chapter four.twenty.eight. foursquare.

tranquility before the chaos.

foursquare: n. a child's game in which each of four players stands in one of four boxes drawn on the ground in a two-by-two grid and must bounce a ball into another player's box without holding the ball or stepping out of bounds.

i've been at the same school for about a week now (great for a substitute, i'm loving the routine) and one of my daily responsibilities is yard duty during recess and lunch. one thing i have noticed:

these kids are bringing foursquare back.
with a vengeance.

as a young girl in elementary school, i saw the lonely yellow lines painted on our hardtop, but did i know what to do with them? no. did i even know the game of foursquare (or king's court, if you will) even existed? no. (and i don't think any of the other kids did either.) it wasn't until later that i was educated, but by that time i was in my last year of highschool and it was no longer appropriate for a "child" like me to play.

these kids, however, are lined up (sometimes 10-15 kids waiting to get into a game) around the edge of all four courts chomping at the bit, just waiting for someone to get out. and when someone does, there's no mercy. it's quite entertaining to watch, really. the races to the squares at the beginning of recess, the screams of decisions made ("OUT!" "IN!") and the dives/lengths they go to. one in particular made me chuckle this week. just picture a small 7-8ish year old boy recovering from a miraculous save, only to wipe his brow and mutter, "oh thank HEAVENS!" before crouching to ready position again. eep!

and we thought wall-ball was where it's at this past summer... pfft.

also, i dressed up as a bird on friday.
all the grade six girls loved it.
"your costume is so kewwwl!"