Revision [28221]
This is an old revision of LaGrace made by BillHamilton on 2013-02-15 08:31:50.
In the morning, during work in the garden, Jeanne can be seen rummaging around in the beds - and occasionally over in the adjacent cemetery, searching around.
After lunch, during lessons, Ms. Lizzie steps out for a few minutes, leaving the children to do their sums. Jeanne, eyes shining with her secret, takes a small hoop (about as wide around as a dinner plate) out from under a fold of her skirt. It is a pair of thin supple branches, lashed together with straw and decorated with a single bedraggled ribbon. She shows it around quickly, and then tucks it back under her skirt.
She issues a general invitation. "Come to the garden later and play La Grace with me!"
<#ann: Celeste will try to find time during the day to sneak out to the gardens for a quick game. She will also suggest they play on Sunday afternoon when they have some free time.#>
<#court: Jeanne nods, eyes twinkling. "Sunday, down by the river, then. After church. But... do come today, if you can!" #>
<#court: When people come out to the garden, she shows them how to play. She has collected a pile of sticks; traditionally a pair of people have one stick each and catch/toss the ring back and forth. Jeanne adapts it to however many people show up at once, so there could be many children/sticks in play at the same time. This gets a bit cumbersome so (if there are many at once) she will suggest a tournament. If there are not enough for that today, then Sunday. #>
<#bill: Courtney, if this is the game I thought it was, I thought it was played with 2 sticks per person. You kind of catch the ring and move your sticks into an x shape and then pull them a part to toss the ring in the air again?
Regardless, Cole would play. #>
<#ann: Celeste enjoys the game. It takes her awhile to get used to how the sticks work, and she would prefer to spend time practicing before playing, but since supplies are limited she's willing to jump right in. She likes games of skill, so she enjoys the game even though she isn't very good at it and is solidly trounced by Jeanne in the tournament. Her hand-eye coordination is good, though, and she has excellent depth perception, so I think it doesn't take her long to get good at the game, and she'll happily practice or play with anyone who wants to do so over the next few years. I can see many delightful hours spent throwing the ring and bickering amicably about house rules and whether someone sent the ring spinning wildly on purpose to trick the other player or whether it was an accident, etc. etc.
Wikipedia says this was a game "for girls", though boys could and did play. This might be a good way to bond with Minnie a bit, since she might be more willing to play this game than some of the other activities we engage in. It was thought to make girls graceful, hence the name. #>
<#jonah: If it's a game being played, Ollie will have a go. He'll probably not want to dally too long if he has outstanding chores. On Sunday he'll play his little heart out. #>
NeedsKelly
NeedsCourt
