I may be less sure of books turned into games, but on this one I am quite certain. With some flowing water, and a couple of objects to drop into it, you have a game.
People don’t seem to tire of Pooh sticks. New generations of junior players still enjoy it. And it’s the ideal distraction activity if a family walk is starting to feel a bit too long.
The origin
I hesitate on explaining Winnie the Pooh, but for those who need to know, Pooh invents the game. Â He drops a stick on one side of a bridge, and goes over to the other side of the bridge to see it come out.
The reason it becomes a game is because of the opportunity to play with someone else (Piglet, in Pooh’s case), and see whose stick comes out the other side of the bridge first.
Finding your spot
You need to look for somewhere where the water is flowing fast. Sluggish or stagnant water is no good – which is why it won’t really work on a pond, unless there’s at least a little bit of a current.
If the water is high, and running fast, it can be particularly exciting, as it can feel like the sticks are also racing YOU – by travelling under the bridge really fast.
The more junior your players, the more you need to consider how easy it is to see over the side of the bridge – or at least through the side, if the bridge is slatted or has gaps you can see through.
If the river is fast moving, you may want to make sure that your junior player can successfully drop their stick in the water, without endangering themselves in the process. (There is also the story of Roo falling in the water, as part of the Winnie the Pooh stories, but you don’t really want to renact that one.)
Finding your stick
The notion is that it should be a stick, but it could also be something else identifiable that will float. Avoid anything too light that will get blown away as it goes down into the water (pieces of grass from junior players’ pockets, for example).
An advantage to the game is that it allows you both to collect sticks on your walk AND to leave them behind (grownups cheer at this point), by dropping them in the stream.
The more distinctive your stick, the easier it is to identify. However, you also need to caution your junior player against too big a stick – again, you don’t want them to hurl themselves in when dropping the stick into the water.
The real point of the game
The point is, of course, for your stick to come out first. But the real point of the game, as I remember it (and I observe it) is the fun of shouting ‘one, two, three, go!’ and dropping your stick on ‘go’ AND the rush across the bridge to the other side.
Being able to see your stick on the other side is good – but I often think that the launching the stick and the rushing is even better.
So, make sure you’ve allowed for more than one stick. You will, of course, want another go.