Tip—Build imagination by reading stories and then extending them with related activities.

Last week we started to look at some fun, summer activities to go along with reading stories out of A Horse’s Tale: Ten Adventures in One Hundred Years. When you’re looking for something fun and unusual (i.e., not involving a screen) for your kids to do, it’s often a good idea to look to the classic games and toys of the past. For example, playing marbles is as much fun now as it was in 1910. Hula hoops that were popular with children in the 1950's still entertain well today. Think about some of the games and activities you (or their grandparents) found fun as a child and introduce them to your child. For most children, having Mom or Dad participate in a game or play with a toy is attraction enough to get them to participate.

Tools—Don’t be surprised if your kids want to read all the stories in A Horse’s Tale (a story of a little, wooden horse who gets passed to ten different children in 100 years).

• Read “The Footlog” from A Horse’s Tale. This story is set in a logging town in the 1920's. Henry visits a logging camp with his uncle. The games are ones that lumberjacks played in the bunkhouses in the evening. They emphasize balance—a skill loggers needed.

  

  Rooster Fight: You need two brooms and a soft surface (like a tumbling mat) or play outside on a lawn. Two players squat on the ground, back to back, each with a broom handle held under their knees. Both must grasp the broom handle with their hands and not let go. They then butt each other with their backs until one topples over.

  Jack in the dark—where are you? You need two blindfolds and two tube socks. Blindfold two players and give each of them a tube sock. Other children or family members form a circle around them. Twirl the players around three or four times. At the call, “Jack in the dark, where are you?” both try to swat the other with the socks. Have the children observing count how many “hits” each player gets.



• Read “The Mysterious Delaneys” from A Horse’s Tale. In this story, Katy plays the role of detective and solves a mystery. Real-life detectives sometimes have to disguise themselves to do their surveillance work. Throw a disguise party. Invite a few of your child’s friends to come to the party dressed in disguise. Encourage children to develop a whole new character. Begin with a new name, different age and clothing, the way the new character walks, talks, stands, sits, and what s/he likes or dislikes. You come in disguise as well. Have a prize for the person who adopts a character most unlike his or her own and carries it off convincingly.

You’ll find more practical tips you can use right now in A Horse’s Tale: Ten Adventures in One Hundred Years by Nancy Luenn.

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