The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #85915   Message #1594634
Posted By: JennyDeckner
31-Oct-05 - 09:22 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Concentration (kids' game)
Subject: RE: Origins: Concentration (kids' game)
Just remembered another game I used to play called Concentration. It was a hand game. Everyone sat in a circle and set a rhythm by twice slapping their knees, then clapping twice and repeating that pattern. All words were accompanied by slaps, and claps would fill the silence between lines. The game began with everyone chanting "Concentration. (clap clap) Are you ready? (clap clap) If so (clap clap), let's go (clap clap). Starting with (clap clap) names of (clap clap) ________." Fill in the blank. Birds, for example. The first person would say, for instance, "raven, raven". The next would say "raven raven, parrot parrot". Then "parrot parrot, sparrow sparrow", and so on until someone either forgets what the person prior said or can't think of another bird name. It was kind of fun.

There was another game, almost identical, called "Thumper" that had the same premise but different lyrics in the opening chant ("Thumper, thumper, how do you play the game? Thumper, thumper, what do you do? You thump! Raven, raven. Raven raven, parrot parrot.", etc.)