Thinking way back to my childhood we used to play with fashion plates, numerous board games like Trouble, Aggravation, Perfection (I was good at that one), Uno, Monopoly, Life, Operation. We made cootie catchers, which you know I am loving to make right now, played MASH (mansion, apartment, shack, house), two-square, tether ball, and also choreographed routines to songs by Shaun Cassidy or Captain and Tennille. We even made routines on swing sets before aerial dancing was a thing. Remember cat's cradle? I have a loop of yarn in my purse right now for the very thing in case I find someone who knows how to play.
My first home was at the top of a cul-de-sac and there were always kids outside riding bikes, roller skating, or looking for a game of tag. The home I grew up in during pre-teen to early-teen years was in a remote and rural Butte County town and we'd play Man Hunt. It was similar to Hide-And-Go-Seek, but only one person hid and the rest of the kids went searching for them at night, dressed in camo, where the entire neighborhood was the boundary.
We walked. We walked everywhere and even through people's properties to take short cuts. I remember walking a lot with friends at my side. We'd walk to the tennis courts at the high school and play for hours during the sweltering summers. We'd walk to the corner store for junk food and then hit up the movie rental place for these giant record-sized cd's.
Currently, I have a 14 year old student in my sewing class who shows up every week super-hyped about making something he saw on Tik Tok. I don't know if he's obsessed with screens, but I do know he spends a lot of his free time deconstructing clothes and upcycling them. He came to class last night with a commissioned project. He's altering a pair of his friend's jeans using African mud cloth.
Two of my homeschool sewing students are making things to sell at a craft fair. Two other students who happen to share a backyard fence and are besties, are sewing things for their lemonade stand. I love a good lemonade stand or a craft fair!
I do wonder how much free time kids these days get. I remember summer break lasted forever. Now everything whizzes by. I don't have time for boredom anymore. I wish more kids did.
Are you sure you didn’t grow up near me or perhaps you lost a sister? Your childhood sounds so much like mine in terms of games played and things done. I too have taught several homeschoolers how to sew and one is successfully marketing their own patterns on instagram now! What a good trip down memory lane.
Oh, my friend, this is such a beautiful list. I’m going to share it around so people don’t miss it. I grew up across the street from a cul-de-sac miles and miles from you and isn’t it crazy that we did all these same things? *That* culture of childhood, where kids figure out kid-like things to do is what I wish for all kids.
Thank you for sharing what some of your awesome students are doing. This is what I hoped to do with these posts—share fun stuff kids are still doing to give us all hope! 💫
Patricia, I JUST yesterday looked up the Betsy-Tacy books because I was thinking about how much they meant to me as a kid. I need to re-read. Also let me know how I can help bring "Story Time for Caregivers" to life <3
Hey fellow shrinky dinker!
Thinking way back to my childhood we used to play with fashion plates, numerous board games like Trouble, Aggravation, Perfection (I was good at that one), Uno, Monopoly, Life, Operation. We made cootie catchers, which you know I am loving to make right now, played MASH (mansion, apartment, shack, house), two-square, tether ball, and also choreographed routines to songs by Shaun Cassidy or Captain and Tennille. We even made routines on swing sets before aerial dancing was a thing. Remember cat's cradle? I have a loop of yarn in my purse right now for the very thing in case I find someone who knows how to play.
My first home was at the top of a cul-de-sac and there were always kids outside riding bikes, roller skating, or looking for a game of tag. The home I grew up in during pre-teen to early-teen years was in a remote and rural Butte County town and we'd play Man Hunt. It was similar to Hide-And-Go-Seek, but only one person hid and the rest of the kids went searching for them at night, dressed in camo, where the entire neighborhood was the boundary.
We walked. We walked everywhere and even through people's properties to take short cuts. I remember walking a lot with friends at my side. We'd walk to the tennis courts at the high school and play for hours during the sweltering summers. We'd walk to the corner store for junk food and then hit up the movie rental place for these giant record-sized cd's.
Currently, I have a 14 year old student in my sewing class who shows up every week super-hyped about making something he saw on Tik Tok. I don't know if he's obsessed with screens, but I do know he spends a lot of his free time deconstructing clothes and upcycling them. He came to class last night with a commissioned project. He's altering a pair of his friend's jeans using African mud cloth.
Two of my homeschool sewing students are making things to sell at a craft fair. Two other students who happen to share a backyard fence and are besties, are sewing things for their lemonade stand. I love a good lemonade stand or a craft fair!
I do wonder how much free time kids these days get. I remember summer break lasted forever. Now everything whizzes by. I don't have time for boredom anymore. I wish more kids did.
Are you sure you didn’t grow up near me or perhaps you lost a sister? Your childhood sounds so much like mine in terms of games played and things done. I too have taught several homeschoolers how to sew and one is successfully marketing their own patterns on instagram now! What a good trip down memory lane.
Cathy, you would be so lucky to have Meliss as a lost sister. She still infuses life with childlike fun! I’m so grateful to have her as a friend.
Oh, my friend, this is such a beautiful list. I’m going to share it around so people don’t miss it. I grew up across the street from a cul-de-sac miles and miles from you and isn’t it crazy that we did all these same things? *That* culture of childhood, where kids figure out kid-like things to do is what I wish for all kids.
Thank you for sharing what some of your awesome students are doing. This is what I hoped to do with these posts—share fun stuff kids are still doing to give us all hope! 💫
Patricia, I JUST yesterday looked up the Betsy-Tacy books because I was thinking about how much they meant to me as a kid. I need to re-read. Also let me know how I can help bring "Story Time for Caregivers" to life <3
Synchronicity! Betsy-Tacy forever! Man, I loved those books. I’m going to DM you about story time 😌