NEEDED:
- 8-year-old girl
- Her twin sister
- An uncle
- Tennis ball.
HOW TO PLAY:
- Explain the rules to the uncle. Sort of.
- The player who is “It” throws the ball up in the air and yells “Jackpot!”
- While the ball is in the air, “It” yells, “ALIVE!” or “DEAD!”
- While the ball is in the air, “It” yells a point value. Just make one up. Pick the biggest number you can. A million billion gajillion is a fine number.
- Argue with your sister about the rules.
- Argue with your sister about whether the point value even matters.
- Argue with your sister about who gets to be “It” next.
- Something about “Stuck in the mud!”
- Something about “Magic box!”
- While the ball is in the air, he other players run to catch it. If “It” yelled “ALIVE!” the ball must be caught while it is in the air. If “It” yelled “DEAD!” the ball must be caught (or picked up) after it has bounced or landed on the ground.
- The player who first catches the ball (or picks it up off the ground) is the next “It.”
- Or possibly not.
I am very confused by all this but the girls seemed to enjoy it.
Are you sure they’re not playing Calvinball?
For a while Eric and his friends were playing Jackpot with a baseball, where they all would fight to catch a popup, I banned this practice after Eric took a deflection off of another kid’s glove right in the mouth leaving an enormous fat lip.
I tried introducing the game Spud to them, that was popular when I was a kid and they thought it was boring,. It did not have enough variety.
Anyway. The kids really enjoyed their visit with you. The attention and energy you showed them paid off. You have claimed the title of “Cool Uncle” .
Your weight loss showed a tangible impact, you kept up all weekend with my 3 maniacs without naps.
I had a great time. The kids are reaching an age where I can really connect with them. After Barn Moderne Saturday night, Cuban dinner Monday, and French food last night, I feel like I have gained back all the weight I lost.