This giveaway is closed.
The next giveaway is from Imagine Childhood, a family-run store that believes children should experience the world through their own eyes, ears, fingers, and toes. Direct interaction with nature is the best way to learn about the world, and open-ended imaginative play is the best way to learn about what it could be.
They have products for both indoor and outdoor play, all of which interacts with the natural world. It’s fitting as we approach our next Book Club selection, Last Child in the Woods, which explores the crucial need for our children’s generation to get back into nature.
When choosing new products for Imagine Childhood, they ask themselves five questions:
- Does the product promote exploration, creativity, and/or unstructured play?
- Is it fun and exciting?
- Is it Fair Trade and made of sustainable or eco-friendly materials?
- Can it be reused again and again, and in varying applications?, and
- Does it provide learning opportunities?
Imagine Childhood wants to give one Simple Mom reader a $50 gift certificate! You can choose from anything in their store.
To win, here’s how to enter:
Leave a comment at this post, answering the following question: What was your favorite childhood game to play outside?
The giveaway is open to anyone in the U.S., and it lasts until this Saturday, May 30.
I hope you win! Check back in a few hours for another giveaway.
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My favorite childhood game was kick the can! My grandma used to play it with us all the time.
Beth´s last blog post…Memorial Day Weekend
My absolute favorite game was cops and robbers. We would all ride around on bikes, roller blades, or even just run in sneakers and all of the neighborhood would join in. The best part was, the more people you had playing the better the game was.
Christi higham´s last blog post…Around the house
I loved the sandbox. My dad made my own little house in our back yard (you know back when men did stuff like that…ha, out of real wood, not plastic) and he made a sandbox attached to it with a little fence…HOURS of play were enjoyed. Luckily enough, my girls also love the sandbox
Brings back happy memories 
I used to play that I was a great adventurer back in the old days far from home. I would pretend like I was catching a train or exploring new land.
Jen´s last blog post…the lake
My favorite game was midnight tag which was just tag right after the sun went down. All the kids in my neigborhood would play on summer nights, it was really fun.
Hide and Seek
Tennis ball….Like baseball with tennis ball/racquet instead, that way the younger kids in my neighborhood could also play. We spent many summer days playing tennis ball in the cul de sac
We used to call the game german spotlight – a combination of hide and seek and tag, using a flashlight at night. I have fond memories of running around in the warm summer evenings.
I loved hide n’ seek and kick the can…lots of running!
Hopscotch! I remember lots of hopscotch…
Emily´s last blog post…Happy Memorial Day
I loved to play hide n seek, rollerskating, adventures.
My cousins and I loved to play sardines when we were younger.
during recess in elementary school it was jacks.
At home, it was to make a maze in the acreage behind the house.
I loved kick-the-can!!!! Today’s kids play a different version…they use a flashlight…that spoils all the fun!!!! I can remember several times someone would be running around the neighborhood in the pitch-black of night, and forget to watch for the clotheslines behind the houses; they would get clotheslined good! lol In the daytime, we played peggy…kids don’t know that game today either, lol. It was a baseball game; to become the batter you had to catch one fly ball, or two first-bouncers or three rollers. We would stay outside all day long in the summer time, playing ball, riding bicycles or roller skating (the old-fashioned kind with keys-lol), climbing trees, building forts – I was raised with three brothers and a whole neighborhood of boys so I was a big tomboy… But you knew you had to be in the house at 5pm for supper or you would be in trouble!
I loved playing out in the snow forts during the winter!
Hopscotch for sure. I was not very athletic, but all I had to do was toss a rock and jump – now anybody can do that.
TAG!!! We would play for HOURS. I’d still play tag if the neighborhood kids would let me
courtney from mommie blogs´s last blog post…LL and his pops
I loved hopscotch and hanging by my knees from the very top rail of our backyard swing set.
Hide n seek, rollerskating, tag, and racing. I loved running!
We used to play “Ghost Ghost” which was just hide and seek after dark with flashlights.
My favorite is croquet.
I learned to play as a child from my grandfather (Pup~Pup) who had the patience of Job!
It has become such a family tradition and now, 5 generations later, I have the privilege of playing Croquet with my three grandchildren!
I highly recommend it for family fun and making special memories.
Growing up I lived on 10 acre piece of land with four other families. Our play time would consist of re-enacting the stories that our moms had read to us. Such as Robin hood, Laura Ingals Wilder, Narnia. We would dress up in dress up clothes and weave a story that we would spend the afternoon acting out. Many times we built homes out of branches or bent over trees. We would spend time gathering berries and grass seed to make into our “meals”. The time would fly by and we would only be called back to the real world when our mothers blew the whistle for dinner. My heart warms at the memories!
Kick the can!
Tracy´s last blog post…And now for a completely gratuitous post….
I would go “camping”. I would get my dolls together and go hide behind some trees down the street from my house and pretend we were living in the wild eating leaves and berries (not actually eating them, of course).
Jump rope or rollerskating!
Emily´s last blog post…Flight Video
I loved playing No Bears Are Out Tonight. I also loved just playing outside in the play house, sandbox and on the swings that my parents got for me.
I know it isn’t so green, but I loved running through the sprinklers!
When I was a child we lived in a neighborhood with lots of kids our age. Our favorite summertime routine was to play, play, play all day and then after dinner at dusk it was time for one last round of play. FLASH LIGHT TAG! Each kid had a flashlight and the same rules as basic tag applied. If the “it” shines his/her light on you, you were tagged. It was so much fun: the flashlights, summer heat, lightening bugs, and the silly giddiness of getting in the last playtime minutes before we were called home for bath and bedtime. Ahhhh, summer fun!
Hide and go seek! At night! With the first 10 rows of the cornfield considered “in”…
bdaiss´s last blog post…Just another Monday
Capture the Flag. We had the best neighbors who would let us run all over their yards so the boundaries were endless.
I’d have to say playing ‘house’ in the woods!
My favorite was just running around in the woods for hours and hours, playing in the little stream that ran behind our house… listening to the trees.
I loved playing pretend. Whether we were indians or living on the prarie I always got into the role. I found my ‘ indian suit’ ( a pitiful Disney Pocahontas holloween costume) and it has holes and was filthy however I just couldn’t toss it.
Freeze tag and kickball. I loved competitive stuff and I still do!
My favorite outdoors game was four square. We used to play it for hours during recess at school. Also, we played kick ball as a family every weekend we were home. It was a lot of fun.
I loved to ride my stick horse around the neighborhood. It didn’t matter to me that I had a real horse in the back yard to ride.
I have 3 siblings and we used to play “Statues” “New Orleans” and “Soap” they all involved some form of charades and a small amount of running. I’ve taught them to my daughter, but they really only work with at least 4 people. Playing after dark on summer nights always made them more fun, too.
I loved just coming up with pretend / make believe games!
I loved to play handball. It was my fave:)
My hotwheels! I was a total tomboy
My favorite childhood game was midnight hide and go seek. Playing in the dark made it seem especially tricky!
I always wanted to play the Farmer in the Dell, but rarely found enough willing participants.
what an awesome giveaway and AWESOME company! Thank you so much for making me aware of them. I know where I’m doing all my Christmas shopping!
The favorite outdoor game in my childhood was either tetherball (we lived across the street from an elementary school so we had full run of their playgrounds) or plain ol’ tag, with my 3 brothers and sisters and all the neighborhood kids. so much fun!
Our neighbors had a tree swing – a really really great tree swing, and we could take the seat out and just use the rope for swinging on while standing! My sister and I and the other neighborhood kids played lots of imaginative games with that swing – especially things like Indiana Jones, where you’d be required to swing out of harm’s way on a vine or something.
Capture the flag, or night-time hide and seek.
Emily´s last blog post…Priorities
making mud pies!
brandiandboys´s last blog post…Sheila’s Story…
Shoot – my brain doesn’t go that far back…but I’m told that I spent a lot of time on a neighbors Shetland Pony!
Great Giveaway – Thanks!
Neas Nuttiness´s last blog post…
My favorite childhood activity was riding bikes, making up dances and preforming them on the front grass, roller blade ing, and just exploring… We went camping alot and I have SO many great memories in the woods.
Kick the can and roller skating.
I’m such a girly-girl, but I loved jump-rope………I was good at it too! I remember the game that went “Strawberry Shortcake, cream on top….tell me the name of your sweetheart! Is it A, B….” and I would always try to stop on T, so I could say it was Todd – gosh, I loved Todd!
We used to play nighttime cops and robbers with all the kids on the street. The whole street was transformed by the game.
Gosh we were outside for HOURS and all the time…I too adored Kick the Can, Mother May I, and Red Light Green Light. Anything that involved physical activity and keeping us outside was always a hit.
I loved twirling and swinging high in our oak tree tire swing!
Thanks for the memories!
My favorite memory was digging tunnels in a large pile of sand at a home construction area right behind our house.. We dug a huge series of tunnels to drive cars through.. I know, I was a tomboy!
My favorite game was to play capture the flag in the dark! We as kids played it with our cousins and then as we grew and became teenagers we were able to play all summers long with our friends. Good memories… thank you:)
we lived in a home that had a back yard with a sprinkler set up. Our favorite thing was running through them until we shivered.
We didn’t have very many kids in the neighborhood so games/activities using imagination like acting out stories, building faerie places out of rocks and sticks, and riding motorcycles [the game aspect was racing]…
building houses in the woods, hands down
Stefani´s last blog post…Becoming
My favorite childhood game was to build forts. I know its not strictly a game but I would spend all summer making forts and hideaways out of bushes, tress and spots by the river.
I think my favorites were climbing trees and playing on our swingset. My kids seems to like playing in the dirt and playing scavenger hunt with me.
I built a lot of forts, but my favorite was when I was allowed up in the big kids tree house.
Aimee´s last blog post…Twitterpated over Roast Broccoli with Lemon
I was always trying to gt enough kids together to play kickball!
And when we didn’t have enough kids for kickball, my vote was for Spud!
I lived in a neighborhood where we knew all the neighbors, everyone lived on five or ten acres, and it was on a dirt road. I would go outside in the morning and return at dark…I loved just being outside playing, helping my mom and our neighbors garden, climbing trees, and soaking in the sun.
My fave outdoor game when I was little was to make pretend campfires out of sticks and stones. My sister and I would pretend to roast wild mushrooms and have a backyard campout! Thanks for the neat giveaway!
I loved to jump on the trampoline with my cousins. We made up all sorts of games–our favorite was “bucking bronco”.
Kristi´s last blog post…Something Divine
I loved SWIMMING!!
Emily´s last blog post…Coming up for air
loved to play in my outdoor playhouse! Or catch catfish in our pond…
My brothers, sister and I would pair off, build forts, and defend them against the opposing duo while trying to sabotage the enemy camp.
A favorite childhood game to play outside is Ring Around the Rosy.
Building dams. Maybe that is why I became an engineer!
It would have to be freeze tag. I can remember games that spread over several yards and all the kids on the street playing.
whitney´s last blog post…homemade ice cream
I loved running around the yard and playing with squirtguns and water balloons.
I loved playing restaurant outside… mud pies with tree berries, sticks for french fries.
I’m all over this one! My favorite game was always Ghost in the Graveyard (I even blogged about it once: http://meghanlou.blogspot.com/2007/03/ghost-in-graveyard.html). Can’t wait for our next book discussion!
Meghan´s last blog post…Food and Community
My mom had picked up some old shopping carts from a store that went out of business. We’d pack my little sister and neighbor in each one–complete with bike helmets, padding, etc.–and then race them as fast as we could or crash them around. I can only imagine what all the others neighbors thought of us!
I loved riding on my big wheel and my bike. I would go everywhere. Big Wheels were awesome! I also used to swing for hours.
Mama Bird @ Fly Away Family´s last blog post…10 Tips for Staying Healthy & Trim
Freeze Tag
I used to love it when my dad mowed the grass. I would take chunks of the grass and make an outline of a house ( a floor plan if you will), with bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens. It was my version of a dollhouse but for me!
We used to make forts all the time. Not really a game but it was the number one choice of things to do. We had access to tools and wood and would make all kinds of things. My favorite was a bush that was hollow in the middle though. I cleared a tunnel as a door and set up house in there for an entire summer.
http://simply-lally.blogspot.com/
Capture the flag! However, this question got me thinking about all the fun outdoor time I had as a kid. It’s sad so many kids these days are kept inside so much (although many times there are good reasons). So much fun to be had outside!
I loved Red Rover!
I loved kick the can and capture the flag!
Jill Foley´s last blog post…Missing Out
I have many, MANY pictures of myself at 3, 4, 5 years old, dressed in a bathing suit; a towel tied around my shoulders; bandaids on my ankles, knees, wrists and elbows (for decoration, not first aid); goggles on my eyes, and sticky-backed gift bows stuck all over my head. Apparently, I loved to put on this outfit and dance around in the backyard to music only I could hear. I have vague memories of this and of the dancing being very slow and interpretive, but I’m still not sure… was I pretending to be a superhero? A Solid Gold dancer? Whatever it was, it was definitely a favorite and definitely fun.
Michelle´s last blog post…It’s a…
Hide and seek. The game evolved when I got a pair of walkie talkies in second grade, and then in high school it was night time laser tag, but still variations on the same theme!
Casey´s last blog post…Papr Pendant tutorial
Red Rover and Red Light, Green Light
I remember playing fort a lot. We loved building forts.
Oh my goodness – as soon as I read your question, the first thing that came to my mind was “FREEZE TAG!” like my inner child was screaming out. Consciously, I’d completely forgotten about that game!!!
we played ‘marco polo’ in the pool for hours and hours. my poor parents and neighbors are still haunted by the call ‘marco’, ‘marco’ ‘polo’
I have fond memories of making mud pies! Other things I played often outside were double dutch jump rope, hopscotch, and catching lightning bugs.
Kristen´s last blog post…weekly reflection
mine was jumping rope . who doesn’t love that?
Hide-n-Go-Seek-In-The-Dark (say it real fast) and ANYTHING on bicycles : )
I read Last Child in the Woods last year and am so glad you are promoting that book here! Another good one that I think complements is “Drive” (what overprotecting our children has done and how to restore a sense of drive to our kids)
deb meyers
I loved playing hide and seek!
I loved tag, my swing set, roller skating, and just making up games with my brother and our friends – loved being out of the house!
Our neighborhood favs were Red Light, Green Light; cops and robbers; and setting up an obstacle course competition.
We had a climbing rope in our backyard and we used to hit it as hard as we could with a soft bat. We pretended the rope was a dragon and everyone had to avoid getting touched with the rope while it whipped around. Not a very safe game, but it was fun running in there with the bat and trying to hit the rope without letting it touch you!
Did anyone else play “Green Ghost in the Graveyard”??? We spent hours playing that… and catching lightning bugs! (fireflies)
Swimming and playing “name that cloud”
Badminton. My oldest is almost able to hit the birdie so we’ll be playing a lot, soon.
I’m new to the book club, but can’t wait to read and discuss this one. My favorite outdoor childhood activity/game was swinging in the hammock in my grandparents’ garden. They grew all kinds of fruits and veggies and I loved to help tend and harvest. We would take breaks from the “work” and swing in the hammock while Grandma or Grandpa told us stories. My husband and I are saving to buy a house, and one of my requirements for our home is a yard with trees for a hammock. I hope our daughter can make some life-long memories there like I did in Grandma and Grandpa’s garden.
I liked playing with chalk on the sidewalk.
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