Children games and toys in colonial times

They often had homework, sometimes lots of it. Yet, they still found time to play. In winter, in the Middle Colonies, kids had fun skating.

In all the colonies, kids played with balls and bats and marbles and dolls. They played tag. In the south they played lawn bowling. In the north, they played shuffleboard. There were dances and parties. For some, it was a big deal to go into town. For others, it was fun to visit a country fairs and eat candies and watch puppet shows. Kids did not have a lot of free time, but with the free time they had, they had fun!

Children in Colonial times used natural materials to make toys and decorations. Kids were creative, and so were their parents. They used what they had. Gourds were hollowed out and used as horns to make funny noises, quite loud ones.

Colonial Children's Games - how to make a whirligig and clothing cutouts. Making Colonial Toys - games to play and toys to make. Go here to learn how to make a corn husk doll. Try the Goose Game online, interactive not a flash game. How to make marbles like Colonial kids did with salt, water, and corn starch. To play, a piece of string or twine is knotted into a loop and two or more players take turns twisting the string into different formations. The string is passed from player to player in this manner as the game goes on.

As the string is transferred between the players, the designs grow more complex or simple depending on the manipulations and the patterns the players know. The game ends when a player makes a mistake or creates a pattern that cannot be turned into anything further. Marbles are one of the oldest known toys ever created and predate ancient times. The earliest examples of marbles were made from pebbles worn smooth by streams and rivers.

During Colonial times, marbles were made from stones or rolled from natural clay. There are many different games involving marbles from cultures all over the world. One way to play is a bit like a combination of bowling and billiards. Players create a ring and set up a number of marbles clustered together in a shape at the center of the ring. Learn how to play Marbles here.

Both children and adults have been playing a version of cup-and-ball since it was created in the s. Still popular today, cup-and-ball is a game of hand-eye coordination, skill, and luck. Children have played it for fun and to improve their motor skills. Adults play it for fun and as a betting game too! Cup and ball toys consist of a cup on one end of a stick with a ball tied to the bottom of the stick. The string tethers the ball to the stick to ensure that players have a limited height at which the ball can be tossed.

To play, simply hold the stick in one hand and with the opposite hand toss the ball in the air and attempt to catch it in the cup. Start with the ball in the cup. Use the cup to launch the ball upward and try to catch it back in the cup. See how many times you can land the ball back in the cup in a row. Playing the game might seem simple, but winning requires some luck and skill! Learn how to make your own Cup-and-Ball game here.

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