Circle Games - A Tisket, A Tasket

Childhood rocks.

But, I feel like sometimes as a mom of young kids, I complain too much about the energy drain I feel at the end of the day, or the amount of whining I listen to, or the time needed to care for the needs of three young boys.

Sometimes simple things like childhood games remind me of the precious joy that is inherent in these little creatures and the priceless worth of their giggles and smiles.... those cute and adorable moments do  a lot of good for the weary mama. :-)

So, here is a circle song that children have played for many years (since the late 1800's) either as a reminder to you or a new one to learn.
It's great for a playdate activity, daycare activity, family activity, sibling activity (if you're one of those super-moms with lots 'o kids), etc....

First the words and melody:

A Tisket, A Tasket
A tisket, a tasket,
a green and yellow basket
I wrote a letter to my love (or friend),
and on the way I dropped it.
I dropped it, I dropped it,
on the way I dropped it,
A little boy (or girl)
he picked it up
and put it in his pocket.


Here's a link to the Melody: Go HERE!

How to play (same basic idea as duck, duck, goose):
You will need an item to use as a letter... either a play letter from another toy, a real envelope, a handkerchief, etc....

Children sit or stand in a circle (Or, if you have older ones, they can circle around in one direction while the "letter carrier" skips around the circle in the other direction).

One child is the letter carrier who circles around the others while all sing through the song.

At the end of the song, letter carrier drops the "letter" and whatever child it lands behind picks it up and chases  the other around to the vacated spot.

Originally, if you were tagged, you had to confess who your "love" was. But, if you think this may not appeal to your kiddos (it might be a good ego-booster to have some of those little girls or boys say their love is "Daddy" or "Mommy"), you can have a tagged child sit in the middle, go again, or just sit down, since the child who was just chasing will probably want to be the letter carrier now.

Enjoy!

For another option for a Circle Game, check this one out too: Doggie, Doggie