Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/748

 CHILDREN 720 AND TRICKS FOR children! How to Make the ** Children's Hour'' a Delight— Planting the Reel— Blowing the Feather- Indoor Badminton— Pass the Penny— Five Senses Competition— Amusing Catches the left hand alone, and without having ^ allowed the feet to cross over the barrier. The player who succeeds in planting the reel farthest away wins the game, which can be equally well played, impromptu fashion, with the reels of cotton and a hank of tape that any workbasket will furnish I Blow the Feather Blow the feather is another good game, for which the only accessories required are a big sheet and a coloured feather. The players sit cross-legged in a circle or oblong on the floor, and draw the sheet up to their chins, so that it is stretched out in a perfectly flat surface, and only the heads of the players show above it. The umpire places the feather in the middkj of the sheet, and the fun begins ! The players divide into sides, and the object of the game is iof one side to blow the feather over the edge of the sheet between the heads of their opponents. The battle is generally won through one side becoming breath- less and utterly ■ s to plant the reel as far away as collapScd W i t h laughter at the sight of the ridiculous faces made by their adversaries as they blow. A brightly-coloured feather, plucked from a feather boa, or shed by a parrot or a cockatoo, is the best sort to use in this game. Where a wide hall, corridor, or empty room is available, or where a sufficiently large space can be conveniently cleared in the drawing-room, impromptu Indoor bad- minton, played with a penny shuttlecock, and bats cut with a sharp penknife from a sheet of stout cardboard, will keep the children happily engaged for hours. Indoor Badminton A " net," consisting of a wide piece of white tape stretched across the room, must be fixed at a height of at least four or five feet from the ground, over which the shuttle- cock must be tossed backwards and forwards by the players. The scoring may be managed as in ordinary Badminton (described in another In order that the "Children's hour "— and school-room after tea and come down- stairs to be amused until nurse or fraulein comes to announce bed-time — may really be, as it should, the happiest time of the day, the wise mother leaves nothing to chance. She keeps a collection of special toys and picture-books in the drawing-room, and a few appliances for simple amusements which can be played without too much noise or dis- arranging of furniture. Planting the Reel She also makes a point of keeping ready a little stock of new ideas for amusing games, tricks, and catches, that she may introduce them on some long, wet after- noon to the nursery folk, or for a time when the children, convales- cent after some childish ailment, are perhaps inclined to fret and wrangle. Then one of these " bright ideas," produced at the right moment, acts like a charm in dis- persing the clouds and restoring sunshine. Planting the REEL is an excellent Planting the Reel The object of the play can be reached by the hand, the feet being behind the tape starting point game, which can be played by any number of children, from two up to a dozen. The only accessories needed are some empty cotton or silk reels — one for each player — and a length of coloured ribbon, which must be fastened on to the carpet with' a couple of drawing pins to make a barrier behind which the players stand. The reels must each have a distinguishing number — written on a wafer or scrap of stamp paper, and stuck on the top, or, if preferred, they may each be stained or painted different' colours. Rules of the Qame To begin the game, each child takes a reel in the right hand, and, standing behind the barrier, drops down on to the left hand, and, stretching out along the floor, plants the reel as far awa^^ as can be reached. This done, the player must recover an upright position behind the barrier with the help of
 * when the young folk leave nursery