In their book Native American Crafts Bonnie Bernstein and Leigh Blair said, “Native Americans believed that the spirit of the gods filled everything in nature. For this reason, they lived in harmony with their environment, treating with care and respect the plants, animals and natural resources. They considered all things as sacred gifts, however ordinary or plentiful. Preserving the balance of nature was a way of living well on the earth.” Native American games can physically teach young children about different Indian cultures by playing the following Zuni and Pima tribal games from the Greater Southwest (Arizona and New Mexico). These games teach eye-hand coordination and help to develop spatial relationships just as Thanksgiving can encourage the Native American belief and understanding of being thankful for all that nature provides.

Artist Carolyn Lygo researched nursery rhyme histories for our Teaching with Heart book and found that “Rock-a-bye Baby” was one of the first American nursery rhymes. It was created when the pilgrims saw the Native Americans mothers from the Wampanoag tribe placing their babies in the tree branches to protect them from wild animals while they tended the fields of maize (corn). The pilgrims were always afraid that the branches would break and the babies would fall, but the Native Americans had been doing this for hundreds of years and knew which branches were safe.

Infants: Rocking Babies - Hold the baby close and sing the “Rock-a-bye Baby” nursery rhyme from our book Teaching with Heart while quietly rocking them. Babies love to be rocked because it reminds them of being in the womb where they were safe and warm.

Toddlers: Kick-Stick Race – This Zuni game was done during the planting season as a prayer for rain. Two teams would race at the same time each using 1 inch dowels which have been cut in 4 inch lengths. Only the feet can be used to move the stick forward.

Preschoolers: Jackrabbits Hits – This Zuni game is similar to badminton because it uses a shuttlecock, but it is made of fresh green cornhusks with two or three feathers at the top. The paddle is the palm of one hand, and it gets its name because the sound of the hand hitting the shuttlecock sounded like jackrabbits hopping over crusted snow. The Pima tribe also made shuttlecocks, but out of pieces of corncob stuck with feathers on top. To make Zuni shuttlecocks form an X with 2 cornhusks. Roll up another cornhusk and place in center of X. Lift ends of corn husk up together and inset feathers into the center of the bundle. Wrap raffia or yarn around the base of the pinched ends until the husk ends are bound securely around the shafts of the feathers, then knot and snip the ends. The object of the game, which builds eye hand coordination, is to bat the shuttlecock in the air with the palm of one hand to see how many times it can be hit without missing. The child who hits it the most times wins. NOTE: If you don’t want to make the shuttlecock just buy a badminton one, and play the game the same way.

THE EARTH IS OUR MOTHER. THE SUN IS OUR FATHER. THE ANIMALS ARE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS. - (Okanagan Saying)