Traditional Children Games

Booklet

Fekete István-Vörösmarty Mihály

Általános Iskola és Gimnázium, Ajka

HUNGARY

Hungary is situated in Central Europe. It is a landlocked state with

many neighbours – Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia,

Slovenia and Austria. Its population is about 9.8 million inhabitants.

The official language is Hungarian, also known as Magyar, which is part of the Finno-

Ugric group and is the most widely spoken non-Indo-European language in Europe.

Most of the country is flat, with low mountains. The hills in the western part of the

country lead to the Alps, while higher hills lying to the northeast are part of the

Carpathian Alps. The biggest river is the Danube.

The capital of Hungary is Budapest.

With about 2 million inhabitants it is

the political, economic, commercial

and cultural centre of the country. It is

also one of the most important

railway junctions in Europe. It lies on

the two banks of the River Danube.

Buda and Pest were two towns before 1873 when the two parts of the city and

Óbuda were officially united. It is rich in history and culture and it is famous for its

curative springs.

Lake Balaton, nicknamed as the

Hungarian Sea, is one of

Hungary’s precious treasures. It

is the largest lake in Central

Europe; it’s a popular holiday

resort with Hungarians and other

Europeans alike.

The Hungarian cuisine is very special, hot and spicy due to the common use of

paprika. Typical Hungarian dishes are: Fish soup, Goulash soup, Stuffed cabbage,

Gundel Pancake.

Ajka

Ajka is an industrial town in Veszpém County on

the western hills of the Bakony Mountains not far

from the Lake Balaton.

By a legend Ajka is located on the territory, where

a giant lived. Once he stumbled over the Somló Hill and struck his lips. Lip in

Hungarian 'ajak', 'his lip' in Hungarian ‘ajka'. Where his lip touched the ground a town

grew, called AJKA.

The short history of Ajka

Around 1000 B.C. the area was inhabited by Celts then it

was conquered by the Romans. The Hungarians occupied

the area in the early 10th century. The village itself was first

mentioned in 1214 when it was already about a hundred

years old. Ajka developed slowly during the next few

centuries. Real prosperity came only in the second half of

the 19th century when coal resources were found nearby.

In the 1930s vast bauxite resources were found too. Cool

and bauxite mining was the most important industries in

the region but in 1996 the mines were closed.

There are many beautiful sights and attractions in Ajka.

Our school

Our school is named after a Hungarian poet

Vörösmarty Mihály and a Hungarian novelist,

Fekete István.

The school was built in 1975, when it was only a primary school. Later, in 1993, the

first grammar school class started.

It is a complex institution. Schoolchildren are taught in three school buildings and the

school itself represents two forms of teachings. These are primary school and

secondary grammar school.

The priorities of the school are language learning –English, German, French-, physical

education and the protection of the environment.

At present about 900 students attend the school and about 90 teachers work here.

The school is a huge yellow building in the city centre. In the school there are lot of

classrooms, two IT rooms, a huge gym, a big hall, a library, special laboratories for

languages and sciences, a canteen, and two football fields in the school yard.

Hitting stick game (Bigézés)

Playing Bigézés was a very popular outdoor game in the 19th – early 20th century

Hungary and the Hungarian speaking area. It was played mainly by rural youth.

The game involves a 13-15 cm long and 2-3 cm wide piece of wood sharpened on

both ends and a 100-150 cm long stick used as a bat. Players make up two teams. The

members of Team A are standing in a queue. The bige is placed on a stone or just on

the ground. The first player strikes at one end of the bige with the stick, tips it up into

the air and hits it to a distance as far as it is

possible.

Everyone has got three trials. If the batter

misses the bige three times, he is out of the

game. The next player comes; he has the

chance to make trials.

After each hitting, players measure the

distance in step and score the number made.

Finally, the players’ points are added together

and teams change position.

The mill game

“Mill” is one of the oldest board game known in all Europe.

This game needs at least 2 players. Each player has nine (black

and white) pieces or “man” placed on the board’s 24 spots.

The “man” can move among the spots but just on the boards’

lines. In the game players have to place three pieces in a row (horizontal or vertical)

to make a mill. The player forming a mill can capture an opposing piece of his choice.

Object of the game is to leave the opposing player with fewer than 3 pieces therefore

he can’t move anymore.

For the mill game we made the board from recycled paper at the project meeting in

Ajka.

SPAIN

Spain occupies most of the Iberian

Peninsula, stretching south from the

Pyrenees Mountains to the Strait of Gibraltar, which

separates Spain from Africa. To the east lies the

Mediterranean Sea, including Spain's Balearic Islands. Spain also rules two cities in

North Africa and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic.

Many Spaniards share a common ethnic background: a mixture of the early

inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, the Celts, and later conquerors from Europe and

Africa. The origins of the Basque people in the north of Spain remain unknown.

Recent immigrants from North Africa and Latin America have added to the mix.

Spain is divided in 17 parts called autonomous communities. Each region manages its

own schools, hospitals, and other public services.

The Spanish language is the official language but six autonomous communities also

have other official languages such as Catalan, Galician and Basque.

Spaniards are known for their love of life and

for eating and drinking with family and

friends. Regional dances and music are

almost as important as soccer and religious

festivals.

Some facts of Spain:

The Spanish name for Spain is España.

The population of Spain in 2012 was around 47 million.

The currency used in Spain is the Euro.

The largest city and the capital of Spain is Madrid.

The second largest city is Barcelona, which is located in Catalonia.

Mount Teide is the highest mountain in Spain (3718 m) and is an active volcano.

Pontedeume

Pontedeume is a coastal town that has less than 10.000

inhabitants. It is located between A Coruña and Ferrol, in

the mouth of the river Eume, in the sea inlet of Ares.

According to the legend of the town a young rich girl

crossed to the other side of the river to see her

wealth. But the river level rose sharply and broke

her boat. A man passing by offered help but she had

to sign a scroll. She signed the contract without

reading it. The gentleman carried out the agreement

and bridge appeared that allowed the girl to go back

to her castle. Two years later the man reappeared

and asked the girl for her soul as she promised. That

man was the DEVIL. He took the girl to the highest part of the bridge and ordered her

to throw herself off. She was terrified and sought help of the Holy Spirit that caused

the flight of her captor. In gratitude the girl had built a chapel. The bridge was called

“ponte do demo” (bridge to devil) that later led to PONTEDEUME.

Nowadays Pontedeume relies on commercial tourism, it has

many trendy shops. It is a tourist town that receives a large

number of vacationers during July and August.

It is a well-known trade center of the region. It also has a

significant food market. Fishing is one of the economic

engines of the town.

Other sights, which are worth visiting:

The Andrade Tower: This is an old tower in homage to the Andrades´

Fragas do Eume is a natural park with lots of

endangered species

The school In 1913 a priest called Baltasar Pardal founded in

La Coruna the school of La Grande Obra de

Atocha, located in a slum. Over time, the school

has spread to other places, not only in Spain but

also in South America.

Its headquarters is Escuela Hogar San José and it is located in Pontedeume. It was

founded in 1940.

It is a Charter school of Catholic ideology. It consists of Pre-Primary Education,

Primary Education, Secondary Education and Professional Training. The number of

students generally ranges between 200 and 250 and there are 28 teachers working

here.

Brilé This game needs two teams with the same number of players and a ball. The field of

the game is divided into four parts by means of three parallel lines. Count six metres

(this distance is approximate) from the central line to the left and to the right and

draw a line in each side forming two areas (team A and team B). The zone from these

secondary lines backwards will be the prison of each team.

The aim of the game is to send all the

opponents to their corresponding prison.

You have to throw the ball trying to

touch ('brilar') your rivals. When a player

is reached by the ball, he is 'brilado'. So,

he goes to prison and he can help his

team to eliminate the other opponents

from there. The winner will be the first

team that eliminates all the opponents.

Frog game It consists of a box with several holes in the top surface.

The number of holes, size and design of table and the

rules all vary from region to region. Players attempt to

throw coins or disks in the holes which score differently according to their difficulty.

Disks that land successfully slide down to the front of the table to a compartment at

the front of the table showing the score. The most difficult hole is in the shape of an

ornate frog in the middle of the board but this scores the highest point.

POLAND

The Polish State is more than 1000 years old. About

forty million people live here. The country is beautiful

you can find here many wonderful mountains for

example High-Tatra, or bustling cities.

Capital city of Poland is Warsaw since 1596, which is an important scientific and

cultural centre. About 2, 4 million people live there.

The Hungarian and Polish friendship was formative and

influential over the past 1000 year.

“Pole, Hungarian — two good friends, together they

battle and drink their wine.”

Piekary Śląskie

Piekary Śląskie is a small town in South – Poland. About

60 000 people live there. It is located in the Province of

Silesia about 15km north of Katowice, the capital of the

province. Katowice is a famous place amongst the Catholics because Pope John Paul II

was born and spent his childhood here.

The town is the home of many

interesting monuments and

memorials. It is famous across

Poland for its Marian Cult of Our

Lady of Pikeray, the destination of

hundreds of thousands of pilgrims a

year. There is a men’s pilgrimage in

May and a women’s one is August.

According to this cult, the painting of

the Madonna, which can be found in

the Basilica of St Mary and St

Bartholomew, has got magic power: people praying for Madonna will recover from

any illnesses.

Piekary is a godly town: the Route of the Rosary, 15 chapels, 14 Stations of the Cross

and a cemetery are located in an extensive park.

The highest point of the town is the Liberation Mound. The mound was built to remind future generations of the heroic insurgents killed in the Silesian Uprisings in the 1920s.

At festivals the whole town walk to this hill to celebrate.

The school

Miejska Szkoła Podstawowa

nr 9 z Oddziałami

Integracyjnymi im. Gustawa

Morcinka w Piekarach Śląskich is the full name of the school.

Miejska Szkoła is the biggest school in Piekary Śląskie with the largest number of

students, namely 550 students attending 22 classes. The school came into being at

the turn of 1955 and 1956. One of the most significant dates from the school’s history

was the year 1960. Then on 22nd March Hanka Sawicka, the Polish activist, became

the school's patron.

The school is relatively big. It's the biggest primary school in

Piekary Śląskie. There are two storeys in the school

building. The first floor is occupied by young students,

namely the first (six and seven year olds), the second (eight

year olds) and the third graders (nine year olds). There are

classrooms and students of the fourth (10 year olds), the

fifth (11 year olds) and the sixth (12 year olds) grade on the

second floor. In Poland students start primary education at

the age of 7 obligatorily but voluntarily they can attend school at the age of 6.

There are also two learning support classes per level. They

cater for children at all ages .The children in these classes

have a range of special needs, from severe and complex

learning difficulties including Autism, Asperger syndrome,

communication difficulties and many others. Early years

classes are taught according to integrated teaching

curriculum. They take also active participation in

Information Technology and English classes.

The majority of students are active Catholics so the school offers opportunity to study

Religious Education as well. Students who are not willing to attend them can opt for

Ethics. Here is the list of obligatory subjects for older

students (4th, 5th and 6th graders): Polish, Maths, English,

Nature Studies, History, Technology, Music, Art and

Information Technology.

Palant game

Palant is very similar to baseball, there is a striker and

a catcher team. Each team has got 8-15 players.

One by one, the team members hit the ball from the

nest with the palant (a wooden bat) aiming to strike it

as far as possible into the field and then run, ideally to

come back to the nest to score. The striker gains

points if he can do this before the "field players''

(catchers) catch the ball and throw it back behind the

nest line. The player can do it in four parts reaching

particular bases (points A, B or C) and stopping if

necessary, or at a time. If the ball hasn't left the field

yet, the striker can do it at a time. The higher scorer is

the winner.

Comenius kite

At the project meeting in Poland each nation made its own Comenius kite, which

symbolised our common European values and our good partnership in the

programme.

ESTONIA We visited Estonia, the most northern of

the Baltic States. Estonia was occupied by

the Soviet Union and belonged to the Eastern Bloc just like

Hungary. It regained its independence in 1991. It is a mainly flat

country on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, with many lakes and islands. We saw

a lot of trees and lakes too.

Language in Estonia

Estonian is the official language of Estonia. It is spoken by about 1.1 million people in

the country itself and then thousands of others outside it, too. Estonian is a Finno-

Ugric language and is closely related to Finnish and distantly to Hungarian. The

younger generation speaks English very well. It is easy for them because the movies

aren’t dubbed only subtitled, so they can learn the English language more easily.

Estonian cuisine

Many different nations that ruled the region – Danes, Germans, Swedes, Poles and

Russians – have influenced the Estonian cuisine. Among the

traditional dishes there are marinated eel, blood sausage and

sauerkraut stew with pork. We ate lasagne and some fish as

well. There was an interesting soup made of the leg of the

pork, which was quite strange for us.

However, we liked the food we got.

Some facts and experience

Great food is everywhere and you can even eat

marinated bear there!

In winter it gets very cold and they get plenty of beautiful snow. No, there are

no polar bears in Estonia. Although, when we were in Estonia there wasn’t any

snow.

51 % of Estonia’s land area is covered with forest. We took a trip to Nõva Park.

Tallinn is the medieval capital and by far the biggest city, with a population of

around 400,000. In 2011 Tallinn was the European Capital of Culture.

Estonia has over 1,500 islands.

Happsalu

Haapsalu is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. Haapsalu has

been well known for its warm seawater, curative mud and peaceful atmosphere.

Haapsalu’s castle and cathedral, which dates back

to the 13th century, is one of the best medieval

complexes in Estonia. We saw a lot of museums,

exhibition halls showcasing local finds, mysterious

cellars, an alchemist’s laboratory and an infirmary

of the Middle Ages’ medicine.

You can climb to the top of the bell tower to

enjoy stunning views over the town. There is a

legend about a woman who fell in love with a

monk. She wanted to enter the cathedral but

women were banned from entering it that’s why

she put men’s clothes on, but it was discovered

and she was walled up. In August full moon she

comes back to haunt the cathedral in form of

White Lady.

Africa beach was the main bathing beach of

the first half of the 20th century. Right now

there is a bird watching tower, a dance

pavilion and a children’s playground with

many attractions. And why is it called Africa

Beach? Because visitors on the shore put dark

mud on themselves so they looked like

Africans.

Uuemõisa algkool (Haapsalu School) In 1994 Uuemõisa Lasteaed-Algkool was

established in the manor house. First there were

only two classes – the 1st form and 4th-5th mixed

class. Year after year new 1st form students came

to study in the school and this May the school

celebrated its 20th birthday. The kindergarten for

40 children was opened in September 2010.

They have 6 forms,

one class each. In Estonia students start school at the age

of 7, the school year starts on the 1st September.

Kindergarten is voluntary, but since the parents have to

go to work, the children go to kindergarten. But at the age

of 7, the school begins definitely.

At the school they don’t have very big classes; the biggest

is with 26 students. In the smallest class there are 14

students at the moment.

In the school, folk dancing is very popular. The

students take part in every national song and

dance festival in Tallinn, which takes place

every 4 years. There are also national song and

dance festivals for students, the choir and

dance groups always take part in them.

There is also a music classroom. They have very beautiful music class; it is full of light

and different musical instruments. They love the music lessons because they can sing,

listen to music, play instruments and draw pictures.

There is a library. Students spend a lot of time here,

reading or borrowing books, playing board games or using

Wifi to play games on the internet.

The computer classroom is quite modern. They have

computer lessons in the 4th form, students study different

programmes, how to find information on the internet,

how to use internet safely. They also use computer class

in other subject, because they often have tasks that require internet use.

They have two longer breaks, the first is after the 3rd lesson, and then the students

from grade 1st-3rd have lunch. The second longer break is after the 4th lesson, and

then the students from grade 4th-6th have lunch.

Estonian traditional games

Last pair out

To play the “Last pair out“ you need at

least 5 players, but there can be more. It

is important to be odd number of players.

Everyone needs to find partners and they

have to stand in a row. The player who is

single stands in front of the row and calls:

“One, two, three, last pair out!“

While calling, he/she claps three times

above his/her head. The last pair lets

go their hands and starts running

towards the single player. The goal is

to get back to your partner. If you

reach your partner before the single

player catches you or your partner,

you go back to the row and you will be the first pair. If the caller catches your partner

or you then they or you have to go back in front of the row and will be the first pair.

The player who was caught will be the next caller. If the caller couldn't catch a

partner he/she goes back and calls again. I think it’s a really simple but good game.

Vurr

Vurr is a traditional child game. A century ago, a vurr was made by pulling a doubled

piece of string through the middle of a pig foot’s bone. The string was tightly twisted

and then yanked on both ends so the bone spun extremely fast, making a whirring

(VURR) sound. Today a large button serves the same purpose. At old times it was

used to banish bad demons, but today it’s just a good game. We had the possibility to

make one for ourselves so we can show it to our friends and families as a curiosity. It

was a really good project, we enjoyed it extremely.

TURKEY

Turkey is a country at the crossroads

of Europe and Asia. Some people

see Turkey as the "gate" between Europe and Asia. The

area of Turkey is about 780,000 square kilometres. The

money of Turkey is called Turkish Lira. The main religion is Muslim.

The capital city is Ankara in central Anatolia.

Turkey is a popular place for tourists to

visit. It has hundreds of kilometres of

beautiful beaches on its Aegean and

Mediterranean coasts, and many

important historical places.

The cultural and economic centre of the

country is Istanbul, which is in Europe.

In the past Istanbul was called Constantinople. This is the place where the famous

Orient Express Luxury Train begins its journey to Paris across the main European

cities.

The Turkish cuisine is mostly the heritage of Ottoman cuisine. It is the mixture and

refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines.

Trabzon and Akcaabat

Akçaabat is a town and district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey.

It is located on the east of the city of Trabzon.

The first settlers of the town came

from Aegean shores and named the town

"Platana" because of the abundance of plane

trees.

Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of

Trabzon Province. It is located on the historical Silk Road and important seaport. The

city was founded in 8th century BC. Suleiman the Magnificent was born here.

Trabzon has a number of tourist attractions, some of them dating back to the times

of the ancient empires that once existed in the region.

The Church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) is

one of Trabzon’s Principal sights. In 1461 the

building was converted to a mosque.

Situated in a very beautiful and natural setting, Sumela

Monastery, built in the 14th century, is nestled into the

side of rocks in a famous valley in Maçka, only 50

kilometres away from Trabzon. It is a Greek Orthodox

monastery dedicated to Virgin Mary.

The school

Meşeli Primary and Secondary School is situated in the North-East of Turkey, in a small village, 5 km far from the town centre, Akçaabat. The school has a very old background as it was

founded in 1961. The building was small; the number of the students was little. In 1998 the school was rebuilt with 8 classes, one teachers’ room, one IT room and a Science Lab, and the number of students rose too.

Pupils, aged 6 – 14 years, attend the primary and secondary school. At present about 145 pupils (including the kindergarten) attend the school. The teaching staff is young and excited to teach, which makes a lot of changes in students and parents’ lives, affecting their cultural and social perspectives. The school holds lots of celebrations and cultural programs such as cultural visits

within the city and caters for students to have social and cultural skills.

The particular emphasis of the school is placed on the development of sports,

consciousness of nature (scout crafting), language learning and ICT.

Traditional Turkish Games

DOKUZ TAŞ (NINE STONES) Materials:

* Nine flat pieces of marble (or stones can be used) and a ball.

Preparation:

*Students split into two groups (Group A and Group B).

*They draw a circle on the ground.

* They put the stones on top of each other and make a

tower in the circle.

*About 15 steps away from the marble tower they draw a

line.

How to play:

Group A starts the game. The players stand behind the line. Group B stands behind

the tower.

A player of Group A uses the ball to hit the marbles and knock them down. When one

of their players hits the marbles the group members (group A) run away. The players

of Group B (behind the marble tower) try to hit the players of Group A with the ball

while they try to rebuild the tower. If they put all nine marbles on top of each other

and build the tower one member of the group steps on the top of the tower with one

foot and shouts "Nine Marbles!" or "Nine stones!" Then they get one point and they

start again.

Bilyali

At the beginning of the week we watched an award-winning film about a boy and his

"Bilyali". The film was shot in the mountains around Trabzon. In the past rural kids

played with this wooden toy, which is very similar to a skateboard. During the

meeting we made and rolled downhill with our Bilyali in the nearby forest. We also

organized a mini contest among the nations. It was awesome.