle of the room.

The leader (teacher, whoever) calls out a number and the two enemies who have that number run forward to meet each other at the bacon. The goal is to grab the bacon and run back to your team's wall with it, without being tagged by your enemy. You have to have quick reflexes and run fast. Usually if someone gets tagged, he'll protest by using the bacon to beat the enemy who tagged him. :-)

Chicken fight:

Two players approach each other, hanging, from opposite sides of the monkey bars. The goal is to knock the other player off, using only your feet, without falling off yourself. In many cases, both players fall -- the one who hits the ground first loses. Usually the game is played tournament-style, with the next players lining up to challenge the reigning winner.

One variation is played standing on a thin platform or balance beam. You can use your hands to push the other player off balance and cause them to fall. Jul 24, 2007

slumry Did you play seven up? It was another inside game that involved closing your eyes and putting your head on the desk. I seem to remember that the player who was "it" went around the room and tagged seven people. . .beyond that, it is a little fuzzy. Jul 24, 2007

slumry You are right--I am sure there are variations according to region and era, although it is amazing how enduring some of them are--Red Rover, for instance. It would be fun to know where that name came from, but I think it has been around a long time. Thanks again for doing this list. Jul 24, 2007

trivet Steal the bacon? Chicken fight? 'Splain, please. Jul 24, 2007

uselessness Steal the bacon! Chicken fights! And how about freeze tag, or does that fall under tag? I also played Swedish dodgeball, which probably isn't too common. Jul 24, 2007

trivet Thanks, s! I know I'm forgetting some, and there are probably some regional variations, too... Jul 24, 2007

slumry Good list--I love it. When it rained, we sometimes played dodgeball in the multipurpose room. And one form of jump rope was red hot pepper. Jul 24, 2007