Making my own Five Stones

5 Stones filled with Red Beans

Baby Boy's current Unit of Enquiry is about Play and the teacher was asking parents if we would like to share a game we knew with the children. Well, of course I hadn't any idea, I mean, I'm such a hardworking and serious person do you think I spent my childhood playing?

But I guess that I did play quite a bit after all. Especially when the games I had as a kid were very portable, didn't cost much and required just a friend or 2 for playing with.

I remember that during recess, we would rush out to the playground and play catching sometimes hopping on one leg for added difficulty. Another group game we enjoyed was Eagle catches Chicks. Then when mom agreed to buy me a whole bag of rubber/elastic bands, I used them to make myself a very long rope and I would play skipping games with it with a few girl friends. It was something I could bring along with me everywhere, any spare moment I had e.g. while waiting for the school bus I would whip it out and start skipping. Other times, we would use a spare exercise book, draw (sometimes in 3-D) furniture, rooms etc and used it as background for our home-made or bought paper dolls.

I was also very nostalgic for my 5 Stones. Mom couldn't sew but she managed to buy us 5 stones of different sizes and fillings to play with. I prefer the bean fillings, those stuffed with rice were too compact and difficult to catch.

As a matter of fact, I even left Singapore more than a decade ago with a set or 2 actually. But I couldn't remember where I've kept them since my last move and if I still have them.

Told Baby Boy's teacher about it and she said she would try to make them if I would come show the class how to play the game. I'm absolutely lousy at sewing, but I am also very impatient, plus I am very rusty now not having played 5 Stones for more than 2 decades. Those kids would laugh at me if I couldn't catch half of my stones...

So I searched and found a blog that taught us how to make the 5 stones. I used Baby Girl's old tights and the material's probably too soft and elastic for the method she showed us, so I improvised and came out with 5-stoney-looking 5 Stones somehow. A bit too big for my delicate hands though. And probably will burst after a few throws. I don't have a sewing machine and had to hand-sew the bean bags.

But I'm so damn happy to have done it. Made them after our heavy dinner at the Churrasco restaurant (would you believe it - we were 18!!! 7 adults and 11 kids - but we survived) last evening so I went to bed really happy even though the stomach felt too rich. Now I just need to practise a little.