In case anyone is wondering why Jameela is so quiet this afternoon, there’s a very good reason. No, she doesn’t have her nose buried in a book as usual, but she does have her nose buried in something. It’s a postcard from her new pen pal Maisha, who lives in England. Her Mum and Doll Lady are great friends who grew up in the same village. It seems Maisha and Jameela are about to become great buddies too. Maisha says she loves to play sports and wants to know what kind of games the dolls play at Doll Cottage. Let’s take a look as Jameela replies.
Dear Maisha,
Hello from everyone at Doll Cottage. I hope you can come visit us some day.
My favorite hobby is reading story books. I also like to play games with my friends.
Doll Lady says it’s important to get my nose out of my books and get some fresh air every day.
She’s been teaching us some fun outdoor games she used to play when she was a little girl.
Every afternoon we pick one game and play outside for at least one hour. I can’t believe how much fun I’ve been having! I’m really good at Kati, which is Dodgeball. We play with a ball made out of old socks or a yarn ball stuffed with left over yarn pieces and fabric from Doll Lady’s work.
Blada is my other favorite. It involves a rope of rubber tubing from an old car tyre tied into a stretchy round. Two players act kind of like posts, draping the blada rope around their ankles. When it’s your turn you jump—in, out, in apart in out and over—without tripping on the stretchy rope. If you succeed the dolls acting as the pole move the rope to knee level, then to their waist then to shoulder level. It’s such a fun game. Maybe we should have a blada championship in Doll Village soon.
My goodness! This can be exhausting! To cool down we might play Bano which is a game of marbles. Or sometimes we play five stones, using stones that we pick outside the cottage that are about the size of a marble. You have to focus carefully to be good at this. You throw one stone in the air, quickly pick one of the stones from the ground and catch the one you tossed before it falls and repeat for each stone. My best tip for this is to keep your eyes on the stone that’s in the air.
The younger dolls love to play pretend cooking. I still like it too sometimes. We set up 3 stones like Doll Lady taught us and put sticks and twigs under them, and make cooking pots from mud. The food we pretend cook is from leaves and flowers. We then pretend eat it with stick spoons.
Write soon and tell me more about the games you play in England.
Lots of Love,
Your New Friend,
Jameela.
Did you know…
When parents and grandparents were children, they used to play a lot more outdoor physical games than children did today . Nowadays, studies show that most children around the world don’t get enough of the physical activity they need for healthy growth. That’s because they spend more time either in front of a phone or TV screen or reading and studying.
Did you know that playing physical games helps children do better in class? It helps improve memory and concentration which means better test scores.
Play a game outside…
Which of Doll Lady’s childhood games is your favorite? Your mum, dad or an older relative probably played some of these games. Pick one to teach to your friends or siblings.
It’s okay to make up your own rules. Have fun! 😊