Traditional Maltese Games

Below you will find some of the games we play during our break and free time. The great majority of these games were at the height of their popularity about fifty years ago, when most of the Maltese families were unable to afford toys and the streets were traffic - free. We still enjoy playing them very much today.

Bocci (Marbles) - The jack ball is usually a different size marble ball. One team plays with red balls, the other one with blue. The object of the game is to get your team’s balls as close to the jack as possible. Rules do change and vary from team to team, so it’s worth watching a few games before trying your luck. But sometimes we also make our own rules to play the game.

Bum Bum Il-bieb (Knock Knock the door) - This game is played by a group of four or more girls facing a group of the same number of boys. We dance and chant this 'Bum Bum il-bieb' song until the time when one of the girls’ name is called out and chosen to go with the boys’ group and pretend to be taken to the Knight.

Il-Passju (similar to 

Hopscotch)

 is a game and here’s how it’s played. A chalk grid is drawn on the road, with boxes for the numbers 1 to 9. Each child picks a stone or pebble and then has to throw their stone onto each numbered square, starting at number one. Once the stone lands on the correct number, the player then has to hop onto the corresponding square. Once that has been achieved, then the player moves onto the next number. If the player fails to aim the stone into the correct box, then that player is “out” and the game moves onto the next player. The winner is the player who successfully gets to number 9 before anyone else.

Iz-zunzana ddur (The bee goes round) - This game can be played with any number of children. The more, the merrier! The children must sit on the floor in a big round circle facing each other, except one. This one (the bee) starts running round and round the circle while the others are singing. In his hand he must hold a soft ball, a piece of cloth, or anything that’s handy at the moment that will not hurt a child if thrown. At the end of the song the bee must drop the ball behind someone else and keep running. He who has the ball nearest to him must collect it and run after the bee. This guy is now the hunter whose purpose is to catch the bee. The bee must reach the vacant space left by the hunter before it is caught. If the bee is caught, the hunter returns to his place and the game continues. If the bee manages to sit down before it is caught, the hunter now becomes the bee and the games starts all over again.

The Magpie Flies by Lisa Hirth

The magpie flies isn’t a Maltese game, but it is very fun!

      You can be any number of players and any age. You have to sit in a circle and put the finger you point with in the middle. There is a leader who says for example; the donkey flies. If the animal the person names can fly you point your finger up, but if it can’t fly and you lift your finger the others have to tickle you!(The leader can lift their finger to trick the others!)

Posted By Ms.Maryanne's class

What we like to do outside.

We are going to tell you about the different things that we like to do on the school playground and on the field at playtime and inside the classroom in choosing time.

At play I like to play tag. Before lunch we do golden mile. We can run or walk the golden mile which is a red line around the school playground. If we run eight laps we have run a mile.

We get a certificate when we run ten miles.

I like playing hot wheels. It is a track with cars.

We live in Nantwich which is in Cheshire. In Nantwich there are lots of Tudor houses.

We are going to describe the houses to you. Tudor houses are made of

timber. Timber is a good material because it is hard and strong. The Tudors used straw for their roofs because the straw is waterproof. The straw is also a bad material because animals eat it. The animals that eat the straw are squirrels and birds.

Wattle and daub is a good material for Tudor houses because it is sticky and when you mix it up it will go stiff. The problem with this material is it is made from manure, therefore it smells.

Glass is a good material because it is transparent, this means you can see through it. This material can also break and you may cut yourself.

Modern houses

Our houses are made out of bricks. My house is detached. the shape of my house is a square with a pitched roof because it rains a lot in Britain.

Our houses in Nantwich.

Hello from Yellow Class! We are going to tell you about the different kinds of houses in Nantwich.

This is a strong house and when we come out the house it looks very big.

The house is really big and the corner's are really really sharp.

Houses in Malta

Hello there,

This is Ms. Antoinette's Class. We are going to talk to you about houses in Malta. Houses in Malta are made from Limestone. This is cut from the quarries we have on the island and is very hard.

Limestone

The roofs of our houses are flat and not slanting because it does not snow in Malta. We use our roofs for drying clothes.

Flat Roofs

Clothes on the roof

In the villages we have big and small houses. In the towns we have lots of flats and apartments.

Small Traditional Houses

Big Traditional Houses

Traditional Flats

Tradional Apartments

Apartments

Modern House

Hello from Yellow Class

 Before Christmas we made puppets for our Christmas play. We made 3 Kings and 2 angels. Here are some pictures of them.

Our new topic is Out and About. We will be learning about our town of Nantwich and about Tudor houses and other houses in our area. Maybe you could tell us some information about your homes.

Do you have any Tudor buildings or houses in Malta?

Do you have terraced houses?

What colour are your houses?

Do any of you live in flats or apartments?

Do you live in old or new houses?

What are your houses made of?

We will send you some photos of Nantwich very soon.

We hope we hear from you,

Yellow Class

Hello San Anton School,

I am Mrs Hadfield, Deputy head teacher of Pear Tree Primary School. I teach Yellow Class too who are eager to learn more about Malta.
We started back at school today after the Christmas break. Next week we will start to 'blog' with you. My class are excited to do this.

I hope you have all enjoyed your Christmas celebrations and Happy new Year to you all,

Kind regards,

Mrs Hadfield