Playground Games

Playground Games

During the dinner hour we sometimes play group games in the playground, the children really enjoy these games. Here are a few traditional playground games, we hope you will help the children to learn the rhymes:

Queenie, Queenie - a traditional Scottish ball game - Return to to p

A person is chosen to be the "Queenie," and that person turns his/her back to everyone else. The "Queenie" then throws a ball over his/her shoulder and one of the other players needs to catch it or pick it up. Everyone, except the "Queenie", puts their hands behind their backs so that the "Queenie" doesn't know who has the ball. The "Queenie" then turns around and everyone shouts: Queenie, Queenie who has the ball?

The "Queenie" has to guess who has the ball through a process of elimination. If the person with the ball is the last one to be picked, that person becomes the new "Queenie."

Oranges & lemons - Return to top

Two children form an arch with their arms. They decide in secret which of them shall be an 'orange' and which a 'lemon'. Everyone sings the 'Oranges and Lemons' song (see below). The other children in the game, take turns to run under the arch until one of them is caught when the arch falls at the end of the song. The captured player is asked privately whether they will be an 'orange' or a 'lemon' and then goes behind the original 'orange' or 'lemon' team leader. The game and singing then starts over again. At the end of the game there is usually 'a tug of war' to test whether the 'oranges' or 'lemons' are stronger. The game is similar to 'London Bridge is Falling Down'.

Oranges and lemons,
Say the bells of St. Clement's,

You owe me five farthings, say the bells of St. Martin's.

When will you pay me? Say the bells of Old Bailey.

When I grow rich, say the bells of Shoreditch.

When will that be? Say the bells of Stepney.

I'm sure I don't know, says the great bell at Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed, Here comes a chopper to chop off your head. Chip, Chop the old man is dead.

What’s the time Mr. Wolf - Return to top

One player is the wolf and he/she will stand with his/her back turned to the others about 5 meters from the others. The others call out, "What's the time Mr. Wolf"? and the wolf turns to face the others and shouts out a time, e.g. 10 o'clock. The others would then take 10 steps toward the wolf. The group will take the same amount of steps toward the wolf as the amount of hours in the wolf's time. e.g. 2 o'clock = 2 steps, 6 o'clock = 6 steps etc. etc. The wolf will then turn his back to the group again for them to yell "what's the time...." (He looks at the group only when he shouts the time at the group". When the group gets close to the wolf the next time the group yells "what's the time Mr. Wolf"? the wolf will say 'DINNER TIME" and run after the group who are running back to the start line, and hopefully catch one of the group who will then be the wolf. It sounds messy, but when played is an enjoyable game.

May we cross your golden river? - Return to top

This game is played by using two parallel lines mark out the "river" from the "bank." One child is the "crocodile," the rest all stand on one side of the "river." The children on the "bank" all chant in unison, "Please, Mr. Crocodile, may we cross your golden river?" and the "crocodile" will reply with a condition - "Yes if you have blue eyes," or perhaps "Yes if you have a B in your name," or even "Yes if you were born in April" - it is up to the crocodile's imagination. Children who fulfill the condition may cross unchallenged; once they are across the other side, the rest have to try to get across without being caught, if they are they will have to sit out the rest of the game. The game continues back and forth across the "river" until there are no more children left to catch, when the game may be restarted with the last child caught taking over as the crocodile.

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