Does anyone know from the title what this post is about? 10 extra points if you do!
Arden is now in second grade. The other day she caused me some MAJOR elementary school flashbacks when she told me that at recess her and her friends played "Chinese jump rope." When I was in second grade, I spent every single second of every single recess the same way.
For those of you who do not know...(duh?)...a Chinese jump rope is pretty much a great big glorified rubber band wrapped in fabric. In order to play the game, you must have two friends who are willing to stand about three feet apart and wrap said giant rubber band (which may or may not have anything to do with China...does anyone know?) around their ankles so that it forms a rectangle. Then, you jump around in a certain pattern without making any mistakes. Sometimes you have with one foot inside the rectangle (two, four, six, eight are alternating which foot), sometimes with both feet inside, both feet outside, or both feet on top of the rope.
If you succeed on your first try ("reg-gies," in my old 2nd grade lingo), you progress to different and harder rope positions. "Skinnies," "Fatsies," "Kneesies," "Triangles," "Crossies," "Bunnies," it could go on and on and on (and on). Eventually you run into madness like "Kneesie-Skinnies" if you have mad skills. If you mess up, you are out and one of the rope holders gets a turn.
Arden is totally addicted. Last weekend she crafted her own Chinese jump rope out of Rainbow Loops with the help of her awesome aunt Alison and some helpful cousins. Maybe Santa will bring her the real thing, but in the mean time, she is happily jumping around, and is always in need of an extra person or two to lend her their legs.
And what if you are at home, and your mean mom can't spend all day in one place with a rubber band wrapped around her legs? You improvise:
Does anyone else remember these things?
3 comments:
I remember! Nice to know technology hasn't killed everything :)
I am SOOOO glad that Chinese jumprope during recess lives on! Not to brag or anything but I often made it to Skinnies/Kneesis... so you know, maybe you and I can smuggle her new rope for a walk down memory lane/ healthy competition! :) SO rad.
I must not have played as much as you cause it took me a little while to remember... I kept thinking of the string game you play with a partner using your fingers. I don't think they play it here though, maybe Arden can teach my girls.
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