Pitch Pebble
Pom Pom Pullaway
Bear in the Pit

Station 1 ~ Races, are set up at a quick pace and the students are reorganized, reshuffled and given partners that they might not necessarily have chosen in the classroom setting. Some of our races include:

• the sack hop
• three legged
• wheelbarrow
• egg and spoon.

Station 2 ~ is a balance and coordination challenge. We have four sets of stilts and students are given a brief explanation on how to make them work with the aid of a buddy. Adults are not as quick to master the skill of stilt walking.

Station 3 ~ is the small motor games. This is the quietest component of the day and students who have been working hard physically are quick to settle down to do some intense finger manipulation. Games include:

• marbles
• jacks
• cat's cradle

Pitch Pebble 4-10 players

This game is played with pebbles, shells or nuts. Each player has two or four of one type of game piece. The object of the game is to throw the pebbles into a hole four inches in diameter, made in the ground. The first part of the game determines the order the players take turns. Ten feet from the hole a place is marked, from which the players throw in turn until each has had enough turns to have thrown all his pebbles. The person who has succeeded in landing a pebble nearest the hole becomes the first player, and takes his stand on a second mark drawn one fourth nearer the hole, in the meantime, all the players have gathered up their pebbles. These are all given to the successful player and he pitches them in a mass toward the hole, becoming the owner of as many as fall into the hole. Any pebbles that do not go in the hole are gathered up by the player who in the original throwing came out second in trying to get near the hole, and he, in turn, throws these in mass, standing also at the nearer throwing point from which his predecessor threw. All the players take turns in this way until all of the pebbles have been appropriated. The player wins who gets the most pebbles. Pebbles won are not thrown again, but kept for score. For good players the distances from the hole may be increased.

Pom Pom Pullaway 5-30 players

Out of doors two lines are drawn across an open space thirty feet across. All players stand on one side behind one of the dividing lines, except on player who is IT and who stands in the centre of the open ground. He calls any player by name and adds 'John Smith, Pop Pom Pullaway! Come away, or I'll fetch you away!' The named player must run across the open space to the safety line on the opposite side, the one who is IT tries in the meantime to catch him before he reaches that line. If he gets over safely, he remains there until all of his comrades have joined him or have been caught. Any one caught by the one who is IT joins the latter in helping to catch other players as they dash across the open space, but the one originally IT remains the caller throughout the game. After all the uncaught players have crossed to one side, they try in the same way to return to their first goal. The first on caught is IT for the next game. Players should give the chaser as much difficulty as possible in catching them by making feints in one direction and suddenly running in another, or by running diagonally instead of straight across, etc. 2

Bear in the Pit 10-30 players

A bear pit is formed by the players joining hands in a circle with one in the centre as the bear. The bear tries to get out by breaking apart the bars (clasped hands), or by going over or under these barriers. Should he escape, all the other players give chase, the one catching him becoming bear. This is a-favourite game with boys, but is not too rough. The bear can pretend to break through bars in one place, and suddenly turn and crawl under another.

Kitty in the Circle 10-30 players

A large circle is marked on the ground. One player, who is the Kitty, stands in the centre of this circle; the other players stand outside the circle surrounding it. These players may be tagged by Kitty whenever they have a foot inside of the circle. Kitty's opponents are urged to tease the cat by stepping in and out of the circle. Any one the cat touches becomes a prisoner and is another Kitty, joining the first in the circle to help tag the others. The last one tagged is the winner of the game. In 1901 this game was used as a tool to make timid children courageous.

Have you seen my sheep? 10-30 players

The players stand in a circle. One walks around on the outside, and touching one of the circle players on the back, asks 'have you seen my sheep?' The one questioned answers, 'How as he dressed?' The outside player then describes the dress of someone in the circle, saying for instance, 'He wears a red necktie; he is dressed in grey and has low shoes.' The one questioned then names the player who he thinks this describes, and if right, at once begins to chase him around the outside of the circle. Each description given by the outside player, for immediately that he is named must run around the outside of the circle, chased, by the player who guessed, and try to reach his own place before being tagged. The one who gives the description does not take part in the chase. Should the runner be tagged before returning to his place, he must take the place of the questioner, running his place around the outside of the circle and asking of some player, "Have you seen my sheep?"