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[Ripclawe]

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/10469970p-11389340c.html

sheesh.. recess is where you grew character, how to deal with problems and have fun!!!

During lunch recess one recent afternoon, yard supervisor Janice Hudson spotted a first-grader pushing a girl on the swing.

"Do not push," Hudson told the student. "Let her push herself, please."

"One person can be a little stronger than the other," she said as she walked away.

During second-grade lunch, Hudson set up relay races so students could run within the rules. The whistle blew and the racers took off, dashing down the five lanes. A crowd screamed "Go! Go!" Each of the more than 30 students got a chance to run.

Natomas Park administrators say physical safety was the main reason they instituted restrictions. But they admit to worrying about bullying and potential lawsuits from parents.

At Maeola Beitzel Elementary, Janis Mayse, the mother of a fifth-grader, doesn't think the fun is worth it if a game is played to the detriment of another child.

"All of us want to hang on to the games we played as kids," she said, "but we have to keep an open mind that there are games that kids can get a benefit from without hurting one another."

Dodgeball teaches students eye-hand coordination and gross motor skills. Getting singled out and eliminated from competition is part of life, said Tom Reed, professor of early childhood education at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg.

"Life is not always fair," said Reed, also a member of the Association for the Study of Play. "You don't get what you want. Things like this are learned on the playground."

 

[EarthStormFire]

At my elementary school everyone played a game called 4-square. We had dodgeball and basketball courts, but most people didn't play those. I am sure it was just some local game, you people probably never heard of it. Anyway in this game their are winners and losers and I don't remember people crying or complaining when they lost and had to leave and go back in line. These parents are thinking they are protecting their children but they are really hurting them.

 

[Guzim]

Four squared kicked ass. When I wasn't playing it at recess, neighborhood kids and I would always organize games of it.

 

[Wellington]

At my school we played a game called beatdown. We would pick a target, tell them they were the target, and run after them as they fled in terror. And when we caught them, we beat them down of course. God forbid if you were the poor soul that was the target. One time this kid came out with a broken nose and cracked ribs. It's how I learned how to fight, tried to fend them off best I could when I was the target as a youngster. Ah... to be a youth in the Bronx again.

 

[way more]

4-Square kicked ass. We played that you could hold the ball and throw it where ever you wanted in the square. You could also psych the other guy out or look like you're going to slam the ball and then drop it lightly. That move was called the "tiny Texas" or something.

 

[MetatronM]

We either played 4 Square or just screwed around in general. Oh, and Wallball.

Let kids be kids, you uptight bastards. I swear, kids today have it pretty shitty.

"Life is not always fair," said Reed, also a member of the Association for the Study of Play. "You don't get what you want. Things like this are learned on the playground."

Bullshit. Recess is when you CAN do what you want. THAT'S THE WHOLE REASON FOR IT'S EXISTENCE IN THE FIRST PLACE. That's why we call it "recess" and not "CLASS." And Dodgeball is about having fun. There's no deep lesson there. Not everything at school needs to be made academic. There's more to learning and being a kid than finding life lessons in everything you do.

 

[impirius]

Dodgeball teaches students eye-hand coordination and gross motor skills. Getting singled out and eliminated from competition is part of life, said Tom Reed, professor of early childhood education at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg.

Hey, that's my college now... just transferred there! REPRESENT

 

[way more]

At my school we played a game called beatdown. We would pick a target, tell them they were the target, and run after them as they fled in terror. And when we caught them, we beat them down of course. God forbid if you were the poor soul that was the target. One time this kid came out with a broken nose and cracked ribs. It's how I learned how to fight, tried to fend them off best I could when I was the target as a youngster. Ah... to be a youth in the Bronx again.

We called it "smear the queer," that game would never fly today.

 

[Guzim]

Suicide was an awesome game as well. You had to throw a tennis ball at a wall, and another person would have to catch the ball. But if they drop it, they have to run to the wall before another person throws it at the wall. And if the person doesn't make it in time, they get pegged!

I miss recess.

 

[Ripclawe]

Suicide was an awesome game as well. You had to throw a tennis ball at a wall, and another person would have to catch the ball. But if they drop it, they have to run to the wall before another person throws it at the wall. And if the person doesn't make it in time, they get pegged!

I miss recess.

hee, I broke my arm one time trying to haul ass to the wall, thought I would be a genius and jump for the wall. I misjudged the distance and came down on my arm.

 

[BlackMage]

i've broken an arm and a leg during recess. RECESS ROCKS!

 

[Penguin]

Suicide was an awesome game as well. You had to throw a tennis ball at a wall, and another person would have to catch the ball. But if they drop it, they have to run to the wall before another person throws it at the wall. And if the person doesn't make it in time, they get pegged!

I miss recess.

I remember that game, got in a fight with one of my good friends in Junior High School over that once.

There was also a game called Danny Shaning or something like that, which was similar to dodgeball with a smaller ball or something like that.

I remember one time, when I was like 4-5, some kid was messing with my sister. So when he wasn't looking, I wrapped up some rocks into what looked like the balls. And tossed it at his nuts. And well, he got pissed, I knew I ran for the hills after that. He never did catch me though.

 

[BigJonsson]

I played 4 square and football (touch and tackle depending if the teachers were around )

 

[NLB2]

At my elementary school everyone played a game called 4-square. We had dodgeball and basketball courts, but most people didn't play those. I am sure it was just some local game, you people probably never heard of it. Anyway in this game their are winners and losers and I don't remember people crying or complaining when they lost and had to leave and go back in line. These parents are thinking they are protecting their children but they are really hurting them.

Oh man, I was the shit at four square. I beat everybody and the only way they could compete was by coming up with stupid rules like "double bounces" and "bobbles". I haven't played that game in years, though. This is bringing back fond playgrond memories.

 

[NLB2]

We called it "smear the queer," that game would never fly today.

We had a game called kill the carrier that we also called smear the queer. Someone would pick up a ball and everybody else would try to tackle them and when the ballcarrier was tackled they would throw it to someone else and the process would repeat itself over and over. We used to play until someone got hurt.

 

[Son of Godzilla]

Everyone played 4-Square. Texas Twisters, Round the Worlds, Bobbles, Slam Dunks, why the hell do I remember this.

People played dodgeball during recess? That was always during PE when the coaches were feeling lazy but not evil.

 

[SKluck]

Shit, that brings back memories. 4 square. That kicked ass.

I got so many pink slips on Recess.

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

Grade school was all about pin-ball. Pin-ball should be an olympic sport.

 

[Boogie9IGN]

Dodgeball > Kickball > Soccer > Tetherball > 4 Square > Basketball

 

[Matlock]

Kickball with dodgeball outs rocked the box.

No tag-outs, no base-outs. Just pure pain!

 

[Pellham]

I used to get my ass kicked in recess. I'm kinda glad that they're doing this now, and this is the keyword:

But they admit to worrying about bullying and potential lawsuits from parents.

 

[MetatronM]

Suicide was an awesome game as well. You had to throw a tennis ball at a wall, and another person would have to catch the ball. But if they drop it, they have to run to the wall before another person throws it at the wall. And if the person doesn't make it in time, they get pegged!

I miss recess.

Yeah, that's the game we called Wallball. Wallball ruled.

 

[border]

Four Sqaure was hardly a "local game." I wish I could still get enough people together to play a few rounds about campus.

Chickenfeet! Tea Party!

 

[Patrick Klepek]

Suicide was an awesome game as well. You had to throw a tennis ball at a wall, and another person would have to catch the ball. But if they drop it, they have to run to the wall before another person throws it at the wall. And if the person doesn't make it in time, they get pegged!

that game was called "butt's up" around here

 

[etiolate]

Suicide was an awesome game as well. You had to throw a tennis ball at a wall, and another person would have to catch the ball. But if they drop it, they have to run to the wall before another person throws it at the wall. And if the person doesn't make it in time, they get pegged!

Yeah, thats wallball or butt's up also. One kid at my elemantry school got his jaw shattered from playing that. Tennis ball caught him hard in the mouth.

 

[Loki]

that game was called "butt's up" around here

Hah, "butt's up" he says-- that's so wholesome. Here in Brooklyn, we called it either "asses up" or the aforementioned "suicide".


etiolate, seriously? I can't imagine a tennis ball thrown at elementary school speeds being enough to break somebody's jaw. Crazy...

 

[Fifty]

We used to play murder ball. Ahh yes, good times. We'd line up along a wall, and one person would throw the "murder ball" (a ball that was almost as hard as a hockey puck) at us (no head shots was the only rule), we'd then try to dodge it. We lost many good men.

 

[Penguin]

Hah, "butt's up" he says-- that's so wholesome. Here in Brooklyn, we called it either "asses up" or the aforementioned "suicide".


etiolate, seriously? I can't imagine a tennis ball thrown at elementary school speeds being enough to break somebody's jaw. Crazy...

What part of Brooklyn you lived in?

We use to play that a lot in LG.

There were tons of other games as well.. like the 6000000 variations of tag, and some other stuff.

 

[Loki]

What part of Brooklyn you lived in?

We use to play that a lot in LG.

There were tons of other games as well.. like the 6000000 variations of tag, and some other stuff.

What's "LG"? I'm from Gravesend-- if you're from Brooklyn, it's a few blocks up from Coney Island hospital in case you'd know. It's sorta midway between Sheepshead Bay and Bensonhurst.


Yeah, my elementary school recess crew went through phases with games. We'd get a game and stick with it for about 1/3-1/2 of the year. Over the years, we went through races (timed, obviously-- there's that pesky "competition" thing again ), tag, punchball, kickball, suicide, handball ("Chinese" and "American"), basketball, dodgeball, and skully (with the bottlecaps on the board chalked on the floor-- not sure if that's the proper name for it).

 

[Spike Spiegel]

I don't really remember any specifics about some of the games we used to play in elementary school. All I really remember is a lot of shoving, punching, kicking, and getting a lot of cuts and bruises. And that some kid had his leg shattered once, when he tried to trip up the biggest kid in class while playing an "anything goes" kind of football.

 

[Manabanana]

I know some of you would play 500. Just a couple weeks ago some friends and I started filling balloons with water and playing 500 with them. Not water balloons, just ordinary balloons, so we'd end up getting drenched with about a gallon of water if we didn't cushion it right when we caught it.

 

[Teddman]

The most popular game in Jr. High was "Matball."

A great combination of softball and dodgeball, where you had to hit a volleyball with closed fist as it was pitched to you underhand. It was played in a gym. Other rules:

-If the ball hit the back wall of the gym, even rolling, it was a home run.

-Four mats were stationed as bases. Once you stepped off a mat, you had to run to the next base. No running back. The only way to get someone out was to peg them with the ball.

-Unlimited offensive players could crowd on each of the four mat bases.

-Defensive players could station themselves wherever they wanted.

-Catching a hit in the air was an instant out.

-If you hit the very top corner of the back wall, you got an extra 10 pts. or something.

Insanely fun game, as far as I know it was invented at that school. The huge gym was perfect for it. They played it a couple times at my high school, but it wasn't the same at that venue.

 

[Manabanana]

The most popular game in Jr. High was "Matball."

A great combination of softball and dodgeball, where you had to hit a volleyball with closed fist as it was pitched to you underhand. It was played in a gym. Other rules:

-If the ball hit the back wall of the gym, even rolling, it was a home run.

-Four mats were stationed as bases. Once you stepped off a mat, you had to run to the next base. No running back. The only way to get someone out was to peg them with the ball.

-Unlimited offensive players could crowd on each of the four mat bases.

-Defensive players could station themselves wherever they wanted.

-Catching a hit in the air was an instant out.

-If you hit the very top corner of the back wall, you got an extra 10 pts. or something.

Insanely fun game, as far as I know it was invented at that school. The huge gym was perfect for it. They played it a couple times at my high school, but it wasn't the same at that venue.

We played it all the time in middle school and during summer PE. Great game

 

[Cauliflower of Love]

Suicide was an awesome game as well. You had to throw a tennis ball at a wall, and another person would have to catch the ball. But if they drop it, they have to run to the wall before another person throws it at the wall. And if the person doesn't make it in time, they get pegged!

I miss recess.

We called that burnball down here. We used a racquetball though so you can see where the name came from.

Only pussies used tennis balls .

Edit:

Actually, if you dropped the ball you'd have to go touch the wall before someone pegs YOU with the ball. If you didn't make it to the wall three times, you'd have to stand up against the wall(facing it) in the "arms up against the wall" position, while everybody got a chance to peg you.

 

[Prospero]

Suicide was an awesome game as well. You had to throw a tennis ball at a wall, and another person would have to catch the ball. But if they drop it, they have to run to the wall before another person throws it at the wall. And if the person doesn't make it in time, they get pegged!

I miss recess.

Yeah--we called this "butts up."

I remember one school year when somebody upped the ante, and we started playing with a golf ball instead of a tennis ball. I'm surprised none of us lost any teeth.

We also used to play a game called "Who's the Master?" The object was to get someone to say you were the master, usually by inflicting pain on them until they gave in.

 

[Fifty]

Yeah--we called this "butts up."


We also used to play a game called "Who's the Master?" The object was to get someone to say you were the master, usually by inflicting pain on them until they gave in.

Were you cell block A as well?

 

[Riskbreaker]

Suicide was an awesome game as well. You had to throw a tennis ball at a wall, and another person would have to catch the ball. But if they drop it, they have to run to the wall before another person throws it at the wall. And if the person doesn't make it in time, they get pegged!

I miss recess.

Yep...Yep...I remember this game in middle school. We called it suicide also.

 

[Semjaza Azazel]

This reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Skinner gets grey uniforms for all the children... They blink in unison and don't have any fun. "Now you are the one who is it."

 

[EarthStormFire]

We played that suicide game at my school, but we had 1 rule that I guess most of you didn't have. The rule was faces and privates are off limits when you peg someone.

 

[Loki]

We played that suicide game at my school, but we had 1 rule that I guess most of you didn't have. The rule was faces and privates are off limits when you peg someone.

Well, we didn't explicitly have a RULE that said "no face, no jewels", but it was just understood that you don't headhunt, and that any contact which WAS made with said areas was entirely unintentional. If repeated violations occurred, however, then all bets were off.

Playing with people outside of our little band of friends, though, these rules had to be made explicit, since every group and every neighborhood had different rules.