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Chinese Jump Rope & Cats Cradle


bowtwi
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I finally found some Chinese jump ropes at a Cracker Barrel in GA last night. I had been looking for them everywhere I shopped this past year, without luck. Some Dollar stores said they used to carry them, but not lately...

I immediately remembered how to play Chinese jump rope (which we did by using a chair for the second kid's legs to hold the rope). The princess actually shrieked with delight (or was she laughing at me jumping around tangling my legs inside that rope? icon_eek.gif

I had a harder time remembering how to play Cats Cradle, so this morning I Googled it (Cats Cradle) and to my delight, I found step-by-step instructions and I found which one tiny little step I had forgotten.

What an absolute treat to discover this fun memory from my childhood and be able to share it with my Annie.

I can't wait to show her Double Dutch jump rope...

Anyone else play these or similar games?

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No but I can do the clap games and I play a mean game of 4-Square, Dodge Ball and Kick Ball. icon_biggrin.gif:D-->

Those jump rope games always required way more coordination than I have. I got to be one of the sideline singers when everyone else was jumping.

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Childhood memories....

Here is a favorite child toys I made...

needed:

Rubberbands

hinged wooded clothes pins

a stick or ruller

1. Use rubber bands to secure one half of the clothe pin to the stick.

2. Make a notch in the stick.

3. connect a rubber band between the end of the stick (in the notch) and the "mouth" of the clothe pin.

Now yo have a rubberband gun.

On a side note;

If you take another clothe pin and take it apart, then take the metal hinge. attach it to a rubberband, and have the metal spring in the mouth of the spring. The will give you a more secure "grip" on the rubber band. But, if you shoot this and hit someone it will really hurt. So you don't want to do this...

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Lianne - -

That's the only way we played Chinese jump rope, too. Had to dig around for all those rubber bands from the newspaper. Good thing our mom was a bit of a packrat!

And, Z....

Ha, ha, ha - - I buy clothes pins to use to secure chip bags, etc. closed - - and my son LOVES to break them apart and make guns and slingshots from them. I did make him stop aiming at me and the dog tho! lol

J.

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Talk about a trip down memory lane!! We used to play it outside with one of those extra long skipping ropes and tie one of the ends around the old wooden telephone poles. We loved it so much we didn't even wait till the snow was all gone, we got out there with a shovel and cleared a spot so we could go at it, when our parents weren't looking, we'd sneak out in our running shoes instead of boots. To us, that was definitely a sign that spring was on the way!! We made up some extra steps to go with it which I still remember to this very day. The highest we ever got was up to our armpits!!

I have a book here called "Chinese Jump Rope" by Anne Akers Johnson, it comes with everything you need to know about it, how to play it and all the steps and it also includes 2 ropes.

Cowgirl

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Belle - I LOVE 4-square and kickball. Tee hee, when I was a Den Mother for Bow Jr's cub scout career, I used to motivate the boys by having our meetings last an extra half hour or hour for kickball - it got to be a regular part of our routine.

Highway - Here's a link I found to be very clear. We raised our ropes from the ankles, around the knees, then the waist, but I don't recall ever jumping ropes at waist level, not to mention the neck!!!

Chinese Jump Rope Instructions

J - I can imagine your son chasing you around with one of them thar guns - lol!

Chas - The kids have always said nobody has more fun than me. Ha - one of my dearest friend's 3 kids says she only comes to visit our house to play with ME, as she and the princess don't always get along very well.

Z-Man - That's just what I needed, directions for making a proper rubber band gun - no doubt I'll get in SOME kind of trouble with that. But what a way to go... angelkit.gif

Thanks, Mrs. Goey-to-be, I'm going to get that book you mentioned.

Now I wish I had bought a bunch of those balloon-powered boats for racing. I think I'll look for some tomorrow (any reason to eat at Cracker Barrel is good enough for me - mmm mmm good!)

This jumping rope will fit right in with our new fitness plan!

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How about a marshmallow gun? Make it from PVC pipe and blow minature marshmallows through it. We picked one up a few years back at a craft fair at the beach. It kept the kids entertained for hours.

My son got a book from the Scholastic Book order last year that came with a string and instructions for cat's cradles. We checked a book out of the library prior to that. He carries a string with him all the time and plays with it.

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