ANTHOLOGY

OF
GAMES
Anthology: Exploring Ring Games in Jamaica
 ANTHOLOGY OF GAMES

Anthology: Exploring Ring Games in Jamaica

Karen Minott

20151655

Early Childhood Education, Mico University College

Motor Development & Movement in Young Children

ECED2000

Mrs: Verona Williams

February 14, 2023

Content
s

Ring Games in Jamaica.....................................................................................................1

Children's Play and Activities..........................................................................................2

Stages of Play..................................................................................................................3
Unoccupied Play..........................................................................................................4
Solitary Play.................................................................................................................4
Onlooker Play..............................................................................................................5
Parallel Play.................................................................................................................6
Associative Play...........................................................................................................7
Cooperative Play..........................................................................................................8

Children three years and under Play............................................................................15

Ring a Ring a Rose....................................................................................................15
Hide and Seek............................................................................................................17
Follow The Leader.....................................................................................................18
Tag.............................................................................................................................19

Four to Five-year-old Play............................................................................................22

Bull Inna Pen cyah come out.....................................................................................22
Brown Girl in the Ring..............................................................................................24
Dandy Shandy............................................................................................................27
Twee Twee and way we go.......................................................................................30

Six to Eight-year-old Play.............................................................................................37

Conclusion........................................................................................................................40

References.........................................................................................................................41
 Acknowledgement

I am grateful to God for allowing me to complete this assignment on the Anthology of

games. Special thanks to those who contributed to the compilation of this book. I thank Mrs

Verona Williams for providing a wealth of information which was vital in the completion of this

book. Additionally, I thank her for accumulating me even with her busy schedule. I thank my

family for providing technical support, printing, and sourcing information from different online

sources. A big thanks to everyone who contributed and assisted me to make this project a reality.
 1

Ring Games in Jamaica

“Ring a Rig a Rosy, pocket full a posy asham asham yu all fell down, ashes in the water

ashes in the sea” is a popular traditional game played in Jamaica. Its folklore and Nursery Rhyme

can be traced to Kate Greenaway’s Mother Goose or the Old Nursery Rhymes in 1881 which

was the first publication of “Ring Around the Rosie” in English (Winick, 2014). It has many

versions and iterations of the nursery rhyme that many African American youths and Jamaicans

played and sang during the mid-20th century. Ring a Rig a Rosy is an example of folklore and

nursery rhyme that may have helped shape our society and culture. Jamaican games uniquely

allow individuals to explore and express themselves through physical activities that all have a

poetic meaning behind their backstory. These games operate as a medium for children to not

only express themselves but also highlight how children communicate and teach others how

these games are played. This process helps in educational pedagogy and improving individual

skills in communication. Additionally, it allows children to improve their behavioural attitudes

and skills when placed and introduced into new social groupings with other children. These ring

games are very important social activities that will help each child communicate better at home,

school, church, and any public and private spaces. The different types of ring games and social

activities such as discovery, creative and social play as well as imaginative and manipulative are

categories that are analysed that assist children in learning new skills, sharing skills,

communication skill and developing speech, muscle development and experimental skills to

create and invent.

 Children's Play and Activities

Jamaican children are introduced to several games and activities. Some of these games

focus on children's creative, exploratory/ Discovery and social play while some specifically

focus on manipulative and imaginative skills. Some of these plays highlight unique ways of

communication, awareness, and memory retention. Games are a fascinating way of improving a

child's motor development. The outcome of improving one's motor skills may lead to more

creative ways of communication and expression, memory retention and awareness. Games such

as ‘Those who born in January” and ‘Punchinella Little Fella’ allows children to improve their

social, creative, and manipulative skills. Some games such as ‘Brown Girl in the Ring”

specifically allow for increased creative and imaginative skills. Each of these games attributes to

improving their motor development skills. The development of motor competence in children

coincides with their cognitive growth and behavioural maturity through interaction with the

tactile environment. The Anthology of games can be categorised based on the types and stages of

play. Each game will be assessed, analysed, and evaluated based on the five types of play. The

five types of play are:

 Discovery Play

 Creative Play

 Imaginative Play

 Manipulative Play

 Social play
Stages of Play
Discovery plays consist of Unoccupied play, solitary play, onlooker play, parallel play,

associative play, and cooperative play. Sociologist, Mildred Parten Newhall (1943) identified six

stages of play as a theoretical framework around children and free play. There are six categories

of play that are widely used by children that allow for their increased motor development skills.

Fig 1. The Stages of Play. How Kinds learn to play: 6 stages of development. https://pathways.org/kids-
learn-play-6-stages-play-development/
 Unoccupied Play

Unoccupied play can be described as quietly observing the world alone, this is primarily

through observation. However, the child can learn from touching, smelling, and hearing what is

in their environment. A child may just be in one spot sitting, standing, or performing random

movements while observing others.

Fig 2. Young girl observing a friend play jacks. [Photograph]. Adrian McDonald (December 13, 2015).
 Solitary Play

The form of discovery play is when unoccupied play becomes more structuralised using

games, books, and toys being their focus. This will allow for the development of gross motor

skills and develops problems - solving issues. This is more common in children ages 2 – 3).

Fig 3. A child constructing a Box Drink Truck. [Photograph]. Adrian McDonald (January 19, 2015).
 Onlooker Play

This is usually when a child observes group activities but does not join yet. The child is

an active onlooker. However, the child may engage gradually in some form of social interaction,

such as a conversation about the play, wanting to know how it is played without joining in the

activity. This is common in younger children. Onlooker play begins when your toddler reaches

between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 years of age (Chertoff, 2019). The child watches and even comments on

other kids playing but doesn’t join in.

Fig 4. Early engagement of play. [Photograph]. Rymanowicz, K (2015).

 Parallel Play

This is when the child uses a tactile material around them and recreates an environment

that is like group play but not engaging in the group play directly or joins it. The child uses

communal items instead to interact with them, these items may be toys. The child chooses to

play separately from others but close enough to be able to mimic their individual actions. This is

classified as a transitory stage from social immaturity as well as from the basics of onlooker

plays to a more socially mature associative and cooperative play type.

Fig 5. Child creating his own play group with toy animals. [Photograph]. Adrian McDonald (December 1, 2015
 Associative Play

This is a further development to parallel play. However, instead of building their own

creations separate from each other, they will work together to make and create the environment

they want to achieve. An example of this is children playing in the sandbox and creating

unorganised groups amongst themselves to see who will build the biggest sand castle in the least

amount of time. Associative play has a substantial amount of interaction but the social activities

and coordination may not be in synchrony.

Fig 6 . Jump Rope. [Photograph]. Adrian McDonald (November 30, 2015).

 Cooperative Play

Based on the child’s interaction and development of their motor skills learned from group play,

the child can apply those skills in other forms of team sports and group activity or any other part

of their lives. The child becomes interested in both the people playing and, the activity, they are

participating in. Each participant has an assigned role. An example of this is ‘Bully inna pen’ and

‘123 Redlight’. This allows for a child to self-identify themselves within a group, eventually

creating a group identity. This form of play is for mature children.

Fig 7. Ring a Rig a Rosie play in Chicago, Illinois, in April 1941. [Photograph] (Rosskam, 1941).

Some benefits of cooperative play allow for improved language skills, improved attention, self-

regulation, better peer relationship, adapting to the needs of others, learning to work with peers,

learning to compromise and learning to resolve conflicts. Children between the ages of 4 – 8
participate in cooperative play. However, children between 6 – 10 may participate in basic

competitive play which can be categorized as having set rules and turns that allow for teamwork.

Motor Skills in Children

Motor skills allow for the movements children need for daily activities and tasks. Children

develop certain motor skills at different ages. Motor skills represent the physical movements of a

child. Motor development means the physical growth and strengthening of a child's bone density,

muscle mass and the ability to do a range of movements. Additionally, the ability to touch and

interact with their surroundings. A child's motor development consists of fine and gross motor

Fine Motor Skills

This type of motor development highlights small movements in different parts of the body such

as the hands, wrist, fingers, feet, toes, lips, and tongue. Fine motor skills involve some level of

dexterity, using hand and eye coordination (Mauro, 2022).. Some of the fine motor skills of

children are:

Birth to 3 months

 Use arms to swing or bat object

 Watches hand move and brings them to the mouth.

3 to 6 months

 Begins to transfer objects from one hnad to another.

 Holds own hands together.

 Reaches for toys using both arms.

6 to 9 Months
 Begins to grasp & hold onto objects, such as a bottle or toys

 Squeezes objects

 Uses a raking grasp to move objects with fingers

9 to 12 Months

 Begins to show a preference for one hand over the other

 Puts small objects in a cup or container

 Turns pages in a book a few pages at a time

 Develops pincer grasp (using index finger and thumb to grasp objects)

 Feeds themselves finger foods

12 to 18 Months

 Builds a tower two blocks high

 Scoops objects with a spoon or small shovel

 Claps hands

 Scribbles with crayons on paper

 Waves goodbye

18 Months to 2 Years

 Begins holding a crayon with fingertips and thumb

 Builds a tower three to four blocks high

 Opens loosely wrapped packages or containers

 Turns pages in a book one page at a time

 Puts rings on pegs

Age 2

 Stacks a block tower nine blocks high

 Turns doorknobs

 Washes hands independently

 Zips and unzips large zippers

 Manipulates clay or play dough

Age 3

 Folds a piece of paper in half

 Draws a circle after being shown an example

 Fastens and unfastens large buttons

Age 4

 Gets dressed and undressed without help

 Touches the tip of each finger to the thumb

 Uses a fork correctly

Age 5

 Cuts out a circle

 Copies a triangle shape

 Grasps a pencil correctly

  Ties shoelaces

Age 6

 Builds a small structure with blocks

 Puts a 16 to 20 piece puzzle together

 Cuts well with scissors

 Uses a knife to cut food

Gross Motor Skills

This type of motor skill development involves the physical development of the muscles that

enable babies to hold up their heads, sit and crawl, and eventually walk, run, jump, and skip

(Mauro, 2022). Gross motor skills are the abilities required to control the muscles of the body for

large movements such as crawling, walking, jumping, running, and more. They also include

higher-level skills such as climbing, skipping, and throwing and catching a ball.

3 to 6 Months

 Raises arms and legs when placed on the stomach

 Rolls over
 Supports own head when in a sitting position

6 Months to 12 Months

 Crawls
 Pulls self from a sitting to a standing position
 Sits without support

Age 1

 Climbs onto low furniture

 Climbs stairs with assistance
 Pulls or pushes toys with wheels
 Walks with one hand held

Age 2

 Jumps using both feet simultaneously

 Runs very stiffly on toes
 Walks upstairs without a bannister

Age 3

 Rides tricycle using pedals, unassisted by an adult

 Runs without falling
 Throws a ball to an adult standing 5 feet away

Age 4

 Catches a ball with arms and body

 Runs smoothly with changes in speed
 Walks upstairs by alternating feet

Age 5

 Catches a ball with two hands

 Hops on one foot
 Performs jumping jacks and toe touches
 Walks up and down the stairs while carrying objects

Age 6

 Kicks rolling ball

 Jumps over objects 10 inches high
 Rides a bicycle with training wheels
 Throws with accurate placement
Children three years and under Play
Infants between the ages of 9 and 24 months have skills needed to play primarily by their parents

and caregivers. As early as Nine months, infants can begin to coordinate their activities to a

sufficient extent that they engage and possibly take an active role. Infants develop both their fine

and gross motor skills through the interaction with the physical items around them as well as the

interactions they have with their parents, caregivers, and babysitters. There is a wide range of

infant and mother activities in speech production. Babies from ages 2 – 3 years old perform basic

activities, and they interact with their senses more than any other age group. This is done mostly

by playing with play blocks, balls, balloons, blow bubbles, and playing with a blanket or any

other tactile material that is safe for the baby.

 Ring a Ring a Rose

Fig 8. Ring a Ring a Rose. [Photograph]. Jamaica Information Service (May 19, 2017).

“Ring around the rosie, A pocket full of posies. Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down! Ashes in a

water, ashes in sea. Ashes, Ashes, We all fell down”

Outcomes

It develops young children's fine motor skills which involves small movements in different parts

of the body such as the hands, wrist, fingers, feet, toes, lips

Discovery Play
Creative Play
Imaginative
Manipulative
Social Play
 Hide and Seek

Fig 9. Hide and Seek. [Photograph] Adrian McDonald (June 21, 2015)

This is a well-known children's game where one player closes his or her eyes for a brief

period (often counting to 100 sometimes less or more) while the other players hide. The seeker

then opens his eyes and tries to find the hiders; the first one found is the next seeker, and the last

is the winner of the round. In one of many forms of the game, the hiders try to run back to “home

base” while the seeker is away looking for them; if all the hiders return safely, the seeker repeats

as a seeker in the next round.

Outcome

It develops fine motor skills in a child. Specifically using their sight and hands to see and

feel the environment around them. Additionally, it allows for better sensory movement.

Discovery Play
 Creative Play
Imaginative
Manipulative
Social Play

Follow The Leader

Fig 10. Children performing ring games, ‘follow the leader’. [Photograph]. JIS Photographer (June 14, 2013).

First, a participant is selected and sent to an area out of earshot. The ring then huddles and selects

a leader. The singing begins instructing everyone to “Follow the leader, leader, leader, follow the

leader.” The leader does an opening act and all the followers join in. The person who was sent
away is then called back and will have to try and find the leader. Remember everyone is now

doing the same thing.

The group must discretely observe the leader and comply smoothly if the action is

changed. This makes it harder for the seeker to catch on. Sometimes if the action gets too

repetitious (when it takes a while to identify who the leader is) the group sings, “Change leader,

change”. The leader changes the action when the seeker is not looking in his/her direction. When

the leader is discovered he/she becomes the seeker, a new leader is selected, and the fun

continues. I find that this game teaches us to support our leaders and to be keen observers of

people’s actions. It is also a lot of fun to play.

Outcome

It develops gross motor skills in a young child. It allows for large physical movements

such as dancing, skipping, and crawling. These movements involve most of the body's muscles

working together to complete an action.

Discovery Play
Creative Play
Imaginative
Manipulative
Social Play
 Tag

Fig 11. Tag being played by children. [Photograph]. Jamaica – Mandeville Mission Highlights (n.d.).

  This a popular game played by children of different ages. This involves two or more

players chasing other players to "tag" and marking them out of play, usually by touching with a

hand. Usually, when a person is tagged, the tagger says, "Tag, you're 'it'!" The last one tagged

during the tag is "it" for the next round. Players (two or more) decide who is going to be "it",

often using a counting game such as eeny, meeny, miny, moe. The player selected to be "it" then

chases the others, attempting to "tag" one of them (by touching them with a hand) as the others

try to avoid being tagged. A tag makes the tagged player "it". In some variations, the previous

"it" is no longer "it" and the game can continue indefinitely, while in others, both players remain

"it" and the game ends when all players have become "it".
 Outcomes

Tag develops gross motor skills in children because it involves the participation of

different muscle groups in a child's body to be active while playing and completing an action. It

mostly uses the hand and allows for good mind–body coordination to avoid being tagged.

Discovery Play
Creative Play
Imaginative
Manipulative
Social Play
Four to Five-year-old Play
Children four to five are learning how to sort things into groups. This age group also

focuses on developing social groups. Children begin to show and express empathy, they may

want to shore their toys within an associative playgroup. At this age group, children become

more comfortable playing with other children, understanding the rules of play, becoming more

independent such as tying their own shoelaces and understanding the difference between make-

believe and reality.

Bull Inna Pen cyah come out

Fig 12. Bull inna pen. [Photograph]. Jamaican Memory Lane (June 17, 2020). Facebook.

Bull Inna Pen is a childhood game that would test your strength. It is usually played with

a larger group of people whose hands are linked together in a circle. One person is placed inside
the circle and they must try and escape. If successful, the person responsible for releasing ‘the

bull’ must run them down. If they do not catch them, they become the ‘bull’.

Outcomes

This game uses gross motor skills. It involves the ability required to control the muscles

of the body for large movements. Your feet are activated by playing this game. This game helps

with decision-making and coordination.

Discovery Play
Creative Play
Imaginative
Manipulative
Social Play
 Brown Girl in the Ring

Fig 13. Children playing ‘Brown girl in the ring’. Celebrating National Children’s Day. Helpjamaica (May 15, 2015)

Usually played in a group, children or adults would gather in a circle as they chant

‘there’s a brown girl in the ring sha la la la la!’ One person would be in the centre of the ring and

then they would ‘show me yuh motion’ or dance before picking somebody else to go next.

Kids play the Brown Girl in the Ring by skipping to the tune of the song by the same

name as the game. Kids form a ring around one child who skips around to the song. Words fro

the song include, "There's a brown girl in the ring cha la la la lah, There's a brown girl in the

ring, cha la la la lah, She looks like a sugar in a plum --plum plum." The words in the song go on

to encourage the child. "Show me your motion, cha la la la lah, show me your motion, cha la la

lah, show me your motion, cha la la la lah, She looks like a sugar in a plum -- plum, plum!"
When the song ends, the child in the middle chooses a friend to join her in the middle of the

circle. The kids surround the two and continue their song, now including the "partner" in the

lyrics.

Rules

A standing ring is formed and those around the ring sing the lyrics. Similar to Punchinella girl in

the ring. There is a person in the ring and they are dancing to the rhythm of the clapping a

singing ring. Once the second line is reached in the song, the person in the ring starts to dance

and the ring imitates him/her. once the verse is complete another person runs into the ring.

They do the same until the whole rings get a turn (depending on the size of the ring everyone

may not get a chance before the game becomes boring and the leader changes the game.

Outcome

It uses Fine motor skills are the abilities required to control the muscles of the body for large

movements. It allows for both locomotive and stationary movement while being positioned in

one place. It also enables the creativity and expressive nature of the child to improve.

Discovery Play
Creative Play
Imaginative
Manipulative
Social Play
 Punchinellla Little Fella

Fig 14. Students playing ring games at the Pembroke Hall Primary School. [Photograph]. Daily Observer

(February 14, 2019).

Jamaican kids play Punchinella little Fella with five to ten kids. According to

Jamaicans.com, the kids surround one kid in a ring. The kids in the ring sing the Punchinella

Little Fella song, which includes lines, such as "What can you do punchinella little fella?" and

"What can you do punchinella little dear?" With each line, the child in the middle responds with

any dance moves she likes. The kids forming the circle must copy her moves. The kids decide

who is next in the middle and the game continues with children singing as the kids change

places.
Outcome

This game uses gross motor movements. It enables the child to copy movements done by others.

These movements may be advanced movements. It's primarily dancing and gyration. This game

increases creativity and quick-thinking skills to come up with a movement.

Discovery Play
Creative Play
Imaginative
Manipulative
Social Play
 Dandy Shandy

Fig 15. Artwork depicting children playing Dandy Shandy. [Artwork]. D. Cunningham (2014).

There are usually three people playing but, to add to the fun, even more, can join in. Two

people stand facing each other with a wide gap between them. In the gap, the other player or

players run from one player to another. A ball or juice box stuffed with newspaper is thrown and

the aim is to dodge the ball.

Dandy Shandy probably originated in England and is basically Dodge Ball played with a

small juice box. Jamaicans.com offers the rules. The game is played with three players. The kids

fill two juice boxes with newspapers and round off the corners of the boxes. The child on each

end throws his juice box at the child in the middle. The center child attempts to dodge the juice
boxes. Kids on the sidelines are entertained by the middle child's gymnastics as she tries to avoid

getting hit by a juice box. Kids watching shout, "Salad!" when the child jumps up with legs

spread]

Fig 16. A child throwing the ball, Dandy Shandy. [Photograph]. Adrian McDonald (August 20, 2015).

Dandy Shandy develops the gross motor skills of a young child. They activate full-body

movement for this activity. Each participant is actively using their hands and feet. It is mostly an

activity that is first learned through onlooker play. Then eventually, the child joins the group.

Dandy Shandy is classified more as associative play. The outcomes of playing Dandy Shandy led

to increased coordination, hand-eye contact, and increased awareness.

Outcome

This uses Gross motor skills in a child. This game is played by different ages of children so it

will develop muscle movement differently for children. It allows for good hand-eye

coordination. The children learn how to dodge and move accordingly. This game uses

manipulative skills when throwing the ball at someone.

Discovery Play
Creative Play
Imaginative
Manipulative
Social Play

Twee Twee and way we go

Fig 17. Twee Twee and way we go. [Photograph]. Chris Carter (June 2009).
 Twee Twee Twee and away we go! This is a game for those with a quick response time.

It is usually played with four people. This hand game is performed by four people (two sets of

partners) and one of these hand games demonstrates how this hand game is performed by two

people.

Outcome

This game mostly uses Fine motor skills. It primarily only uses hand movements.

It teaches Improvement, rhythm, and pitch. This improves hand-eye coordination. Hand response

and movement are significantly increased.

Discovery Play
Creative Play
Imaginative
Manipulative
Social Play

One-Two-Three Redlight!

 In an open space, children are placed in a straight-line standing side-by-side.

 One child, ‘the counter’, stands 5-10 metres in front of this line.

 The counter with his or her back to the line will slowly say “One, two, three… red

light!”

 While the counter is saying this, the line of children will move towards him or

her.
  But when the counter reaches and says “Red light”, then the children moving

must freeze. The counter will turn around and try to catch any children moving.

Anyone caught moving by the counter is out.

 The first child to reach the counter without being seen will be the winner and gets

the chance to be at the counter.

Outcome

This game uses gross motor skills. The child just freezes and then moves. This involves the

whole body and each muscle group working together. This increases the child's alertness and

awareness. It requires the child to be observant and quickly respond to avoid getting caught.

Discovery Play
Creative Play
Imaginative
Manipulative
Social Play
 Simon says

Fig 18. Simon Says is being played by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Kevin Cobb and Students at the

Harbour View Primary School. [Photograph]. U.S Department of Defence (April 21, 2011).

Choose one child as “Simon.” The other children gather around Simon, who gives

instructions by saying, “Simon says…” telling the kids to perform a physical action. For

example, "Simon says touch your nose," "Simon says shake like a leaf." Each child must perform

the action. If Simon leaves out “Simon says” before giving instruction, anyone who performed

the activity is out! This game is for children 3 – 5 and above.

Instructions:

1. One student stands at the front of the class. The other students stand up facing the board.
 2. The student at the front has to give an instruction e.g. Touch your toes. If they precede

that instruction with “Simon says…” (they could also use their own name instead of

Simon) the other students must follow that instruction. Otherwise, they must remain still.

3. If one of the students follows an instruction that they are not supposed to, or doesn’t

follow an instruction correctly, they must replace the student at the front.

Outcomes

This game involves Gross motor skills because the child is doing movements that use

different muscle groups in the child's body. Simon says allows for increased awareness,

improved listening, and communication skills, coordination.

Run Bredda Rat

This is an exciting ring game it begins in the ring but it won’t necessarily remain/end

there…it has an energetic twist! Two selected opponents face off in an angry (faked) dialogue

between Brother Rat and Brother Puss.

Puss: Good morning Bredda Rat.

Rat: Good morning Bredda Puss.

Puss: I heard that you went into my father’s cane piece and cut out the very best cane.

Rat: So what about it?

Puss: Something about it…if a ketch yu a crick yu neck.

 With Bredda Puss throwing down the gauntlet a chase immediately ensues with Rat

trying to elude Puss. Both will make twists and turns between those who form the ring. The ring

participants sing to encourage the adversaries.

“Run Bredda Rat! Bredda Puss ago ketch yu.” Or to encourage Bredda Puss,“lay lay I

will catch you today.”

More energetic participants can navigate the whole school grounds or playing area until rat is

caught and the scenario is repeated with a new pair facing off.

Outcome

This uses gross motor skills. It requires full body participation of each muscle group. The child

does a lot of running and movement. This is normally classified as being played as an

Associative play. It allows for the improvement of the child’s physical skills.

Those who were born in January

Just listen for your birth month and while it is being sung you skip around the ring. It’s a great

game for getting to know the birth month of classmates or love interests at church socials or

fairs.

Outcome

It involves Gross motor movements due to skipping around the ring. This is mostly associative

play. However, it can be Solitary and Parallel play. This game increases the awareness and

alertness of a child. It increases their physical and cognitive abilities.

 Rock Paper Scissors

Fig 19. Children playing Rock-Paper-Scissors. [Photograph]. Adrian McDonald (November 15, 2014).

This is a hand game, usually played between two people, in which each player

simultaneously forms one of three shapes with an outstretched hand. These shapes are "rock" (a

closed fist), "paper" (a flat hand), and "scissors" (a fist with the index finger and middle finger

extended, forming a V).

Fig 20. An illustration of how rock paper, and scissors is played. [Illustration]. Wikipedia (n.d.).

Outcome

This game uses only fine motor skills. It requires individuals to just use their hands. This can be

Solitary, parallel, or Associative play. It increases hand-eye coordination. Also, it increases the

child's cognitive abilities, alertness, and awareness. It allows for quick response and decision-

making.
Six to Eight-year-old Play

Chinese Skip

Fig 21. Chinese Skip/ Chinese Jump rope, Jamaican game. [Video]. Youtube. Kaeann AJ. (May 15, 2020).

To play the game, you will need patience and many elastic bands. The game is usually

played with three or more people inside a regular box created by joining the elastic bands

together. While two players form the rectangle with their feet, another jumps in and out of the

elastic bands, doing various different foot movements throughout. they cannot fall or fail any

steps. After successfully completing each round, the elastic band is raised to a new height and the

same steps are repeated.

Outcome

This game primarily uses Gross motor skills while playing the game. This can be seen as

using Parallel or Associative play. The child mostly jumps which requires all muscle groups to
be active. This game improves the physical skills of the child. It requires focus and concentration

to complete different actions.

Twenty-Four Bounces

A lively game that allows participants to show off their dancing skills. The song talks about a

girl/boy from over yonder who impresses everyone with his/her ability to do the 24 bounces. At

this point, the girl/boy chooses a dancing partner and begins to dance. The lead singer challenges

the dancer by complicating the dance e.g. way down low, side by side, back to back, foot to foot

and so on. The dance partner then takes over and the bounces continue. Soon you’ll be doing the

24 bounces too… that is if you don’t have two left feet.

The group forms a wide circle [also called "the ring"]. One person is selected to stand in

the middle of the circle. The people forming the circle begin singing while standing in place.

They may also clap in time to the song’s beat. The middle person doesn't sing but runs or walks

around the inside of the circle. At a specific point in the song, the middle person stands in front

of someone who, presumably, he or she randomly picks. The middle person then does some type

of movement which the person she or he is standing in front of must exactly mimic. After this

action [or after doing this two times], the middle person exchanges places with the person in

the middle and becomes the new middle person.

Outcome

This game uses both gross and fine motor skills because it is dependent on the movement

that is to be mimicked by the person in the middle of the ring. This is classified as using

Associative play. This games increase the creative and physical skills
 Saltfish deh pah Counter

The ring is formed with a person in the center, that person is the ‘saltfish’. Then the

chant  begins:

Saltfish deh pah counter

An it nu ha no owna 

So meck it tan deh rotten till di owna come fah

An a ru kum ku kum ku dash,

Ana ru kum ku kum kum dash,

An a ru kum ku kum kum, ru kum ku kum kum, ru kum ku kum kum dash.

At the point of the series of ru kum ku kum kums the person in the center of the ring does a

dance in front of a random person who next becomes ‘saltfish’ when the last line is said. Since

we are a people with ‘riddim inn a wi bones’ you can imagine the waistline moving to the ru

kum ku kum kumd dem!

Outcome

This game uses gross motor skills because the child mostly moves their waistline. It

makes the child more expressive and creative.

 Conclusion

 The Anthology of games identifies different ring games played in Jamaica and the

outcomes each has on the child’s physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional skill development.

Each form of the Jamaica ring game is categorised by the type of movements involved in each

play. The main was to identify the outcomes each game had on the child's overall motor skills

development. Each play allows the child to communicate, express themselves, and learn how to

create social bonds with their peers. Ring games are very important for the social and cultural

well-being of Jamaican children. These games allow for generations of fun to continue for years

and the passing down of knowledge from generation to generation. This knowledge facilitates for

the improvement of Jamaican children's skill sets using fine and gross motor skills.
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