Trading post is the kids’ new favorite game. Seth invented it, and it really feeds his need to gather, collect, and hoard things (Oh dear, please don’t let him become a collector of cats. I have helped people with spay/neuter who have in excess of 150 cats and remember one nice man in particular who smelled like a walking litter box. I had to enter his home once and the smell nearly killed me.)
Each child gathers his goods from around our property. From what I can tell (I try to stay out of things) acceptable items for trade include animals, vegetables, and minerals, or parts of those things. I believe this only because I haven’t noticed any piles of bottle caps, broken dishes, or rusted metal amongst their goods, and trust me, my kids have tons of that stuff. They are regular garbage collectors. I am happy that their new game is essentially biodegradable.
Chicken feathers are especially prized; I believe that Americauna and Barred Rock feathers are the most valuable.
All of the goods are arranged in little piles and the children make trades with each other along the lines of, “I’ll give you three chestnuts for five black walnuts,” or “Hey! Get away from my stuff! I didn’t say I would trade that with you!” This game is mostly nonviolent though. Which is better than when they play “sybil” (that’s how Larkspur says civil) war which involves pelting each other with black walnuts. It’s all in good fun though; they don’t ever intentionally aim for the head, and while Larkspur is allowed to hit the boys, they don’t hit her (unless she’s being a real pest). Good boys.
Dogwood berries are a delicacy. I think that a pile of dogwood berries is probably worth a dozen or more chicken feathers and that really says something.
And mint of course, is a special treat. I believe that my children’s’ trading posts carry four varieties at the very least. Let’s see: they have spearmint, chocolate mint, orange mint, and pineapple mint. I’ll take the chocolate.
Great game. Does different mint taste significantly different? I only have on type and maybe I should plant few other ones next year?
Praises for Seth! What a great game to invent!! My granddaughter liked to play "Store," and you can imagine what that game was like. Grandma picked out the items, Jamie rang them up, and then Grandma had to buy the items she chose. Thing was, I sometimes didn't get back all the money I put into the game because she was quite smart and insisted I pay with REAL money! And real money had a way of disappearing when we played Store. But it was all fun and games and we only played with pennies and nickles. If you asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up she'd immediately say, "A checker." That was the perfect job for anybody she thought. How could people possibly turn down a job where everyone gives you money? She's now getting into nursing school. She lacked a couple credits and had to take a class before she could get into nursing school. But this grandma is very pleased that she has decided to be a nurse instead of a checker. Yea, for Seth and all the kids. Isn't it wonderful when they can all play together and get along beautifully? Tell them Marj says they're great kids to have around!
What a wonderful yard in which to grow up.
What a great game…my children would absolutely love playing something like that. We live in the city so we don't have too many of those natural things to collect in our backyard, but they do barter with leaves and rocks!
I love the creativity. When we were kids we always had access to old dry wall because we were always remodeling at our house. We would peel the paper away and take the inside of the dry wall and smash it with rocks, mix with water and then make pottery. We loved playing outside.
Such creative play. That is one of the benefits of homeschooling. =)
This game makes for beautiful photos.