She introduced the children to a variety of books showing different games played in different cultures. Some games looked familiar but had different names and rules. Others were quite different. A commonality most had were the use of a ball. In fact, the ball is probably the oldest toy in the world.
A fellow homeschooler demonstrated the yo-yo and made a presentation to the children about yo-yos. He told them the yo-yo is another toy that dates back to ancient times. It is uncertain exactly how the yo-yo came about, but it is thought to originate in the Philipines. Hunters would use a rock to throw down on prey. Instead of having to climb down the tree or embankment, a rope was tied onto it and pulled back up. This evolved into a form of the yo-yo. Another thought is that originated from China, Greece or Egypt.
The yo-yo has seen its share of modern updates. The standard yo-yo was made of two discs joined together with an axle. The string was then tied to the axle. The yo-yo could be made to go up and down only. Then the yo-yo string was looped around the axle providing better flexibility to perform tricks.
After the brief yo-yo presentation, Ms. Jane instructed the children on how to play various games in the room. She demonstrated many of the games. The children were bursting with excitement to play.
There were games of hopscotch, which started out as a military training game in ancient Rome! Tic-tact-toe (knots and crosses) dates back to ancient Egypt and Medieval Europe. Bowling started as far back as 1300 b.c. in Egypt and has had many forms including 9 pins and bocci. Jacks, chess, checkers, pick-up sticks, string games, tiddly winks, ball and cup, marbles, etc. were all found in the room.
The children had a wonderful time playing the games. Not everything has to be high tech to have fun!
