The shoemaker’s game is a simple game which does not take much but is loads of fun! The almost theatrical and exaggerated aspect makes you laugh, and its simplicity offers young and old alike the opportunity to play together without the strict regulations and competitive aspects of other outdoor or sports games.

In addition, it is an opportunity to get outside and enjoy the beautiful spring weather.

Step 1 : Preparing the terrain 

Ideally, we could go to the park and draw a large spiral in the sand. For a version closer to your home, you can transpose the game to the pavement in your driveway and draw a spiral with sidewalk chalk.

What is practical with this shoemaker’s game is that it only requires a stick to play, and a means of tracing the spiral on the ground, for example in the ground or sand or on the pavement with sidewalk chalk.

Simply draw a very large spiral on the ground and find a piece of wood that will serve as a “golden shoe”.

The game is played by two players. One person plays the role of the shoemaker and the other the thief.

Step 2 : Time to get started!

The shoemaker crouches in the center of the spiral with his precious gold shoe in front of him (the stick) and pretends to sleep with a loud snore.

The thief approaches by walking inside the spiral. The only rule of the game is that you cannot cross the lines of the spiral. When the thief gets to the center of the spiral, he takes the golden shoe and immediately starts running, always following the spiral! The shoemaker suddenly wakes up and runs after him to try to get his shoe back!

If the shoemaker catches the thief before he reaches the exit, the roles are reversed for the next round. But if the thief manages to escape, the shoemaker must return to the center and it starts all over again. You can continue this way for several rounds!

Step 3 : Other fun games with sidewalk chalk

To add some difficulty to the shoemaker’s game, you can consider creating a huge maze, making it more difficult for the the thief to get away!

Do you want more? The applications of sidewalk chalk are endless!

Several board games can also be transposed outside. Here is a great example offered by our friends at La Marche du Crabe. The game of snakes and ladders !

But there are plenty of others! Here are some more ideas .  

Diary

On today’s logbook page, kids can document their favorite activity of the day, for example, by drawing their family playing the Shoemaker’s game together or by drawing the fantastic golden shoe the way they imagined it. The possibilities are endless!

If your child is documenting alone, you are invited to ask him or her questions to feed and improve the journal entry. Here are some questions you can ask:

  • If you were a shoemaker how would you protect your golden shoe?  
  • Where do you think the shoemaker hid the second golden shoe? Did he even have a second one?
  • Do you think a golden shoe would be comfortable ?

Did you know… 

  • The shoemaker is a craftsman who repairs shoes and other leather clothing at the request of customers. He works by hand and with machines. He receives customers in his store which is also his workshop.
  • The expression “cordonnier mal chaussé” (shoemaker with bad shoes) means a person who does not benefit from the fruits of his trade, or who thinks of others before himself.
  • Shoemakers less and less common because shoes are made less sturdy and durable than they used to be and people prefer to replace their shoes than to have them repaired.

To go further, create giant scenes and take pictures within them! Here are a few ideas.  

 

Activity by M. Coco