Some of the Oldest Games in the World
The students in room 508 had the opportunity to learn about a couple of ancient Egyptian games that young people played. We specifically looked at two games – jacks and marbles. We read and learned that the game of jacks is one of the oldest games in the world. Young people in Egypt, Europe, Japan, Australia, China and the United States play different variations of the game. Some have used cloth bags filled with rice or beans, seeds, bones and even stones. Most young people in the United States and Canada play with iron or plastic jacks and a small rubber ball. After reading about the history of the game, we watched a few short videos to get an idea of how the game is played. We explored the iron jacks to get the feel of the prongs on them and counted six to ten jacks. Then we had the opportunity to practice bouncing and catching the small rubber ball. Each student took a turn doing this and had fun with it. Afterwards, each student tried to toss the ball into the air and tried to pick up a jack before the ball bounced. Kimo and Meghna learned that it was not an easy thing to do, but there was a lot of laughter and smiles while trying to do it.
In the game of marbles, students used a different kind of ball made of glass during the 1800s. Ancient Romans and Egyptians used marbles made from stone or clay and it was popular for centuries. Like the game of jacks, students learned that the game of marbles has been played in many countries like Germany, England, Indonesia, America and Australia, with different variations. Students had the opportunity to watch short videos to see the game being played. They learned that the largest marble is called the shooter. They had fun trying to cup it and flick it with their thumb as Jordan shows in the picture below. After several turns, students practiced aiming the shooter towards two to three other marbles. Aidan found out it wasn’t as easy as it looked in the videos, but it was fun. Did you know that you can play marbles on line? We did not know that either. Something else we learned is that there has been a national marble tournament since the early 1900s and for many years it was held in Wildwood, New Jersey. It is the longest running tournament for kids in the country and it lasts for four days. So, during the third full week of June, you can head down to Ringer stadium in Wildwood and check it out.
