Otedama is a traditional Japanese game for girls played with 5 small beanbags
(or ojami.) The beanbags were often made
by grandmothers with scraps of kimonos. Special otedama songs were used. You can make your own ojami and then use them to play
the following skill games:
Scatter the five beanbags on the floor. Pick up one and toss it into the air.
With the same hand, pick up another bag and transfer it to your other hand.
Repeat until you have four beanbags in one hand, and catch the thrown beanbag in
the other.
Scatter again. This time pick up two beanbags to transfer, and so on.
A simple game (similar to jacks):
Scatter the five beanbags on the floor. Pick up one and toss it into the air.
With the same hand, pick up another bag and catch the falling one. Repeat until
all the beanbags are picked up. Start again, but this time pick up two bags at
each toss, then three bags, then four bags.
Finally, toss five beanbags into the air and catch as many as you can on the
back of the same hand. Flip the bags that you caught into the air again and
catch as many as you can in the palm of same hand.
Slightly more difficult:
Throw one beanbag up into the air. With the other hand, pick up a beanbag and
wedge it between the fingers of the throwing hand, in time to catch the original
beanbag. Throw again, and wedge another. Continue until 4 beanbags are wedged
and the thrown beanbag is caught again.
Back of the hand:
Try throwing up one beanbag, then catching it on the back of the hand. Throw
it up from the back of the hand, and catch again. Can you toss it from the back
of one hand to the other hand? And back?
Traditional card games (like rummy) and solitaire card games are not
only fun but they teach your children all sorts of skills - not least
patience, planning and tactics! We've got a growing collection here: Online Card Games For Kids
Play minibeasts dominoes or use our minibeasts matching cards to play
all sorts of printable games, or enjoy our online games with a minibeast
theme... Minibeasts games
Ten new maths games which make learning fun! Math games
Kids can keep themselves busy for a few minutes with this growing collection of
sports games. Sports Games
