Five Stones

Another blast from the past!

This is a game we loved as children growing up in Singapore.

I think it is similar to jacks, which is played with a bouncy ball.

These "five stones" are little pyramidal bean bags that are

tossed in the air in different configurations and caught. I never

thought of it then, but this game is great practice for

fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

I went to all-girls primary (equivalent of elementary grades 1-6)

and secondary (equivalent of middle/high school grades 7-10)

schools and we wore uniforms. I'm rather disappointed that

my girls will probably never have this wonderful experience

but oh well. Anyway, my primary school uniform was a white

blouse under a pleated pinafore, which had invisible pockets.

The school was the sort which emphasized decorum and

modesty (we all had to wear bloomers under our pinafores!)

and that encouraged the bringing of clean handkerchiefs to

school each day. Most of us were rather naughty and

unladylike, as girls in a co-ed school could never be,

though. And more often than not, our pockets

contained bits of candy, tissue packets, loose change for

recess, various other odds and ends and our five stones.

Almost every girl had her own set. It became almost a

rite of passage to make your own, although those less craft-

inclined could buy them at any convenience store. We filled

them with beans or rice and painstakingly hand-stitched

them shut, then proudly brought them to school and held

friendly competitions on our school desks

before the teachers arrived for lessons.

Some of you reading this now will probably be pointing

and shrieking from an overdose of nostalgia. You know

how to make them, because you made them when

you were children. But I am guessing that most of you

will have no idea what they are all about, so here's a

tutorial to make them, and then a little videoclip at

the end to show you how to play the game.

You will need some scrap fabric and some beans or

rice or small beads. A sewing machine is nice,

but we hand-sewed ours in the old days.

Step 1

Cut five rectangles from your fabric. Mine measured 2" x 4".

Of course you needn't leave the selvedge on - I did this for visibility in a later step.

Step 2

• Fold each rectangle in half to form a square, right sides facing.
• Using a small seam allowance (mine was 1/4"), sew along two open sides, leaving the folded edge as the base, and the fourth open side for the top opening.

Step 3

Turn right side out.
Step 4

Half-fill with beans or rice or beads.

Don't overfill - it needs to be soft to be easily caught.

Step 5

• Tuck in the edges of the opening- about 1/4".
• Line up the side seams so that you get a pyramid shape.

Step 6

Stitch the opening shut. If you are using a sewing machine, you should be able to do this easily without resorting to using a zipper foot (in which case you've filled it too full).

One completed "stone"

with four others

and a youtube video that shows how to use them.

My girls are still a little young to really get into this -

I'm guessing that 6 year olds might have necessary

coordination to be successful at this.

Nonetheless, they still fought over the stones and came

close to blows because they could not divide them equally

among three when they tried to be nice and share. Kate

loved squeezing them and throwing them hard on the

ground like mini beanbags.

So they invented their own game:

toss the stones into the bucket.

After more fighting, Jenna told me later, "We need

more, mom. You need to make lots more."

I did, honey. You wouldn't believe how many mom made

when she was little. Fewer than the bibs, true - but even then.

Have to mass-produce everything, don't I?

What childhood games did you play?