Other Kirsten

Welcome to Kirsten's World
Play the games mentioned:
Follow the Leader: First a leader or "head of the line" is chosen, then the children all line up behind the leader. The leader then moves around and all the children have to mimic the leader's actions. Any players who mess up or do not do what the leader does are out of the game. The last person standing other than the leader is now the new leader.

Tree Tag Under hökens vingar kom: A somewhat similar game is known in Sweden as "Under hökens vingar kom". In this variant, the catcher(s) call out "Under hökens vingar kom!" ("Gather under the wings of the hawk") while the others (the "doves") respond "What color?" The catchers name a color, and those who wear that color can then safely walk across the field to the other side. The others have to dodge the catchers, and if caught, they join the catchers themselves.
Rules
The rules of tag are very flexible. Rules such as the following can be either decided upon before the game, or added as the game progresses to make play more fair.
At the beginning of the game, one player is designated "it". After "it" is chosen, the other players scatter. "It" must chase them down and tag them, usually by tapping them somewhere on the body. A tagged player becomes "it", and the former "it" joins the others in trying to avoid being tagged. This process repeats until the game ends.

In a typical game of tag, no score is kept, nor is a winner selected. Those who can avoid being tagged or who can stay "it" for the least amount of time are generally regarded as the best players. There is usually no time limit; the end of the game is chosen arbitrarily, perhaps when the players tire of the game, when recess ends, or when players get called home for dinner.
An anomalous property of tag is that although being "it" gives a player the most influence upon the game and thus could be considered the best role to play, the position is stigmatized and avoided. While most agree that the temporary stigma associated with being "it" is harmless, some have criticized tag because, they allege, a player who is often pursued to be made "it" or who is physically slow can be singled out and embarrassed. Because of this, tag has been banned in some schools.

Hide and seek
Hide and seek (sometimes called hide and go seek) is a popular tag variant that is best played in areas with lots of potential hiding spots, such as a forest or a large house. "It" covers their eyes or faces away from the playing field and counts out loud to some predetermined number while the other players hide. "It" then tries to find the hiding players. The next "it" is either the first or the last player found, depending on the rules agreed to by the players.

Fox and Hounds
This variation is best played in as large an area as possible, with as many participants as can be found. If played in a school, it should use the entire area covered by the grounds and, ideally, the interior of the building as well. Possibly the best games are played across an entire housing estate and involve more than a hundred players, with rules against players using their homes or gardens as hiding places. Such a game can take several hours to conclude, particularly when some players are very skilled.
The game begins with a single player (the "hound") giving the "foxes" a big enough head start to allow them to get out of sight. The hound then gives chase and tries to hunt down the foxes. Upon being tagged (or sometimes, wrestled to the ground), the foxes switch sides and become hounds.
Ultimately, all but one of the players will be hounds, chasing down a lone fox. Great kudos are due to any player who can evade the hounds for a great length of time without resorting to foul play.

Shadow Tag
This form of tag was originally played in mid- to late- afternoon or morning, but the modern ubiquity of outdoor lighting makes it a popular game for summer nights. It is exactly like tag in all respects except that shadows are used. The shadow of the player who is "it" must touch another person's shadow. The other person is now "it."

Under hökens vingar kom
A somewhat similar game is known in Sweden as "Under hökens vingar kom". In this variant, the catcher(s) call out "Under hökens vingar kom!" ("Gather under the wings of the hawk") while the others (the "doves") respond "What color?" The catchers name a color, and those who wear that color can then safely walk across the field to the other side. The others have to dodge the catchers, and if caught, they join the catchers themselves.

Blind Man's Bluff
Blind Man's Bluff involves the "it" player being blindfolded or keeping their eyes closed while attempting to catch other players. This is a flawed version of the game as "it" is clearly at a disadvantage, and cheating is easily attained by "it" opening their eyes. The game can function well in a relatively confined space (such as a larger living room) where the "it" player can hope to entrap other players in corners, thereby touching them with an outstretched hand or leg or at least compelling the other players to give away their position by creating a sound. In some variations, every player is blindfolded.

Puss in the Corner is a solitaire card game which is played with a deck of 52 playing cards. It is similar to another solitaire game Sir Tommy, but with modifications and with the waste piles placed at the corners of the foundations, hence the name. First, the four aces are separated from the rest of the deck and placed side by side in two cards of two, forming a square. The four waste piles, which initially would contain a card each, are located at the corners of the square.
Building on the foundations is up by color (red suits on red, black suits on black, no matter the suit) to kings. The player first examines the cards to move any cards that can be built on the foundations. If a gap occurs, it is not immediately filled. Only one card can be moved at a time. After the sufficient cards are built, four cards, one at a time, are dealt onto any of the wastepiles (not necessarily one on each waste pile). Afterwards, any cards that can be built to the foundations are moved. There should be no building on the wastepiles themselves. The process is repeated, i.e. dealing four cards any on the waste piles and moving any available cards (the top card of each waste pile) to the foundations over and over, until the stock is exhausted. After the stock is exhausted, the player can do a redeal. To do this, the player must pick up the four waste piles in any order one wishes, and without shuffling, restarts dealing four cards, restarting the process. The game ends when this second stock is used up.
The game is won when all the cards end up in the foundations.

Crack the Whip is a simple outdoor children's game that involves physical coordination, and is usually played in small groups, either on grass or ice. One player, chosen as the "head" of the whip, runs (or skates) around in random directions, with subsequent players holding on to the hand of the previous player. The entire "tail" of the whip moves in those directions, but with much more force toward the end of the tail. The longer the tail, the more the forces act on the last player, and the tighter they have to hold on. As the game progresses, and more players fall off, some of those who were previously located near the end of the tail and have fallen off can "move up" and be in a more secure position by grabbing onto the tail as it is moving, provided they can get back on before some of the others do. There is no objective to this game other than the enjoyment of the experience. References to this game go back to the 1890s in England. Recently, this game has been challenged by some child advocates in the U.S. as being harmful to both the physical and psychological development of children. There is the potential for some children to become seriously injured when thrown off the tail of the whip, for example, especially on ice. In addition, the social lessons of the game are not as obvious and appealing as in other types of physical games and sports.


Kirsten on the Trail
This should be read after Kirsten’s Surprise

Have you been told to stop playing with a friend?

Should Kirsten have told her parents about Singing Bird when they met?


Kirsten and the New Girl
Do you like staying home from school?

Have you embarrassed yourself?

What’s it like to be the new girl?

Looking Back
What do you and your friends do for each other?


Kirsten and the Chippewa
This should be read during Changes for Kirsten

Have you been scared of people?

Why is it rude to make fun of others?

Knowing Aunt Inger trades with the Chippewa, could that hinder Kirsten’s friendship with Singing Bird?


Kirsten Snowbound!
Read another book about the blizzard of 1888.

Has your family lost power, or worse, their home? What did you do?

Compare the blizzard with Hurricane Katrina. Which was worse? Why?


Kirsten's Promise (Should be read after Happy Birthday, Kirsten!)
Has anyone asked you to make a promise you couldn’t keep?

What other secrets should you tell?

Have you seen a wagon like Ezra’s?

If you can, play a computer game like Oregon Trail 2 to understand the rough life of pioneers.

Make a flower crown

Learn to sing “Oh Susannah”
Oh I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee,
I'm going to Louisiana, my true love for to see
It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry
The sun so hot I froze to death; Susanna, don't you cry.
Oh, Susanna, don't you cry for me
For I come from Alabama,
With my banjo on my knee.
I had a dream the other night when everything was still,
I thought I saw Susanna coming up the hill,
The buckwheat cake was in her mouth, the tear was in her eye,
I said I'm coming from Dixieland, Susanna don't you cry.
I soon will be in New Orleans
And then I'll look around
And when I find my gal Susanne,
I'll fall upon the ground.

“Pop Goes the Weasel”
Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.
Or the alternative verses:
Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
Mix it up and make it nice,
Pop! goes the weasel.
Or the alternative verses:
Up and down the city road, (also seen as 'Up and down the King's Highway')
In and out the Eagle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.
For you may try to sew and sew,
But you'll never make anything regal,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.
In both England and the English colonies, extra verses have been added, some humorous and others serious:
All around the mulberry bush,
The monkey chased the weasel,
The dog, he thought 'twas all in fun.
Pop! goes the weasel.
or...
Round and Round the mulberry bush,
The monkey chased the weasel.
The monkey stopped to tie his shoe.
Pop! goes the weasel.
or...
All around the mulberry bush,
The monkey chased the weasel
The weasel thought it was all in jest
Til the monkey slew the weasel
(with other versions of the above where reason for murder is given (such as the weasel biting the monkey), or later verses describing how the deed was done, typically through strangulation)
or...
Ev'ry night, when I come home,
The monkey's on the table.
I take a stick and knock him off,
Pop! goes the weasel.
or...
Round and round the cobblers bench,
The monkey chased the weasel,
The monkey stopped to pull up his socks.
Pop! goes the weasel.
or...
Round and round the carpenter's bench,
The monkey chased the weasel,
The monkey thought 'twas all in good fun.
Pop! goes the weasel.
or...
Round and round the cobblers bench,
The monkey chased the weasel,
The monkey thought 'twas all in fun.
Pop! goes the weasel.
A penny for a spool of thread,
A penny for a needle.
That's the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

Due to the obscure slang and cryptic reference "pop goes the weasel", there is considerable dispute over the rhyme's meaning.

Find another song from the period to learn.