kate5kiwis: lines and squares and lava

kate5kiwis

“If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life? It is other life, it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony. We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth.” — Mitsugi Saotome

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

lines and squares and lava

do you have memories of playing That Game where you can't place your foot on a pavement crack??? i remember reciting this poem during my childhood, and playing That Game on numerous occasions:

Whenever I walk in a London street,
I'm ever so careful to watch my feet;
And I keep in the squares,
And the masses of bears,
Who wait at the corners all ready to eat
The sillies who tread on the lines of the street
Go back to their lairs,
And I say to them, "Bears,
Just look how I'm walking in all the squares!"

And the little bears growl to each other, "He's mine,
As soon as he's silly and steps on a line."
And some of the bigger bears try to pretend
That they came round the corner to look for a friend;
And they try to pretend that nobody cares
Whether you walk on the lines or squares.
But only the sillies believe their talk;
It's ever so portant how you walk.
And it's ever so jolly to call out, "Bears,
Just watch me walking in all the squares!"

and it seems that it's one of those transgenerational games that *everyone* plays.
or maybe our family is just. so. quirky. (it's a rhetorical question, don't feel you have to answer lol)

cos the latest thing at our place is that someone yells out:
The Floor's Made of Lava!!
and everyone runs around, shrieking hysterically jumping from chair to chair (or *my* cushions)

until someone else yells, The Chairs/Cushions Are Made of Lava!!! and so it continues.

i had a wee
après-school convo with D18 yesterday...
moi: so babe, how was school?
D18: oh it was ok. we didn't do much, it's a bit like homeschooling *evil twinkly grin*
moi: (thinking) Very funny, let's all laugh at The Duck! (guess the movie line) back atcha babee, cos We Totally Do School Here...
(and while all these thoughts are zooming around my brain and just before i open my mouth to defend myself)
D18: hey mum,
The Floor's Made of Lava!! *grins again and lifts feet off floor*

8 Comments:

Blogger Hay said...

Lol- he's just j*e*a*l*o*u*s of all the fun you guys have! Miss Maddy and I had a school convo yesterday, she's been thinking of going to intermediate...which is totally cool but I had to ask why??? - Apparently she wants to wear a uniform. Miss Kyla pipes up...oooohh yeah me too!! Where oh where did I go wrong, my kids are craving conformity!?!
- We play the crack game too, though not quite as articulated, 'step on a crack you marry a rat', I think I definately stepped on a crack ;o) xxxx

9:50 AM  
Blogger Rach said...

I can't name the movie, but I can name the poet (surprise surprise). A.A.Milne. We're going ot recite that poem as we walk down the road to Buckingham Palace, Christopher Robin went down with Alice.

And if your family is quirky, well, so is ours. Did you know that the ground between the car and the footpath is lava too? And all the road markings? They definitely are.

But your quirky is a different kinda quirky to ours eh!

1:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wanna came hang out at your house. It's always a barrel of laughs ;)

2:17 PM  
Blogger BeachMama said...

"The Duck Quote" is that from Pretty in Pink?

We used to say "step on a crack, break your mother's back". Then, when we lived in England where my little sis was born, my Mom had a slipped disk. My older sister and I were terrified of stepping on cracks in the pavement. So much so that we used to cry about it. My Mom finally told us that it wouldn't hurt her for us to step on a crack, bur we just couldn't stop doing it, just in case.

3:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I remember playing That Game when I was a child
never heard the poem before

My older kids use to play that the floor was water

5:41 PM  
Blogger Sharonnz said...

Would you believe I just read that poem to the kids yesterday as they love playing the whole "don't step on the cracks!!" game;-)

8:35 PM  
Blogger oacemama said...

Oh...I so should read that to my lot too...they are all Bear Hunting this week since I instigated a new rule "We only shoot food for our dinner, not people"...and then read Little House in the Big Woods where Pa tries to whack a bear/tree stump.

10:06 PM  
Blogger skatey katie said...

girlies
The Duck Quote is actually Daffy Duck in Space Jam, but i did read that Daffy used to say it in all of his little movies back in The Dark Ages... X

8:38 AM  

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