Fun Things To Do That Don't Require Electricity

 These days you hear lots of people talking about the Simpler times.  It is my desire to bring back some of those memories with the games that we all used to play.  I find it funny that a few days ago someone brought up the subject in one of the forums the games we used to play in the 70's.  I wish to bring up more of those and from older eras and maybe some new ones too.  Since the New Year for 2010 will be upon us in a week I think these would give some of us some things to do.  The economy is at a very low right now and people are losing or have lost their jobs.  Some people have other jobs now but a loss of income that they were accustomed to having and have felt the pinch in their pockets.

So being that as it is some of us have gotten more time with the family.  Some are at a loss as what to do to bring that family together time back around.  I will give you some things to do with the family and make family time special again and fun as well.

Many are familiar with board games. Most come in a box and you open it up and your read the directions and you play with a friend or many friends.

Monopoly is one game that has expanded since its first game sold in 1934. It was the years of the depression that one man, Charles B. Darrow of Germantown, Pennsylvania, brought the idea of this game into light. When he showed the game to Parker Brothers in 1933 they rejected it and found many flaws of the game. The object of the game of MONOPOLY is to become the wealthiest player through buying, renting and selling property. You can get the Electronic Banking, The Disney Edition, Monopoly City and many more. Some interesting trivia for you:

• Escape maps, compasses and files were inserted into MONOPOLY® game boards smuggled into POW camps inside Germany during World War II. Real money for escapees was slipped into the packs of MONOPOLY® money.
• Over 250 million sets of the MONOPOLY® game have been sold worldwide.
• In the 1970's, a Braille edition of the MONOPOLY® game was created for the visually impaired.
• The three most-landed-on properties are Illinois Avenue. "GO" and the B&O Railroad.

Chess is another really old game with the first instance that it was mentioned in history in China in the 2nd century BC. The game of Checkers is also one of the ancient games played and they found that it was played around 3000 BC in Iraq.

Backgammon

Life

Sorry

Children's Gamee For Learning

Hi Ho Cherry Oh

Chutes and Ladders

CandyLand

Other Strategy Games

Dominoes

Connect Four

BattleShip

Back in the depression when things were rough they had Soap Box Derby's.  Fathers and Sons would work together to build the best and faster car and they would win great prizes.  You wouldn't know it but they were very inventive with their cars and there were strict sets of rules as to how they were to be made.  Throughout the history of these there come to be kits that would come in the mail and all one had to do was follow the directions and wallah you had a car for the local Derby races.

You wouldn't know it today but there still are races and competitions for these events. 

Find out how you can enter into the All American Soap Box Derby in your area and learn about the rules and guidelines of such. 

Jump Rope is older thatn dirt!  The Egyptians used vines to jump over.  The Ducth came over and started the Double Dutch Roping.  It is more than just a childrens game in parts of the world.  Some sports use Jumping Rope to train their athletes and to get a good cardio work out.  Parent's used to or still do play the games of Jump Roping with their children.  It is an excellent way to teach coordination and get the blood going througout the body and to build stamina and strength.  You can learn more about the history on The Jump Rope Institute. Learn some of the rymes that are used when jump roping.  Here are a few for you to learn:

Cinderella, dressed in yellow

went upstairs to kiss a 'fella

made a mistake

and kissed a snake

how many doctors 

did it take?

[count until someone messes up]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Down by the river, down by the sea,

Johnny broke a bottle and blamed it on me.

I told ma, ma told pa,

Johnny got a spanking so ha ha ha.

How many spankings did Johnny get?

1, 2, 3....

Keep counting until the jumper messes up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last night, night before, my boyfriend took me to the candy store. (on the word "store" the person turns around to face the opposite direction that she started out on)

He bought me ice cream, he bought me cake. He brought me home with a belley ache.(turn)

Mamma, mamma, I feel sick. Call the doctor quick, quick quick! (jump on one foot each time you say "quick")

Doctor, Doctor will I die? Close your eyes and count to 5. (turn)

1...2...3...4...5.. (on 5 jump out of the rope while the rope turners are still singing)

I'm still alive and on channel 5!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gypsy, Gypsy please tell me What my fortune's going to be Rich-man, Poor-man, Beggar-man, Thief. Doc-tor, Law-yer, In-di-an Chief. Tink-er, Tail-or, Cow-boy, Sail-or.   Continue repeating until jumper misses and that is who you will  marry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   There are many competitions around the world for Jump Roping.  See what The United States Jump Rope Competition site has for your area and the qualifications to get to one.  See if you are good enough.

Everyone has heard and played a card game at least once in their lives. I remember paying Hearts at my Husband's Parent's at Christmas time and other holidays. The main card games that you hear about are: Pinnocle. Solitaire. War, Poker, Old Maid, Go Fish. Rummy and Bridge, but there are many more to play then just those. Other good ones that are fun are Kings In The Corner, You can find lots of other card games, rules and purchasing you cards at The House of Cards

A deck of cards is not all gambling or poker games. They can be fun for the whole family and children can learn about the Bible using a deck of cards too. Here is the way they learn:

The Ace there is only one God.　 　
The Two depicts the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments.
The Three depicts the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. 　　
The Four is the Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.　
The Five is the five virgins there were ten but only five of them were glorified. 　　
The Six represents the six days it took God to create the Heavens and Earth.　
The Seven depicts the day God rested. 　　
The Eight represents Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives -- the eight people God spared from the flood. 　 　
The Nine is the lepers that Jesus healed of leprosy He healed ten, but only one thanked Him. 　
The Ten is the Ten Commandments. 　
The Jack depicts Satan, God's first angel. 　
The Queen represnts the Virgin Mary, and The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings/ Or The Jews..
Counting the dots on all the cards , there are 365, one for each day of the year.
There are a total of 52 cards in a deck which ithere are 52 weeks in a year. 　
The four suits represent the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.　
Each suit has thirteen cards -- there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter.

There shouldn't be any excuses to go play with the family and bring them back together again. It is fun when you have the right games to play and lots of them are for all ages bridging the generation and money gaps. Many games teach important skills to children and adults a-like.

Go Play a Game or get into a Soap Box Derby or Jump Rope Competition. Be with your family and enjoy them. Of all the things that children and adults a-like remember the most it is being with family. Make some good and happy memories!

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