It seems like a lot of the classic childhood games that were played outside with little or no equipment, gadgets, and the like are being lost. Children don’t hear about these games most of the time, much less how to play them.

Many of these are great exercises, they cost nothing, and best of all, they create amazing childhood memories. Many of my fondest childhood memories are hours and hours of playing these various games with my brother, my cousins, and anyone else around.

Here is a list of some of my favorites:

Red light, green light: one person touches the “traffic light” and the rest try to touch it. Whoever touches it first wins. To start, all the children form a line about 15 feet away from the person at the stoplight. That person with the brake light walks away from the row of children and says “green light.” At this point, the children may move towards the stoplight, some running, some walking, or scurrying. At any moment, the person at the stoplight yells “red light” and turns around. If any of the children are caught moving after this has happened, they are out. This continues until the first player to touch the stoplight wins the game and earns the right to be “stoplight” for the next game.

Kick The Can – This is a combination of hide and seek and tag. One “it” person closes his eyes and counts to a high number, while everyone else hides. Then the person who has told that he has been guarding “the can” runs through the neighborhood to find everyone. The tricky part is that once a person is found, they have a run, where the person who was just found has to try to kick the can before the counter labels it. It seems there will always be those kids who will hide in a silly, easy-to-spot spot, intending to run for the can if they get caught.

Marbles: a relatively smooth playing field is needed, usually on dirt. A small hole is made in the center of the playing area. Each player places a marble first and they are randomly scattered across the playing field. Each player uses a large marble called a shooter to try to throw the other marbles into the hole in much the same way as when shooting pool. Players take turns shooting, and if a player hits a marble in the hole with their shot, they can keep the marble they hit and shoot again. Of course, the simple marble trade is also always popular.

Duck Duck Goose – Children sit in a circle facing each other. A person is “it” and walks around the circle. As they walk, they hit people’s heads and say whether they are a “duck” or a “goose.” Once someone is the “goose” they get up and try to chase them around the circle. The goal is to touch that person before they can sit in the “chicken” place. If the goose cannot do this, it becomes “it” for the next round and the game continues. If the person touches “it,” the tagged person should sit in the center of the circle. Then the goose becomes him for the next round. The person in the middle cannot leave until someone else is tagged and replaced.

Stick Ball – The game is played with a baseball bat and a ball, usually a tennis ball, so we didn’t break any windows. There are no teams, just one person at bat and everyone else in the outfield. The person with the bat throws the ball up and hits it. Then, place the bat on the ground in front of him. The person receiving the ball throws it at bat from where it was picked up. When and if the ball hits the bat, it jumps into the air. If the batter does not catch the ball, the person who rolled it is ready to bat. If someone on the field catches a hit before it hits the ground, they are automatically ready to hit.

Hopscotch – Hopscotch is a wonderful jumping game that can be played on a sidewalk or pavement or on an indoor floor. There are hundreds of variations of the diagram that can be drawn. Use your favorite version for children to play. Use chalk to draw a hopscotch pattern on the floor or use masking tape on the floor. Create a diagram with 8 sections and number them. Each player has a marker such as a stone, bean bag, bottle cap, shell, button, etc.

The first player stands behind the starting line to throw his marker at frame 1. He jumps from frame 1 to frame 2 and then continues jumping to frame 8, turns around and jumps again. Pause frame 2 to pick up the marker, jump to frame 1 and exit. Then continue to toss the rock into square 2. All jumps are done with one foot unless the hopscotch design is such that two squares are next to each other. Two feet can then be placed down with one in each square. A player must always jump over any square where a creator has been placed.

A player is out if the marker does not land on the appropriate square, the jumper stands on a line, the jumper loses his balance when he leans to lift the marker and puts a second hand or foot down, the jumper enters a square where a marker is, or if a player puts two feet down on a single square. The player places the marker on the square where play will resume on the next turn and the next player will start. Sometimes a dome-shaped “rest area” is added at one end of the hopscotch pattern where the player can rest for a second or two before crossing again.

Farmer in the Dell: Participants need about 15 or more to stand in a circle. One person is chosen as a Farmer and is placed in the middle. They all sing, “The farmer on the dell, the farmer on the dell; Heigh ho, the Derry-oh, the farmer on the dell” and walk in a circle. The next verse is “The farmer takes a wife …”, which is sung when the first person chooses another person from the circle to come inside. The next verse is “The wife takes a child …”, when the second person in the circle chooses a third person to be the child. This continues with “The boy takes a dog …”, “The dog takes a cat …”, “The cat takes a rat …” and “The rat takes the cheese …” The final verse is “The cheese is alone …”, when all the people inside the circle return to the outer edge of the circle and sing while the last chosen person “is alone” in the circle, the game is over.

Try to remember some of your favorites and add them to the list. Recreate the lost games of childhood and pass them on to your children and grandchildren to enjoy, as well as share with them a link of examples of what you did as a child. It will help them see you in a new light.