Jacks? I loved jacks!
Skating? I loved skating!
Paddle? My mom loved that paddle! She would take that ball and string off and use it on somebody's backside whenever necessary!
Boy, this post is great. I loved so many of those games. But jacks, skates and tetherball were the best!! Oh and I can't forget four square (and eight square) and kickball...oh and hide and seek outside after dark. My favorite boardgame was Parcheesi. I loved playing Parcheesi. I still love to play games. That is one thing I miss about my kids growing into adults and being so busy. Guess I will have to wait to teach my grandkids all the games I love so that I can play them again!

I loved playing jacks. We had a plant here that manufactured "Staley" balls, hard and very good at bouncing. I played in the city grade school tournament for three years. Never had enough confidence to ever win but was always thrilled to be there.

Mom used to give the paddle balls to us every year, but she just waited until the ball fell off then used it on us, didn't appreciate getting that present at all.

My first Barbie,had such a strong rubber smell that I was banished to a cubby hole under the stairs which is the only place my Mother would let me play with her. She had the striped bathing suit, blonde ponytail and frizzy bangs. Sure do wish I had her.

Iloved playing games with my cousin who was the same age as I was. We were very close and the time that I spent at her house is the only "normal" family life I had.

I jumped rope too, I loved Double Dutch, never did well enough to get to the city tournament in that though.

Opens up a ton of memories.

Sherri

Paddle ball, jump rope, barbie... jacks, slinky,
Such great memories...

I loved to jump rope!
I also remember my uncle and his gang playing Monopoly til late at night! I never played it myself.

Does anyone remember playing "Chinese Jumprope" which used a circular piece of elastic. It's funny but when my girls were young they played so many of the same games I played as a child even using the same rhymes and everything. For as much as things change, so many things remain the same.
Serendipity

Lalapaloosa, was that a family trait getting that paddle used on our backsides with the rubberband and ball detached? Karen and I used to hide that paddle whenever we got the chance!!
Serendipity

Serendipity you are partly right about change, as a child I played Jacks and as an adult still do only its called: JACKS OR BETTER, lol....I should have stayed with the childs game, I did alot better....

Loved, loved, LOVED, jacks! My Aunt and Cousins would come visit us in Washington from Arizona, and my cousin and I would sit for hours and hours playing jacks. Now, I can't seem to get the coordination thing going. It's hysterical! My father put up a tetherball in our back yard (we lived in the country, so there were really no kids for miles our age) and my brother and I would play all the time. But I haven't seen anyone mention Lincoln Logs or Tinker Toys!? Oh, and yes, we had marbles too. In fact, before my Dad passed away, he handed me my bronzed baby shoe, and tucked inside he had saved a couple of the marbles we used to play with. I had to cry when he showed me. They're still in there and a reminder of my Dad's love and sentiment for me. What about "dress-up"? Remember those little high heel shoes made out of hard plastic with the little strap? What wonderful memories!!

jawjaw,
Slates were those funny pieces of cardboard with the silvery paper that you wrote on with a red wooden pencil. Then you lifted the paper and it disappeared and you started all over again.

Louisa

Peggy, I think dress up was one of our fav's when we were between the ages of 4-8...take a look at the pic on my homepage under the "guest book/contact me" page...that's me and my sisters.

Louisa - NOW I remember. I loved those things! Seems to me there was a man drawn with a very round face at the top of mine and he had a moustache, right?

JJ

There may have been. I know there was another toy that had a man's face and all this black sand that you used a magnet or something to make his beard with or something like that.

Louisa