Duck, Duck, Stuffed Goose!

Rooster and Pig Jr. love playing Duck, Duck, Goose. The only problem is that it is kind of hard to play with just two people. Oh, they have tried to add other players, but rapidly discovered that Mommy does not get up nearly quick enough to chase them around a circle, and Horse is often doing her own thing (typically, fourth grade homework) and cannot be bothered.

That's not a problem when you have stuffed animals.

Whenever the Duck, Duck, Goose urge strikes, my two younger children arrange a number of stuffed animals in a circle. Whoever is "It" will go around and dutifully tap each "Duck's" head (or head-analogue, depending). Whenever "Goose" is called, the other remaining human kidlet will pick up the "Goose" and carry it while running around the circle. There appears to be a rule that all players must laugh their fool heads off while participating in the running part of the game.

The game gets a little more complex if an actual stuffed duck or goose is part of the circle. Then a duck can be Goose, or vice versa, and the laughing must escalate to hearty guffaws or mad cackling.

Eventually, the stuffed animals become projectiles, players in Hide-and-Seek, or students in a classroom. It's a little like watching real-life versions of Calvin and Hobbes play Calvinball. (I <3 Bill Watterson...and so does my husband, so it's all good. Horse even reads those old comic strips to her siblings, so the whole family is appreciative of Mr. Watterson's work.) I just hope my kidlets know their stuffed animals are actually inanimate objects.