It was the spring of 1987, and Cat’s Cradle was all the rage in Iowa my elementary school. It was the first and only fad I ever had the privilege of starting. And of course, it was all because of Laura.
My best friend and I had each received copies of Barbara Walker’s “The Little House Diary” for Christmas. This was a fabulous publication and I wish they still printed it. One of the treasures contained in its pages was an instruction sheet for how to play Cat’s Cradle, a string game played by Mary and Laura, mentioned in Little House on the Prairie and On the Banks of Plum Creek.
We got some string, learned to play, and occupied our lunchtime with the game, unwittingly attracting the curiosity of every other child at that table. Before we knew it, we were teaching them to play, and suddenly there was an entire school full of children playing Cat’s Cradle at any spare moment they had.
A couple of weeks ago, this same friend and I took the next generation (my niece and her daughter) to the Little House sites, and I knew we would need some things to keep the girls occupied on the plane. So I pulled out my old weatherbeaten Little House Diary and packed a bit of string. We could teach them to play Cat’s Cradle.
We hadn’t played it in twenty years, and suddenly here we were together again with string on our fingers, teaching the little girls to play. Apparently Cat’s Cradle is much like learning to ride a bicycle — though I thought I didn’t remember how to make each figure, my fingers seemed to know just what to do!
We had such a good time. Do you know how to play Cat’s Cradle? Would you like to learn?
Maybe I can start a new trend again.
My mom taught me how to play Cat’s Cradle when I was around 7 or 8. I never knew the name of it, just that it was a lot of fun. My cousin and I kept ourselves occupied with this for many, many hours. My friends and I played this at school, too. A few months ago, I tried to teach some kids at school how to play it, and they didn’t show any interest. However, the teachers and several moms joined in. LOL!
My sister and I played for hours when we were younger, and her daughters now play. It’s a fun game to occupy fingers AND minds while riding in the car on long trips.
The funniest thing about us playing, was how quickly the girls lost interest, and how there we sat, two adults playing cat’s cradle on the airplane — with the aisle between us! At least the stewardess never needed to go past.
My dad taught me how to play and I taught my little sister. My friends and I would play at school too. Until I read your post I had forgotten about it. I’m going to teach my kids.
I added your blog to bookmarks. And i’ll read your articles more often!