George Orrin Draper

“ We should all be prospectors of happiness. There are those who discover it in the solitudes of the mountains where freedom is breathed in the air that touches the lofty peaks. Others find it in the depths of the forest in the songs of the birds, of the brook, of the trees. Most of us must find it in the daily walks of life where the seeking is oft-times difficult. ”

“ One boy is chosen to be "IT." He blinds his eyes while the others hide. He counts 100 by 5's, then says, "Ready or not, you must be caught." He then endeavors to find the hidden players. Succeeding he must tag the goal and call the name of the player observed. Should he, in seeking a player, pass the spot where one is hidden, that player can race in to the goal and say, "In free." The one who is "It," however, can tag that player or the goal. When all the players have been discovered, the one first discovered or caught by "It" must blind his eyes for the next game. ”

“ This is a quiet, entertaining and instructive game. One member of the family is given the privilege of thinking of some specific object anywhere in the universe. The others endeavor to guess what that object is and are only allowed to ask twenty questions in doing so. The one who thinks of the object to be guessed, only answers the questions asked by yes or no. It is exceptional when the object is not guessed, no matter how difficult it may be, before the twenty questions have been asked. Example,—the King of Belgium is selected by the player. ”

“ The playing area should not be too large. A four foot circle is marked upon the ground as a base. One player is selected to be the Fox. While the fox is on the base he may stand on two feet, but when he leaves the base to catch any of the other players he must hop on one foot. Should a player become tagged, he becomes the fox, and the other players may slap him on the back until he is safe on the base. Should the fox put the other foot down, he must return to the base, and every player may slap him on the back until he succeeds in doing this, but no player can block his path to the base. ”

“ The player who succeeds in getting both feet inside of the safety circle around the gander pole must not be molested, unless he lets the goose fall to the ground in his attempt to hang it in one of the crotches of the gander pole, in which case he or his team mates may recover it or any one of the opposing team may seize the bird and dash away with it towards his own pole. There must be no scrimmage over the possession of the bird, for as soon as an opponent gets hold of the goose, the player holding the latter must let go his hold. ”

“ The game is now on and each player endeavors to knock the ball, by means of his club, towards and through the opponent's goal. Swinging the club higher than the shoulder is barred. Should the ball be knocked outside of the playing space, it is brought back in and faced off by any two opposing players at a point well within the playing space, opposite to where it went out of bounds.
A goal counts one point and after each goal the ball is faced off in the centre. Goals should be changed in the middle of the game, so that no team may have an advantage over the other because of location of goals. ”

“ At the signal to start the balls are thrown at such opponents as may hold one of the balls. The players may move around in their playing space, but are not allowed to step over the centre line. Any player can recover a ball, but so long as he holds the ball in his hands, he is the target for the fire of the opponents. Each time a player, holding a ball, is hit by an opponent, he drops out of the game. The team first retiring all of the opponents wins. ”

“ Each player in the group is given some barnyard noise to represent. The leader takes his place in the centre of the room. If he holds up his left hand, all is quiet; if he holds up his right hand, they all imitate their various noises in concert. Should one of the players make a noise while the leader is holding up his left hand, that player must stand up before his chair and imitate the noise he has been given to imitate, until some member of the group can guess what the noise is supposed to represent. ”

“ All of the players hide their eyes, except one, who is the Bear. He hides. When sufficient time has been given for him to find a hiding place, the others seek him. When a player finds the bear he calls out, "Look out for the bear." Thereupon all of the players race back to the home base. The bear endeavors to tag as many of the players before they can reach the home base, as he can. All of the players tagged become bears and hide in the next round of the game, which is the same as the first. All of the bears try to tag as many as possible before they return to the home base. ”

“ Should a half-ghost chance to finish another word when it again becomes his turn to add a letter to the spelling of a word, then the Half-ghost becomes a Full-ghost and is out of the game. Any one speaking to a Full-ghost becomes a Full-ghost. Full-ghosts and Half-ghosts naturally endeavor to get as many others into their class as possible, so between thinking of letters to complete the word in turn and avoiding becoming ghosts, the group is kept in a very difficult frame of mind. The game continues until there are no players who have failed to qualify as Half-ghosts or Full-ghosts. ”

“ Happiness becomes a habit with some; with others it is a lost art. Some radiate it; others dispel that which may exist. Happiness can be produced by means of exercising certain emotions, by causing experiences which allow instinctive expression; the song, the dance, the game are examples. ”

“ Team A players endeavor to catch the sack and if successful, that player succeeding advances three paces towards team B's goal line and slings the sack as before. Should any member of the team fail to catch the sack when it is thrown into their territory, the player first touching the sack in an effort to catch it, or the player nearest to where the sack lands, must make the sling from the point behind where the sack is picked up from the ground. The players may move anywhere about in their territory. ”

“ The group, arranged in couples, forms a circle with the ladies on the inside facing their partners. When the music starts playing, the partners separate, both going to the right about the circle. This means that the ladies go in one direction and the men in the other. When the music again stops, the men will be opposite new partners and these partners must face each other and converse on some subject suggested by the leader. When the music again starts the conversation ends and both groups again continue their march in opposite directions and so the game continues. ”

“ Play is the expression, the exercising of the imagination. Should the child be denied the privilege of play, should its visions never find expression, should its mental adventures fail to find adequate physical experience, a great musician, a great engineer, a great statesman, or a master of some great art may be sacrificed. ”

“ One who knows the game takes a spoon in his right hand, then taking it in his left hand, he passes it to the one sitting at his left, saying, "Malaga grapes are very fine grapes, the best to be had in the market". He tells his neighbor to do the same. The spoon is thus passed from one to the other, each telling the same grape story. If anyone passes the spoon with the right hand, which is the natural thing to do, a forfeit can be claimed. The trick must not be told until it has gone around a table once or twice. ”

“ To team A is given a soft ball, such as a tennis or yarn ball. The ball is thrown over the building to team B. If it is caught by one of the players of team B, the whole team slips around the building, all going in the same direction, and trying to hit with the ball some one on team A before they can get around to the opposite side of the building. Team A tries to escape being hit by dodging and running around the building to the opposite side. If a player is hit, he goes to B side. ”

“ The second player continues sliding the disks until he has made a base or is put out. Should he make a base, the player of the first disk is advanced one base. Should he make more than one base hit, the player on the base advances as many bases as the batter has made. The side continues at bat until three men are out. Thereupon, the other team comes to bat.
Should the disk land in "Sacrifice", base hit, home run, or should the one at bat gain first by four balls, the man or men on base or bases advance. Any man or men reaching home constitutes a run for that team. ”

“ Play is not only essential to the child, but, as Joseph Lee says, play is the child. The natural environment of the child is a play environment; if we are to lead the child or educate the child we have first to enter into his environment and into fellowship with him therein, and adapt our methods to that environment. The processes of education which have taken to themselves those things which are natural to children will meet deserved success. ”

“ Instead of a lot of disgusted individuals with empty purses winding their way on the long home trail we want to hear the laughter of the family group, still exhilarated as a result of a pleasant afternoon spent in happy, healthful recreation. ”