Hey ladies!

This is a great thread topic, thanks for starting it, Mo.

May I respectfully request that folks include demographical information as to where they live [city, state, if in the USA or province, region, nation or some other identifying but not too identifying info] and when they or children they observed performed these types of circle games?

From my memory, observation, readings, and from information I have collected through emails sent to me and through additional communication with folks I know and don't know, there have been different ways the middle person has been/is selected in circle games depending on where you lived in the USA and depending on when you're documenting this play activity.

For instance, in 2006 an African American woman told me that when she was growing up near Atlanta, Georgia in the mid 1980s, the person in the middle purposely walked toward the child she wanted to choose to take her place. [Note the "her"; according to her recollections, girls [5-12 years or so] were the only ones who played these types of games.This was also true in Pittsburgh area in the 1980s-at least it appeared that way to me.

However, I remember from my childhood in Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1950s that African American girls and boys played "show me your motion" circle games together-at least a few boys would play though it was mostly girls games even then. And, even way back then the next middle person was always chosen at random. The middle person never sung the song that accompanied the game. At a specific part of the song, the middle person [how 'bout using this abbreviation "tmp"?] would close her [or his] eyes, cover her eyes with her right hand [I think this takes the place of a handkerchief or scarf over the eyes] and then standing basically in place, she would turn around with her left arm outstretched. In this manner tmp [the middle person] would be pointing to people making up the circle. The person who tmp was pointing to at the end of the song became the new middle person.

This is exactly the way that taught my children how to play these games in Pittsburgh, PA in the 1980s [which is understandable since it's the way I know]. But this is also the only way that I have observed other [African American] children playing these games throughout Pittsburgh area to date [2007].

Unfortunately, I haven't formally/informally collected examples from and I haven't observed from non-African American children in Pittsburgh, PA are or elsewhere. But it would be very interesting to see if the same patterns held true [not to mention if these children played the same games with the same words].

All this to say, in my opinion, adding demographical information along with the information about how the middle person is chosen, would be interesting, and would add to the folkloric 'record' about children's games.

**

Also, Mo, may we add the words to game songs to this thread along with the information about choosing the middle person [tmp]?

Pretty please with sugar on top?

I'm gonna assume that you said yes, and I'll add an example in my next post to this thread.

Thanks!

:o)