25 Days: Fox & Geese

Both of my parents are the babies of their families, so growing up we didn't have a lot of cousins our age around to play with - namely because most of them were in college or getting married. We also live out in the country so the aren't really neighbor kids to play with, either. We read a lot and made up games (remind me to tell you about how I convinced my sister that cleaning our room was a game). Our Grandma moved in next door to us when I was in first grade or so and often played with us - or as it's called to grown-ups, babysat. She taught us a lot of old-fashioned songs and games from when she was younger, like the Chattanooga Choo-Choo and one of our favorite winter games, Fox and Geese.

Basically you stomp out a wagonwheel shape in the snow, and one person is proclaimed the Fox and must chase the Geese without stepping off of the path. It's just a way to play tag in the snow. I always thought it was something that she and her brother and sisters had made up when they were kids. Then a few years ago I was rummaging around some old books at our church and found a book of "games for young people" that was probably written in 1930. It suggested parties with themes like Our Nation's Presidents and other things children wouldn't do now if their lives depended on it. And lo and behold, in the "outdoor games" section, was Fox and Geese! Maybe Grandma's church had had this book back in the 30s when she was in school and that was where she learned it.