Cobblestone American History and Current Events for Kids and Children July/August 2015

Are you wondering why we devoted an issue to play? Well, it is summertime, and the neighborhood kids are staying out late to play kick the can and flashlight tag. But there’s more to this issue than that. In 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. It cited the importance of play and leisure for the development of children. Playing is not just a way to have fun, relax, and socialize with family and friends. Playing is a healthy activity for the body, and it can stimulate the mind to learn. Through play, both the mind and the body are exercised to develop strength and agility. Play defined this way is a pretty modern concept. Before the 20th…

Games today are big business, but the first board games produced in the United States faced a tough market. Many 19th-century Americans had strong religious beliefs, and they considered games of chance sources of corruption. Early games often included a virtue-versus-vice morality lesson. One of the first games to be successful during those early years was The Mansion of Happiness, designed by brothers William and Stephen B. Ives in 1843. Another early game creator was John McLoughlin, whose two sons, John and Edmund, founded the McLoughlin Brothers Company in 1858. Then came Milton Bradley, who introduced his first game, The Checkered Game of Life, in 1860. Within a year, it sold 45,000 copies, making it the first game to be successful on a large scale. When the Civil War broke…

Americans have strong loyalties and emotions when it comes to the game of baseball. It is a sport that is cherished across the generations. Players of all ages can participate, from t-ball up to the major leagues. Fans are intensely involved in losses, wins, records, and personalities. They thrive on the dramatic moments when one pitch or hit can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Great moments—from awesome plays to disastrous errors—are etched in memories. So how did this classic American game, affectionately considered America’s pastime, get started? Believe it or not, baseball’s closest ancestors are two English games that may date to about 400 years ago—rounders and cricket. Rounders is somewhat like softball, where the bowler (pitcher) throws underhand, and the offense tries to hit the ball and…

Carl Stotz came up with the idea of introducing kids in his community to organized baseball. He thought it would be a good way to show the concepts of teamwork, fair play, and good sportsmanship. That’s how Little League Baseball began in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1939. Today, Little League Baseball is played in all 50 states and in more than 100 countries around the world! Since 1974, the league has been open to boys and girls. Children ranging from 4 years old playing at the local level to 18 years old playing on an international level can enjoy baseball thanks to the programs offered by Little League Baseball and the Babe Ruth League. Both Little League and Babe Ruth also offer softball leagues for girls.…

How do you play baseball if you do not have a ball field or cannot afford a bat? Children in cities traditionally enjoyed the same games as children in suburban and rural areas, but living in the city forced them to adapt these games to the urban environment. Games such as stickball and stoopball developed this way. They required minimal equipment, and their rules and techniques took into account the nature of their particular play area—the city streets. Take New York City, for example. From the 1880s to the 1920s, New York City’s population swelled with new immigrants arriving through the immigration station at Ellis Island. During this period, baseball was popular, and learning the game was considered one of the rituals of becoming an American. Since there were few…

1. Checkers 2. Chess 3. Jacks 4. Jumprope 5. Kite 6. Marbles 7. Top 8. Yo-yo Nearly all these classic games or toys originated hundreds or thousands of years ago. They have stood the test of time for several reasons: The equipment required to play them or with them is either inexpensive to acquire or easy to make by hand, and the rules for playing are easy to remember and pass along. Can you match each game or toy with its general description? We’ve provided the earliest evidence of each as American children would recognize it. Which one is your favorite? Answers on page 48. A. In the 1600s, Dutch settlers in North America introduced this children’s pastime, which requires only a rope and a song. B. Earliest evidence of…