Does anyone remember a childhood game called 4 corners?

[MELSMICE]

I'm trying to remember a game I used to play when I was younger called 4 corners. I thought we played it in gym class, the roller rink & places like that.

I think you chose a corner or something, then music played & you had to go to your corner. If your corner was then "chosen" you were out of the game.

I can't remember if it did get played like that or not & if so, how the corners
were chosen so you would be "out".

Does anyone else remember this game? I'm thinking of doing something similar for a Princess Tea Party I'm having on Friday at my dance studio but having the corners assigned be princesses.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

We played something like that at a skating rink growing up. When the music stopped you went to the closest "corner" (each corner and the middle of the rink were all spotlighted in a different color) then the DJ would roll a huge dice (each side of the die had a different color) and call out the color and everyone in that area would leave the floor. Sort of like a musical chairs but on skates, I guess.

 

[si-am]

There are a lot of ways you can play it, but the most common is have a kid be "it" to stand in the middle, eyes closed, count to 10 (while everyone else races for a corner), and then call which corner is out. Everyone in that corner sits down, and everyone else has to scramble for a new corner.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Played it at Skateland all the time! You went around and around and when the music stopped you went to the closest corner. They had a bowling pin in the middle of the rink and would spin it and which ever corner it was closest to was out.

But I have also done it in gym where you start in the middle. When they say go everyone runs to corner. They were numbered 1,2, 3, 4 and a number was picked out of a hat, so that corner was out. You just have those four numbers in there and after you pick you throw it back in because it can be used again. That would be easy to do with Princesses.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Played it at Skateland all the time! You went around and around and when the music stopped you went to the closest corner. They had a bowling pin in the middle of the rink and would spin it and which ever corner it was closest to was out.

But I have also done it in gym where you start in the middle. When they say go everyone runs to corner. They were numbered 1,2, 3, 4 and a number was picked out of a hat, so that corner was out. You just have those four numbers in there and after you pick you throw it back in because it can be used again. That would be easy to do with Princesses.

Our rink was Skateland too!

 

[lovetoscrap]

Our rink was Skateland too!

I think there were zoning laws in the 70's that every town over a certain size had to have a Skateland. I have seen and heard of so many of them

 

[MM27]

We play that in my class sometimes when we have indoor recess. The kids love it.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

We would play this at PE if it was raining outside. 1 student would stand in the middle of the room and everyone would run to a corner and whoever was in the corner the student in the middle pointed to would have to sit down until there was only one person standing. The person in the middle was usually blindfolded

We would also play a few rounds of YMCA before playing 4 corners, so much fun, we hated for PE to be over.

Suzanne

 

[MELSMICE]

Thanks.

I think I'm going to have the kids come in & color pictures of 4 different princesses. We'll tape the pictures to each corner area then & play the game. We'll use music & I'll most likely have them dance at "the ball" (It's a Prince & Princess Winterball) & when the music stops they'll have to go to the "castle" of one of the princesses which will be the corners with the pictures.

I'll have an assistant choose a "castle" from pictures that weren't colored &
those kids will sit down or maybe I'll have them sit in the "thrones" which are tiny plastic chairs which we purchased from the Dollar Store years ago.

Any other creative ideas? We'll also be playing "Pin the crown on the princess".

 

[MELSMICE]

We would play this at PE if it was raining outside. 1 student would stand in the middle of the room and everyone would run to a corner and whoever was in the corner the student in the middle pointed to would have to sit down until there was only one person standing. The person in the middle was usually blindfolded

We would also play a few rounds of YMCA before playing 4 corners, so much fun, we hated for PE to be over.

Suzanne

What is YMCA?

 

[cabanafrau]

How about having them do a spoon race-type game where they race to fill up their team's container with the most dried peas -- the Princess & the Pea?

 

[MELSMICE]

How about having them do a spoon race-type game where they race to fill up their team's container with the most dried peas -- the Princess & the Pea?

That's a cute idea.

 

[MiniGirl]

I play this with my homeschool co-op class. However, if you are in the corner that is called, you can stay in the game by correctlly answering a review question. My 7 and 8 yo students love it.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

What is YMCA?

Do you remember the Village People song YMCA? Well, there are arm motions you do along with the words of the song.

Suzanne

 

[MELSMICE]

Do you remember the Village People song YMCA? Well, there are arm motions you do along with the words of the song.

Suzanne

Oh yeah.....I know what those are. I thought it was some special game.