Girls playing a game from Yemen at a middle school in Borough Park, Brooklyn.
" On every schoolyard across the world you will find games invented by children. Hand-clapping routines, rhyming stanzas and intricate rules for tiny competitions; games born of the creativity, insight and idiosyncrasy of children’s minds. In New York City’s diverse playgrounds, kids play games in Haitian Creole, Korean, Spanish, Arabic and Polish, just to name a few. Unlike nursery rhymes, lullabies, or children’s songs these games are conceived of, built upon and passed along by kids, largely by girls. Irene Chagal, who researched the history and spread of hand-clapping games for her documentary 'Let’s Get the Rhythm: The Life and Times of Miss Mary Mack,' describes these games as 'playground lore,' a rich body of folk literature that is just outside the attention of most adults. ..."
NY Times (Video)
A group from the Flanbwayan Haitian Literacy Project in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
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