We are very excited about new Poland adoption program, but know that adopting pre-schoolers and older children can present their own challenges. One of the best ways to bond with any child is through playing games. So we’ve compiled a list of a few of the most common children’s games played in Poland. Whether you’ve adopted from Poland or not, you can certainly use these games as a way to get you and your children moving this summer!
Blind Woman
Objective: The person who is the “Blind Woman” will wear a bandana around his or her eyes and try to catch the other players. Once a player is caught, he or she becomes the ‘blind woman’. (There can be as little as 3 players, but the more players you have the more fun the game.) This game is similar to our American games Marco Polo and It. All you need is something to cover the ‘blind woman’s’ eyes–make sure it’s a dark bandana or piece of cloth.
Ciupy
Objective: You will need 5 stones small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. There are 6 levels to this game and all 6 levels must be completed in order to win. There must be two players, but you can get a set of teams going to make the game more intense and fun.
Level 1: Let the stones roll off your hands, as you would dice, and then pick out one stone-throw it in the air while collecting one more stone from the ground. You must catch the airborne stone in the hand with the other stone you just collected. Once you have done that, put the stone aside and repeat with all 5 stones until you have finished that level.
Level 2: Roll the stones again. You will then pick one stone to throw in the air-except this time you must collect two stones from the ground while catching the airborne stone in the same hand. After you’ve done this, put the stones aside and repeat with the other pair.
Level 3: Similar to level 1 and 2, except instead of picking up 2 stones you will pick up 3 stones while you wait on the airborne stone to come back down.
Level 4: This time, you will keep all 5 of the stones in your hand. Throw one-put the others on the ground and catch the airborne stone. Throw the stone again and then pick up the remaining 4 stones from the ground-but don’t forget to catch the stone you threw in the air.
Level 5: Throw all 5 stones in the air. Turn your hands palm-down so that some of the airborne stones will land on top of your hand. You will then drop the stones between your fingers, minus one. Throw that one stone in the air while picking up all four stones from the ground-but don’t forget to catch the airborne stone! (This is the hardest level- so if you mess up, don’t worry, just try it again.)
Level 6: Keep all five stones in your hand while throwing and catching the others. (Kind of like juggling except it has a ‘plus two’.)
(If you play this game all the way through, leave us a comment on our Facebook page, we’d love to congratulate you on your perseverance! We’re exhausted just reading all these directions!)
Salonowiec
Objective: You can have 3 to 7 players. Very similar to Heads-up-Seven-up, in Salonowiec (sa-lo-no-vi-est) the “it” person will bend over the table, or sit down putting his or her head down, while the other players stand behind and one person will tap him or her on the back. “It” will try to pick who touched him or her and will keep getting tapped until the guess is correct. Once “it” guesses the right person, that person will then become “it”.
We hope these games will help you out when trying to bring a bit of your child’s culture home. We would love to know how it worked out or if you took pictures, please feel free to leave them in our comment box.
