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It is a long time since I saw children playing leapfrog. Maybe it is because I do not frequent the
places where it is played. So when our grandson asked what it was I found it hard to explain,
particularly since I regard myself as too old to participate.
It was the old car tyres that solved the problem. A vertical tyre is just the right height for junior to
straddle. I even managed to demonstrate it. The only problem was how to keep it upright. We
happen to have several tyres, which we collected as fenders for our boat mooring. By fixing bolts
through the rim of the vertical tyre we could fasten it to a couple of horizontal tyres that were heavy
enough to keep it in place.
It turned out to have more than one use. When junior sat on it he was able to rock it to and fro,
rather like riding a horse. With computers these days it is possible to blow up photographs to
almost any size and so we were able to attach a horse's head by pasting a printout onto some
cardboard, which we attached to the front of the vertical tyre. Similarly we could attach a tail to the
back. He didn't seem to mind that it was made of cardboard.
It was only big enough for one child at a time so when friends came to play we needed something
more communal. All we had to do was hang it upside down from the branch of a tree so that the
two tyres that had been horizontal now hung down from the vertical one to provide a couple of
seats for two children. The leapfrog equipment had now become a roundabout. By twisting the
rope holding the tyres they could be made to spin back and forth. An extra rope tied to the top of
the tyre would wind up and provide a faster spin as it unwound.
We thought that would be the end of the uses for this arrangement but we were wrong. The boys
found that their knees were touching since the tyres folded down under the weight. By fitting
another tyre between the two seats they could be spaced out and then they could sit facing
outwards and lean back on the top of the try. It seemed more comfortable.
We think we have exhausted the uses to which we can put this arrangement but there are other
possibilities that we are exploring. It has become a challenge to invent new games.
Dirk is a father of 3 and a grandfather of 5. He has been devising various ways of using simple
equipment to amuse children and save money into the bargain.
His web site is http://www.gardenplayground.co.uk
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dirk_Grover
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