Jump the Creek!

Home Fires is my newest blog and I've decided to try to make it more "organized" than my other blogs. I don't want to structure it too much and box myself into rules that might get in the way of meaningful writing. However, I think--and hope!--that if I give my readers "columns" to look forward to on a regular basis it will encourage them to keep returning to HF. So today I'm introducing my first column, Fun'n'Games Friday.

Fun'n'Games Friday will be featured--you guessed it!-- every Friday (because fun and Friday both start with "f", hehe). As the title implies this column will be about games and other ways to have family fun. A lot of my ideas will come from my childhood and my years as a day care teacher. Other ideas will come from books, magazines, friends, and any other sources I can find. Some posts in this column will have just one game or activity, other posts will have more. It'll just depend on what I can come up with each week. Well, that's it with the introduction. Let's get into the first issue of Fun'n'Games Friday. Hope you enjoy!

Jump the Creek

Type of Activity: Game
Objective: Last child to jump the creek wins
Location: Outside
Equipment: Two jump ropes, sticks, lengths of yarn, or anything else to make the "shores" of the creek
Number of Players: Works best with about 10, not counting the "constuction workers"
Age Group: 6 and up

As always, supervise children when playing this or any other game.

Jump the Creek was one of the most popular games in one of the day care centers I used to work at. It's a very easy game to play, with minimal equipment and only one real rule: don't land in the creek. I hope you find it as fun as my kids and I did.

The object of this game is simple: be the last person to jump the creek and win. To make the creek place two jump ropes on the ground a few inches apart. Appoint two kids to be the "construction workers" on the creek. They will each hold an end of ONE of the jump ropes and move it away from the other rope as the game progresses. To begin play line up the jumpers and have them start jumping the creek (the space between the jump ropes). This will be easy and go fast, at first, because the creek will be very narrow. But it will quickly get harder.

After the last jumper has jumped, the construction workers yell, "Construction on the creek!", and move their rope a few inches from the other one. The jumpers line up and go again; when the last one has jumped the workers yell and move the rope. This continues so the creek gets wider and wider. Soon, the jumpers have to get a running start to make it across the creek. Any jumper who lands in the creek, i.e. between the ropes, is out. Finally, it'll come down to two jumpers. They will keep on jumping until one just can't make it across and "falls" into the creek. When this happens the last jumper wins and the game is over.

As stated above, this was one of the most popular games at day care. Sometimes half the center--about 50+ kids--would gather on the playground for a Jump the Creek "tournament". Most of them were spectators cheering on their friends as the creek got wider, the jumping got harder, and the suspense got more and more intense. Shouts of "Go Patrick!", "Go Erik!", or "Go Ryan!" filled the air along with squeals of delight when the favored one won. And then the game was immediately started again.

Try Jump the Creek at your next birthday party or family reunion (adults can play it as well as kids). Create teams, start your own tournament, give out ribbons or medals. You can make it as simple or elaborate as you want. It might even become a family tradition. Most of all, just have fun with it like me and my day care kids did. Get out your ropes and jump that creek!