Yard games

Eré of each tongue.

Not one generic game painted over every language. Ayọ̀, Okwe, Dara, Bao, Adji — and the counting, hop, find, and clap of the yard.

Yoruba Igbo Hausa Ogu (Egun) Swahili Spanish French Arabic Portuguese

Playable

Adji

The seed board

Drop seeds house to house. Say ɖokpó, àwè, àtɔ̀n as you go.

Playable

Kànkàn

Counting

Hear the number. Tap the Gùngbè word. Watch the marks.

Playable

Ɖó nùkún

Hide the eyes

Count to wǒ. Then tap the face that hid.

Playable

Àfɔ ɖokpó

One-foot hop

Tap the boxes in order. Say the Gùngbè number as you land.

Playable

Àlɔ

Clap the hands

Hear the number. Clap that many times.

Yard later

Kàn

Skipping rope

Ask an adult to turn a rope. Count ɖokpó, àwè, àtɔ̀n as you jump.

Yard later

Kàn gbé

Pebbles

Share the stones. No grabbing.

Yard later

Spinning top

If you have a top, spin it and say yí.

Yard later

Thread / cat’s cradle

A loop of yarn and two pairs of hands. Ask nɔ̀ the pattern she knows.

Yard later

Hwèví kànkàn

Count the catch

With an adult at the market or the creek, count hwèví in Gùngbè. Not a screen sitting.