# Play Around the World > A collection of simple, old-fashioned games kids play around the world, from India's 5 stones game to Kabaddi, Sepak Takraw, Mancala, Dutch shuffleboard and Chinese ribbon play. It was gathered for a multicultural kid bloggers' carnival. Try a new game and talk about where it comes from for a little geography and world culture lesson. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/play-around-the-world/ - Ages: 3+ · Difficulty: easy · Mess: low - Time: prep none, activity varies - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class - Skills: world-cultures, geography, fine-motor, gross-motor, hand-eye-coordination - Cautions: ingestion-risk ## Safety - Small pebbles are a choking hazard. Supervise closely with children who still mouth objects. - Use bangles that won't break. Glass bangles can shatter if dropped. - Clear plenty of space for active running and tagging games like Kabaddi or Wolf and Sheep. ## Ideas - **India: 5 Stones Game (easy version)**: Gently throw smooth pebbles and try to catch a few on the back of your palm. The full game also means tossing, picking up stones from the ground and catching again, but the simple version is plenty of fun for preschoolers. - **Bangle Catch**: Play the same throw-and-catch game with bangles, catching as many as you can with your fingers. - **Thailand and Malaysia: Sepak Takraw**: A fascinating Thai and Malay kick ball game. The ball itself is an amazing creation! - **India: Kabaddi**: A unique game popular in many parts of India. It's a great gross motor game that promotes agility and team spirit. - **Bolivia: Wolf and Sheep**: An easy-to-play playground game kids love in Bolivia. One clever mom even used it to teach action verbs. - **Ethiopia: Mancala**: The Ethiopian version of Mancala, a fun math-based game popular in many parts of Africa and Asia. - **The Netherlands: Traditional Dutch Games**: A small collection of traditional Dutch games, including a shuffleboard game and a fun carnival-style game that involves eating. - **China: Gymnast Ribbon Play**: A simple ribbon play activity that's very popular among Chinese kids. - **Costa Rica: Simple Baby Play**: A cute Costa Rican variation of a very popular baby activity. - **Family Fun**: Play is all about being simple and connecting with your kids. Here is a fun idea for a family tradition. - **Board Games from Around the World**: A great roundup of popular board games from around the world. - **Play Around the World in Pictures**: A beautiful collection of photos of kids around the world simply playing. ## Tips - The real 5 stones rules get complicated. To make it simpler for my preschooler we did a fun and easy version: just throw and catch on the back of the palm. - I must say just throwing and catching pebbles on the back of the hand was fun for a 4 yr old. - Why not try a brand new game and talk to the kids about its place of origin? It's a little lesson on geography and world culture, all while playing. ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013) Fun and fabulous kids games around the world and across families. Today's post is a collection of wonderful play ideas from a group of amazing bloggers who write about raising **multi cultural kids.** Almost all of them have one commendable goal - to raise world citizens. These parents are doing an amazing job teaching their kids to respect differences at the same inculcating curiosity in learning about the said differences. Every month a blogging carnival is hosted on various topics. Visit the upcoming site to see the earlier **[blogging carnivals.](http://multiculturalkidblogs.com/blogging-carnivals/)** This month's topic is Play Around the World. What do kids in Thailand play? Do they play any special games in addition to the universal play in dirt, climb trees, tag, hide and seek? Read on to learn more.. However we will start off a simple game very popular in India. The game is played with 5 stones and the goal of the game is to capture all the stones. ### *5 Stones Game* Gently throw the stones and try to catch them with the back of your palm Almost all the times atleast a few stones with be on the ground ( unless you have boat shaped uber bendable palms) Throw the stones which landed on the back of your palm, pick up the stones which are on the ground and now catch the stones which you threw. Bit of juggling eh? The rules get more complicated. To make it simpler for my preschooler we did a fun and easy version. ( Now you are listening..!) Pick up some smooth pebbles, throw them gently and try to catch a few with the back of your palm. That's it. I must say just this alone was fun for a 4 yr old.. We did the same with bangles. Try to catch as many as you can with your fingers. *Now for some posts from our multi- cultural kid bloggers. Click on the game and country name to go to the original post.* ### *[Thailand and Malaysia -](http://kidworldcitizen.org/2011/11/07/sepak-takraw-a-thai-and-malay-kick-ball-game/) [Sepak Tekraw](http://kidworldcitizen.org/2011/11/07/sepak-takraw-a-thai-and-malay-kick-ball-game/)* Kid World Citizen has a fascinating post on this [Thai kick ball game](http://kidworldcitizen.org/2011/11/07/sepak-takraw-a-thai-and-malay-kick-ball-game/). The ball itself is an amazing creation! ### [*India- Kabaddi*](http://kidworldcitizen.org/2011/11/09/a-popular-playground-game-in-india-kabaddi/) Kid World Citizen also wrote a fun post on this unique game of Kabaddi which is popular in many parts of India. It is a great gross motor game that promotes agility and team spirit. ### *Bolivia - Wolf and sheep game* Spanglish House describes a easy to play and loads of fun game kids play on playgrounds in Bolivia. This clever mom even used the game to teach action verbs! ### [*Ethiopia - Mancala*](http://kidworldcitizen.org/2011/11/14/make-and-play-the-ethiopian-game-tegre/) Kid World Citizen shows us in this amazing post the game of **[Mancala - the Ethiopian version](http://kidworldcitizen.org/2011/11/14/make-and-play-the-ethiopian-game-tegre/)**. It is a fun math based game which is popular in many parts of Africa and Asia. ### *The Netherlands* Expat Since Birth has a small collection of traditional Dutch games which includes, a shuffleboard activity and a fun carnival style game which includes eating! ### [*China - Gymnast Ribbon Play*](http://www.creativeworldofvarya.com/gymnastic-ribbon-fun/) Creative World of Varya has a simple play activity which is very popular among the Chinese kids. I'm sure you will nod your head in agreement when see this fun play idea. ### *Costa Rica - Simple Baby Play* All Done Monkey has a cute Costa Rican variation of a very popular baby activity. ### [*Family fun*](http://www.kidsyogastories.com/farm-kids-yoga/) Kids Yoga Stories shows us all play is all about being simple and connecting with your kids. She has a fun idea for a family tradition. ### *Board Games from around the world* In Culture Parent also has a great round up of popular **board games from around the world.** ### *Play around the world - in pictures* In Culture Parent's beautiful collection of kids from around the world simply playing is a must see. A common factor as you can see in all the games mentioned above is that they are all good, old fashioned simple play. Why not try a brand new game and talk to the kids about its place of origin? A little lesson on geography and world culture all while playing. **Thanks for reading and don'r forget to visit the blogging carnival's page for the upcoming installment.**