Let the children make the invitations they send out for their own
daisy party. On heavy water color paper they may draw and cut out
simple outlines of daisies--about ten petals around a center which is
then colored yellow with crayons. Each petal may hold one or two
words of the invitation, thus:
Will--you--come--to--our--daisy--party--on--Saturday--at--three?--Betty
and John.
Of course there should be some outdoor games, and a good one to play
is "Daisy in the Dell." For this the children form in a circle,
joining hands, and one is chosen to be daisy-picker. The daisy-picker
runs around the outside of the circle, chanting:
"Daisy in the Dell, Daisy in the Dell, I don't pick you, I don't pick
you, I _do_ pick you."
The child whom the daisy-picker touches upon reaching, the last word
must try to run entirely around the circle and back to his place
before the daisy-picker catches him. If he succeeds, he need not be
"it"; but if he is caught, he must be the daisy-picker.
"Are You a Daisy?" is another jolly game. The players stand in a line
facing one child, who is chosen to be "it." This child asks each one
in turn the question, "Are you a daisy?" Each child answers by naming
the flower he chooses to be. Thus one may say, "I am a rose"; another,
"I am a pansy." If any child chooses to say, "I am a daisy," he is
immediately chased by the questioner, and if caught, he must take the
place of the questioner. The game then proceeds as before. One rule is
that a child must not repeat the name of a flower that another child
has given.
A game that is based on the Mother Goose rhyme, "Rich Man, Poor Man,
Beggar Man, Thief," etc., is called "Rich Man, Poor Man." One child is
chosen to whisper to each of the players some word of the rhyme. The
named children then stand in a circle, and another child who is "it"
may call for any character in the rhyme that he wishes; the child
who has been given that name must respond by saying "Here," and then
running away. For instance, the one who is "it" may call for "lawyer,"
and the child to whom that name has been whispered calls out "Here,"
and is immediately chased by the leader. If he is caught within a
reasonable length of time, he is "it," and the former leader drops
out. This should be played until only two are left.
The refreshments carry out the daisy idea, and should be served
outdoors, either on the piazza or on the lawn. The centerpiece at
the supper-table is a big bunch of daisies, and each child has a
place-card on which is painted or drawn a daisy face, the petals
forming a cap frill. The sandwiches are bread and butter, and some
"good-to-eat" daisies can be made from hard-boiled eggs, by cutting
the whites petal-shaped, and by mixing the yellow with salad
mayonnaise to form the centers. Marguerites and little cakes frosted
in yellow and white may be served with vanilla ice cream.