ErieKeaaeway Illustrated by A/an Rogers

'Don't just sit theR twiddlina your thumbs' - perhaps that has been said to you at some time. It is a common expres5ion which implies that ' twiddling your thumb~' is just about the silliest thing anybody could do; that domg anything else would be a more interesting or worthwhile way of spending the time.

Well dlis book will show you that there is more than one way oftwiddling your thumbs. It will show you, too, that there are other thina:s to do with your thumbs- and fingers -beside~ twiddling them. It is surprising what you can do with a pairofhands and nothlng dse at all. You can p~ay fi nger games. make pictura. do sums and create all kinds of magic. One word of warning: you can a]so catch out your friends with some of these tricks. Do not try to catch them out too often or they may become distrustful of you and be unwilling to join you in a finaer aame for which you really do need them as partners.

Many of the following Micas will be useful to you when you are unable tO get on with your usual activities> wh~ you arc confined to bed through illness or when trav~ on a kmg joumcy. There will be other ideas that you will want to try on your family and friends straight away> w don'tjust sit there twiddling your thumbs . . .

I am indebted to Seishiro Yuasa of the Japan Children's Play Research Centre for lirat introducing me to the subject offinaer play; and to Samuel Randlett for introducing me to much of the literature. Manin Gardner's work on impromptu magic has once again proved invaJuable. I also thank John French, Robcrt Harbin, Ela:R: Hill and her son David. for suggesting Micas which are included in this c.ollcction.

M)'lterioualwtd tum Did you know that you can turn your band over without actually turnina your hand over?lfthat sounds like nonsense. try the following sequence of moves. keeping your wrist stiff at all tim~.

I Stan by holding your hand palm upwards. Then bring your hand up to the 5houlder on the same ride.

3 Swing it out to the froni.

4 Brin& it up to the shoulder ...

.•• and out to the fronL

7 Your hand ill now facing palm downK'Grds. How did that happen? i '

'

F1oadaasausaae I Bring the tips of your forefingers together and hold your hands about 20cm in front of your nose.

2 Pull yourfingertipJapart slightly. Look through the space between them. focusing your eyes on the far side of the room. and a little 'floating sausage' will appear.

Hole ill !h•lwHI 1 Roll up a sheet of paper into a tube and hold it to one eye. Place your free hand uprisht against the side of the tube with the palm facin& you. (Make sure this hand is'not hidden from your view by the hand whicb is holding the tube.) Keep both eyes open and focus them on the far side of the room.

2 You a wear to have 11 hole in the middle of your hand.

One penoD- two pencDs Cross two of your fingers and run the insides of the tips along a pencil. It will feel as if you are touching two pencils.

Owl hoot

I Make a hollow ball of your hands by cupping them together, taking care that you do not leave any gaps between your fingers or bet~ the heels of your hands. Leave just a narrow cavity between the joints of your thumbs.

2 Plaec your lips apinat the upper part of your thumbs, with youtlower lip covering the top end onJy of the cavity; then blow. This shouJ:d produce the sound of an owl hooting.

3 BymovingthemiddJe finger of your left hand, you should be able to produce various notes.

Slap your Jmeea aud ohan1• band•

I Hold your ri&ht ear with your left hand and your nose withyourrighthand. Let go.

2 .•• slap your knees .

. . • and take hold ofyour\eftearwith your right hand and your nose with your left hand.

Repeat these moves. SJap your knees and change hands; slap your knees and change hands as quickly as you can -if you can.

CIID you do lhll7

~~peoplecanbcndthcir f~ ~er pcopk find im h~ds and fingers into . , WUii stun"1 Even ;r poo~ble. Can you do poo<tion• ome of your friend> ca/ou cannot, you will fi~that

J Canyoubend your wrist? your hand so that your thumb t ouchCJ

2 Canyoubend sothattbetwoto your:rorelingeratthe . . pscctionsarerigid? mlddltjointonly,

. ·'' •'

-

·1· - ~~~:· ~~ ~tr.: ·.. ' . ·, ·.· :~~/' ... . ~~ .. . -:;:---.. 1, ·~· ----"· - .

3 Canyoucu.rl your third ft your little finac:r fing" ow ;::~"yow-.ruddle~::;yourthi<dftnler,

r oretinger - like this?et,and your middle

• .

~

. I

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And can you do tblo7

~lli=:!~a ~~.like the one in the drawin& and lift your

First lift your index finger , • ,

· ··and finally your littJefingcr. • '

--

Jl

2 · • ·then your second finger .. ~=run through the sequence again, more quickly tha

Amlwbot about tbls7

Here is a 1imilar stunt:

l Separate your first and second fingers from your third and little fingers, like the first drawing.

2 Now bring your second and third fingl7s together, without moving your first and linlc fingers.

Sec iCyou can continue quickly moving your two middle finaers together and apart, togetha and apart, without movinayourtwoouter finaers at all.

Ftaser eoloDdu

Perhaps you know the jinJ!c which bqins, 'Thirty day1 bath September, April, June and November. ,.,' It.is generally used, as a way of remembering how many days there .are in each month of the year.

Here is a.nother way to remember the number of days in each month. Start at the lcftmost knuckle of the left hand, point to each knuckle. and each hollow between tbc knuckles, in turn; and riame them January. February. March and so on.

When you want to be reminded how many days a catain month has, count off the knuckl~ and hoUows until you reach the month in qucstion.lfthe month is represented by a knuckle(a hiah point) it will have thirty-one days(the hiJher number of days). If the month iiJ represented by a hollow (a low point) it will have the kJwcr number of days­that i1, thirty days, except ror February which has twenty· eight days in a normal year and twenty-nine in a leap year.

Flapr multlplielldoa

Here is an unUJual wayofmultiplyiq certain numbers. At

first it may seem more difficult than the way you have learnt to multiply at school, tnit give it a try.

I Numbertheflngers of each hand in sequence from lhe littlcflnger,wbichwecall6, tothethumb,wbi<:h we call 10.

2 To multiply any two numbers between 6 and 10, place: IOjether the tips of the two fingers which represent those numbers. For example, to multiply 6 and 8, put the little finger eX one hand ( 6) against the middle finger of the other hand (8). Now we do two :~imple sums and add the answers

toaethac.

First count the two touchlrq; tlngcn and those below them, then multiply this number by I 0. There are four such fingers here so the swn is.( x 10. The answer is.W. Next count the number of lingers and thumbs above tbe two touching fingers; there are four fingers on one hand and two on tht: other. Multiplythtsetwonumbers to&ether(2x4). The answer is 8. Add the two answers together ( 40+8) and we have our final answer which is 48. On the next page are two more eXamples.

3 Prob'em:multiply 7x9. Place the third flnaer of one hand {7) against the

forcfingcroftheotber{9). Atthebottomthereisa totalofsiiflngm6 x 10= 60. At the top there are three fingers and onetl.naer 3x I = 3. Addthese numberstofindthefinaJanswer 60+3 =63.

4 Problem:mu1tiply6xl0. Place the fin&ers as abown in the lower picture. At tbe bottom there are siifinJ;en 6 x 10 = 60. At the top there an: four finaers on one Ode and none on

theother~x0=0. Therefore your answer is 60+0 - 60.

!I t,elndfal of tbings totrgon

gour frienels

Rubber fingers

I If you rub your hands together in a certain way, you will appear to have unusually long fingers which bend backwards as well as forwards. The following steps show you bow to achieve this curious effect.

n lL

2 Place the palms of your hands tos;cther. Slide the left hand up ..•

4 strm&hteo your fi .......

S Slide your right hand up . ..

. •• and curl your fingertips ~ver 7 Then strai . ghten your fingers 00(% more

Continueslid. · u~bending t.hem:t,.Jr: hands up and down . will have to do ., gerup•;doit~owly' ,bendmgand be effective.. I qutckly for the illus!:r~=-but you finlersto

Cat'acndle This is a traditionalaame in which a loop of atrins is pused bad: and forth between two people's hands - done in sucb a way tbat the strinascrou and make a series of changina p~ttems.

Cat' I Cradle is tl'lc name Jiven to the fir' t pattern in the series-each pattern has its own n&me-but nobody knows

for 1utequitewhattbe name means. Yoo will need a picce ofsmooth strin& about two metres

long. Form this into a loop by knotting the ends together

neatly.

1 Fint person. Place the loop around your hands as shown. Take hold ofthenearstring witn the finger and

thumb of your ri&ht hand: take it across your left palm and

loop it around the back of your hand •..

2 • . . likethis. l¥ R~your~thandtoiu

preYJOut posatiOn. , , .

-· ~

3 Now take hold of tbe Dear lb"'ioowttb yOur left halld. and loop it around your ri&ht hand . . •

4 ... like this. Return your left hand to iu: previou1 position. 411

~1 S Move your left hltld to the ri&ht; llip the forcfin&cr under the riaht palm otring IDd -.m, pulling !he otring · with it.

6 Simil&rly with the riaht hand, 11ip the forebaer under the left palm strin& and pull it acJOII to the right.

7 This pattern is the 'eat's cradle'.

S«<ndperson. Notice the two places, marked with circles, where the strings cross. Take hold of these crossed ltrin.&s between finger and thumb and pull apart like this.

8 . Tatetbecroucd Jtrinp under the parallel st:rina:• and up mto the middle. Extc:od your foreft.n&en and thumb&, takin& up the tension and cveatually carryina the ltr'ina; oo yowown.

Ffrst pv~on. Release your hands gently, alk>wina your partner to take over the string.

9 This pattc:ro is caDcd a 'bed'.

First ~non. Take bold of the: crosted strinp and pull apart . ..

10 . .. and, as in atep8, take them underthepara.lld. strinp and up into the middle. Extend your fordingcn and thumbs to support the st:ring.

Second penon. Release your hands aendy.

11 This pattern is called 'two candles'.

~·I ~~

12 S«<OI<<penon.Hooltlhclittk11npnofoochhand under the inside atrina: of the oppotite side, pulling the strings over.

13 Keep hold of them while you push your fore6ngcn and thumbs under the puallel strings and up into the centre. El.tend your fingers and thumbs to support tbe string.

First penon. Remove your hands gently.

I 4 This pattern is c.llcd 1 •mqcr'. First JID'IOtL Take hokl of the croued strinp: and pull

them outwards. , .

I !'i . •. up and over the parallel strings and down into the

centre. &tend your fingers and thumbs to support the strina:.

Second persoN. Release your hands.

16 This pattern is called 'St ADdrew's Cross'. Sec how many moves you can invent for yoursclf in order to create new patterns.

NIDe ftnaer• l Clasp your bands toaet)ler in an apparendy normal

way, but keep one fincer bidden. Point out that you have

only ninefinaers showing and ask your friends to JUCSS

whlch one it rrumna.

Give the answer by revealin& the inside of your clasped

hands and wi&&lins the miasin& fin&er.

You can try t.bis trick several times, hidin& any one of your

ftnaen similarly in the pt.lm of your hand.

Ftaaer wblllle I

Can you whiide with your

finaers?Trythismethod:

Brin& the tipa of the forefinger and little finger of one hand toaether. Curl

your tonaue back, push

your two li.naertipa qainst the underside of your tongue and Now.

Or try thil method:

Bend the two top joints of the forc:finacr of one band so that the space: between tbe

joints forms a small bole. Placethisbc:ntfinger

aaainst the underside of Yourtonaue and blow.

Scouman'aflqon

I Getafric:odtoplacehis

lwKU ...-u ollown berc: - the knuckles of the mktdlc ftnacn placed finnly toa;cther and the tips of the thumbs and the other pain:

offinaen touchin&each

other.

2 Put • penny between the tipl ofhia foreBnacrs and say, 'Here's a penny for the

Enpshman.' Next put a penny between the tips of

the third fin&en and say, 'Here's a penny for the

Scouman.' Lastly put a penny between the little fingersandsay,'Ha-e'sa pe:nnyforthelrishman.'

3 liUittthatyourfriend keeps the knuckle~ of his middle finacn toactber and uk hlrn to drop the pcnniu bypull.in.ghia:6ngertips

apart. The 'EnaJishman' and the 'Irishman' will drop theirperuticabutthe

' ScotsmaD' wiU keep atiaht hold on his!

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.

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Sweet surprise For this trick you will need a sweet wrapper or a similar stnaiJ piece of eoloured paper.

I Bend the forefinger of one band forward.

2 Fold the sweet wrapper in half and place your forefinaer between the two layers. Twist the two ends of thepap<7.

~A:~~~~~ forefinger WJth your thumb, so that you appear to be holdina a sweet in the palm of your hand. OtTer it to friends-they will get a surprise when they try to picldtup!

Tbe mummy'• ftqer Armawlna

This trick is similar to the Sweet Surprise. You will need the ·In this routine your ann swings around iD a circle as though inside part of a matchbox. some cotton wool (or something it had no bones in iL Stcpa6--9 should be performed in ooc similar) and a pair of scissors. continuous movement so that the tumina; o( the hand pauea

UMOticed by your audience. 1 The trick : you show a friend a little box filled with cotton wool, then carefully remove this paddinl to reveal a 1 Raise one elbow to shoulder heiJht and let the forearm

buman finacr. You persuade your friend that this is the hang loose. fina;er of an Egyptian m~o~mmy, thouaanda of years old.

2 The facts : actually it is your own flngerwhich you slip into the box throuah a hok cut into its bottom.

2 Take hold orthe hanging arm with your ochcr hand ..•

. .. and lift it acrost your body. Let. it go .

. from your elbow,leA ourarmto~'Nln& a1 . 4 ••• and all~ come aradually to ab t.

and righ' and Lift ;und, S Take hold of the hanainl arm once I1\0R,

thi~ bmc, push it away.

7 Continue the circular movement , ..

tbe hand around u it reaches your 8 ... and turn

•houlder. loo,.

9 Af\ercomptenng . the circle, let YOW' forearm hang acain and IIWina to a halt.

M.pcerou 1 Wrth pen and ink (not a ball-point pen) or with a fiDe bruslt and wdl.-mixc:d watercolour paint, draw aline ICtoSS

thecreaseofyour Jd\ palm.

2 Turn your hand ovt:r and draw a similar line on the other side.

4 Turn your hand over and th~ is a cross wbere only alinewubefott. lbe ,_, • .:.­line you drew on the back of __......~

your hand really seems to have p&Med through to this side.

The secret : the cross is formed in step 2 when you tum your 3 Now aay, 'I'm going to rub this line right through to the hand over for the first time. Undercoveroftheturn,you othersideofmyh&nd.' Moisten a flnaer and rub the back of quickly close andopenyourhand and thewetirok line will

your hand vigorously until the linedisappeara. bec:omc imprinted across itsdf.

Amp-eel arm

To peri'onn this simple stunt you will nocd to wear a coat of

10mc kind. Pull thec:uffofyour left sleeve down u far u you can and then rest your arm on a table or dak top.

I Chop sharply at your left elbow with your riaht hand.

2 Now take hold of your Id\ hand and pull it slowly out of

the alceve u far u poss:tlMe. For a moment it will look u if

you really have chopped off your arm!

· CncklnJ your note

I Pushthetipofyour nose to one side with the forefinger of one band. Suddenly there will be a cracking sound u if your nose wc:rc breaking.

2 Youdothisbysecretly putting your thumbnail behind your two front teeth; bringing your thumb

forward sharply makes the crackina noise.

The spirit flnaer When you are alorte w:ith a friend, uk him if he believes in

ahosts. then tell him you can summon a Jhost with his help.

I Place your two forefingers on his forehead and lightly

run them down his face two or three times. (This is really just to get him used to seeing your two hands in front of his

face.)

2 Aak bim to ck>ec his eyes. Whm hedoel, quickly sub­

stitute two tiftaers of one band for the two fingers you have

been usinJ. This fl'ftl:S one of your hands. As you run the ftn&ers of one hand over your friend's eyes,liJ,htly tap him on the back nfthe head with the other hand. Immediately

return your hands to the earlier position with both

forefingers touchina his face. When your friend opens his

eyes and sees your two fingers apparently still occupied, be

should be unable to explain who- or what -tapped him.

Knuckle saap

Here is an unusual way of making a sna.ppina or poppinc

noise with your fingers.

Grip the middle linger ol one hand finnly between the

forefinger and middle finaer of the other hAnd u shown. PuU your hands apart to make the popping noise.

Two people can grip each other's fin&en in lhis way to

snap them. It can also be used as a priVIte hand!hakt

between members of a secret society or club.

Dloappeariaa tlaprulh 1 Clup your handl toactbet as shown and rat the back of your right hand on the table. Draw attention to the fact that your ftnaemail.J are showing.

2 Turn your hands over quickly and point out that there are no finaernails on thi1 side. Repeat this action two or three times.

If I

Now aay the magic word, turn your hands over qain and this time there are no ftnaemails on the other sKle either!Tumyourhands back andforthtoahow that your fingernails have corn· pletely diSIIppeared.

3 Thisisthcsccrct:while turning your wri1ts you quickly close the extended fingm and raise the closed ones. The turning-over movement hides the opening and closing of your fin gen.

DeadfiDior Aak a friend to clasp your left hand with bil riaht hand; then

each nisc your fordinacr 50 that they both reat apinst

each other. Take hold of these two tlqers with the thumb and

fordinacr of your riaht hand and ruo than aently up 1nd

down. You will have the curious feetinathatonelideofyour

finacr hu become numb. Let your partner do the same; he will feel that lW fl.naer is

partly numb, too.

FIDplrap

I Cron.'two fingers of each hand as shown in the illWJtra­

tion. Ask somebody to put his finaer into the bole.

2 When he hu done 10, draw your own fingc:n cloft

tosether to trap your victim's finaer. He abould flnd it difficult to escape.

All other ftqer trap

1 Ask somebody to place his or her foreftnaen and middlelilllerstocetherlikethls.

Feat ofatreastb Place one hand on top of your head and press down firmly, then challenge someone to lift your hand from yow bead. They should find it impossible.

Cocklns a slow snook 1 Raise your dhows high and let your hand& hang together one in front of the other. The thumb of your Jiaht hand should rest a&ainst the little finser of your left hand. Ask somebod.y to assist you in performing this stunt by standing in front of you and pressing aently down on your dbows.

2 As ht: does so, slowly lower your elbows and lt:t your hands ever so gradually swivd into a horizontal position.

With continuing pressure ..

. .. continue to lower your dbows and swivel your hands gradually so that the fingers point upwards.

4 Now your hands are placed so that you can bring your 1el't thumb back to your nose and wig&k: your lingers at your assistant until he nalises that he has been 'had'.

Mqnetlc hand 2 Sud<knly open YDW' llft&en- and thepcncilappcan to

I Hoki a pencil in your left hand, the back of which be suspended without support.

should be towards your audience. Rub the inside of your left wrist with the other hand. explaining that this is to create 'rnqnc:ticforcc'.

3 ActuaUy you hold the pencil with the tip of your right forefinger, which your audience cannot sec.

//,/~ ----.. --~·~~~~(." ~!.~ .-'-"' __ .. ~·· , 1 I I Ill 41 ~ .

~ - · . '·-" ~---:. .. \ ... ~

flaacr IJuouih luuul 1 PlaceyourlwKls qethcr. Brin& tberi&ht midd)cftngcr down between the tint two flnacr• o( the left hand. Then bmd the left middle ftnger down •• .

2 .. . like this. Rotate your bands in opposite directions 10

that your palms face upwardsanddoWl'lwards •.•

3 . . • like this. Hokl your hands high and wigle your two middlefinicn.

4 You appear to have one Ions fin&cr passing right tbroush your hind.

Thumb Slllllcb 1 Hold your left hand in front of you with the palm towards you and the thumb standing up.

3 PuU your hand away and thC thumb aocs too.

4 This is the secret: yourthumbisreallybentintothe palmofyourhand.Jn step 1, brinayourria:ht hand tietween your left thumb and your audience so that you can bend the thumb without it being seen. ·

Flqer otretcblaa Flnpr break

I Place one hand in front of you with theforetin,:erpoinc- J Tbe·trick: takchoMofyourri&htforefln&er with your

ing down. Curl the forefinger of your other hand around the left hand and . ..

pointing linger, then move the pointing fin& er up and down

rapidly lndrepcatcd.ly. 2 •. . break offthe end!

2 The finger will appear to be much longer than it rtally is.

3 The facta: in step l,yourri&htforefinaeris hidden and your left thumb, tucked behind one finger, is what your

audience sees u youi' riabt forefinger.

Rest your left rorefin&er against the fingers of your right hand and, in step 2,slide yourlefthandjust 2or 3cm to the

k:ft. Slide it back qain to 'mend' your finaer.

, ,. ,,, ~i i.t

_.)lo-J<- ' - ~· ' --- ~ •''

~~ --..-r~-

Thumb break

1 The trick: your Jet\ hand grupsthethumbofyour riaht hand. You bend it back and forth and with a great

dcalofeiTort" '

The facts : in step I, the thumbofyourriahthand il hidden in your right pahn; the thumb on view is the thumb of your left hand.

In step 2, do not brin& your bands much more than J or lcm apart. Then return your thumb to 'meod' your bond

Patoadrub

1 Pat the top of your head with your rizht hand while rubbina: your stomach in circles with your left hand.

2 Now rub your bead with your right band and pat your atomach with the left.

Get some of your friend& to do thi1J with you and take it in turns to eaU out 'Change!' At thi1 command everybody should immediately stop patting and start rubbing or vice vena. In fact, of coune, it is very easy to become confused.

Mind over matter

1 Tell a fricod that you have supernatural powers­that you can act him to act in a certain way simply by willi.nghimtoactinthat way. Todemonlltnte, ask him to clasp his hands toaether with the forefingers stickin& out as shO'IVIl.

2 Tcllhimtordax,and cell h.im you will concentrate your mind on making his fln,;ertips come together, If he remains relaxed hls fingertips really will come together- Dot becaWJe of your supernatural powera but because it is quite

. -u·~ naturalforthemtodoso.

Wlgle dull tiDpr 1 Get a friend to croaa his wristl and then 10 clup hit hand• toa;ether. ·

3 Point to one of his fin&ers (but make sure you do oot touch it) and tell him to wia&lc that finger. He will probably wiggle one of the fln&ers on his other hand.

The elusive ftiiJOr J Bend down the middlefinaer ofyourriaht hand.-Take the remaining finaers across into the palm of your left hand, pushing the little finger of your let\ hand across to the left with them. Wrap the left hand around the five fingertips. (With practice you will be able to do this more quickly and more naturally than at your first attempt.)

2 Ask a friend totakeholdofwhatbebelievesto be yoUr middJefi.nger.

3 When he has done so, quickly remove your left hand and spread the fingenofyour right hand to reveal which finger he has chosen. Of course, it will be the wrong one, because the middle finger simply was not there to choose.

Scluon, paper, atone

In the Far East. instead of tossing a coin to decide who is to have first go in any game or contest, they play the 'scissors

paper, stone' &ame. The two contestants each show a band in one of three

ways to represent scissors, paper or stone. Here are tbe

hand positions and the customary way of describin& the winninJ and loai.na bands.

1 Two outstretched finaers represent scissors; an open hand represents paper. Scissors cut paper (i.e.scissora win).

2 A band ronned into a fist repte$trttS stone. Stone blunts

scisaors {i.e. stone wins).

3 Paper wraps stone (i.e. paper wins).

That is to say, each of the hand positions can beat, and ean be beaten by, one or the others. Whatever hand position you choose the chances of winning, losing or drawm, are numerically equal. But you must try to read your opponent's miod and anticipate his movea. The winner is lik:dy to be the person wbo has the better uadcrstandin& of his opponent's character,

To~ that each contena~tthowl hil band at the samctimc.,c:bant together, •ooc, two. t~uce.• and sbow your band on the finaJ number.

I Swmayourann up at (/! ~ ~:::~::::,.bebmd ;v· ~ .. your back on the count of 'two'.

3 Show your hand on the l count of'threc•. 1 /1

~ besrdful ef wags toe.mase

el smesll ebild

RCIUJKI and round the prdca

V cry small children enjoy this bit or nonsense - you probably remember being amused by it yourself.

3 ... two step . . .' (alitde fv.rtber up ber arm).

Trylq to catcb your tbumb Steallna ~aby'• ao""

SomesmaDc:hlldrenlike to see you try to eatchyourthumb. i Say to baby, ' l'maoing to uealyournose.' and take hold of his nose betwa!n two of your knuckle joints.

L Hold up your thumb andloopthefinaersofyourother hand around it. Stare hard at your thumb like a cat 2 Pull your hand away with your thumbtip peeping out

watching a mouse. between the knuckles. It will look very much like baby's nose. Pretend to put it back again afterwards.

2 Then suddenJy grab ror it. Too late - it's gone. Better

luck next time!

~ ~

Ply away Peter

I Prepautwosmall scraps of paper. Stick one, with a lick, on the nail of each mickBe finger. Rest thesefillj:erson thecdaeofa table and recite the following "crse.

'Two little dkky birds sit on a wall

One named Peter, the other named Paul .

f----· ·- ..

<!5..-

~ i'' -~fQ

2 'Fly away Peter .. (Raise your right hand and return ~t immediately, but now W!lh your third finger showing and your middle finger conculed.)

3 'Fly away Paul .. : (Now repeat step 2 with

E~ yourlefthand.)

4 'Come back Peter, come . back Paul.' (Raise each

hand in turn, switching fi~ers again to bring the ~die finaers back into

-·>

Pat·a-eakc baker's man,

Pat-a-cake.=-~~~ you ~::a• Bak.emeac . andmari.itwt • Roll it ~d .pat'! oven for Baby and me.

And put tt m th ur own hands, or

dap hands to. Clap yhoown in the draw~ This is a rhy~eht:nds, in the sequenceesfollowing phrases.

"' ' ,. ........... .. yow-partn"' Uabl•of•achofth . ~ . g• onth•fin"Y ~ ..

1 Pat-a-cake... _' J\ j

baker's

... man, ..

... f8$t as yo\1 can.

Thla Is the chlll'Cb

This is atinacr rhyme- a rhyme which you can recitewtille performina certain band movements at the same time. Here are the verses in full:

This is the church, This is the steeple. Open the doors And see all the peop)e.

This is the minister Going upstairs, Up in the pulpit Saying his prayers.

-__ _ ,~ ;J[--

.,.::.~;-:·....._: --~~-= -~::::.; ' ' '· · Vt: .,., _,, ~------.... .

Here are the words again with the accompanying hand movements:

l This is the church. (Bend the fingers of both hands and interlock them. Rest thetipsofyourlittJefingers together.)

2 This is the steeple. (Raise your forefingers and place the tips together to fo rm the steeple.) ·

4 And see Ill the people. (Turn your hands over and wiggle your fingers.)

5 This is the minister going upstairs. (Separate your hands. Turn the left hand over and 'walk' the fingers of your right hand up the fingers of your left hand. Then clasp hands.)

6 Up in the pulpit. (Bring your clasped hands up between your forearms.

7 Saying his prayers. (Wi&a:le yOur thumb.)

Wlakllla baacl I Draw'araceonthepalm of your )eft:hand(oryour right hand if you are left­handed). Place one eye acroSs the crease as shown.

2 Bend forward the third and little fingers, and the face will wink at you.

Galloping horse

I Draw a picture of a horse on the back of your band with afdtor baD-point pen. Draw him so that his legs stand out at the front and rear.

2 Now touch the back of your hand lightly with a fingertip and make small circling rriotions. The skin will move and stretch, making the horse appear to gallop.

Haud puppet

1 Drawafaceonthebackofyourlefthand.. To make it look more lifelike, use coloured felt-tip pens- blue for the eyes, red for the mouth, black for the eyebrows. Make the lips large and place them between the thumb and forefinger. Draw a nose on the first knuckle above the mouth; then add eyes and eyebrows to complete the baSic face.

2 Keep your thumbtip against the dosed forefinaer. Move the middle of your thumb to make the mouth open and close. The face will appear to talk and yawn.

3 Now try drawing a face on either hand so that lhe eyes are turned towards each other. You can make them tell jokestoeachotherl

Gn!my To make this hand puppet you will need a paper handkerchief and two or three used matchsticks.

I Fold the paper handkerchief diagonally in half to make a trian&uJar shape. then turn the folded edge down. Make your hand into a fist with the thumb at the bottom. Tuck the turned-down edge of the handkerchief under your little finger and ~old the two side ends with your thumb. Your fist is now beginning to resemble a head wearing a headscarf.

Two matchsticks can be used to form eyes. Slip these between your third and middle fingers . Break the third matchstick a.t its head end to fonn an L-shape- granny's pipe.

3 · Here is granny puuing out her tongue very rudely. To do this, t&keholdofthe two ends of the headacarf with your right hand; this releases your left thumb which forms the tongue by being poked out betwoen the fordin.i.er and middle fin2er.

Baby'o Cootolcpl Have you noticed how moisture sometimes forms a misty swfacc on windows whea it is a cold day? Perhaps you have c:n.joycd making pictures by !,racing a fingertip through iL Here is 10metbing similar you can try when next you find a window covered in condensation.

I Press the heel of your fist against the glass.

2 Bunch your fingertips IUld press them above this m.uk.

3 You now have what looks like a tiny footprint. Make severaJ footprints, left and ri&ht, by using both hands. It will look as though your baby brother or sister had somehow managed to walk up the window!

FlDJer and thumb pletureo

lt's fun makinJ pictures in which yow thumb, or one or more of your tinzcn, appears as part of the design. If you have paper, pencil,lcisson and ruler handy, try thls for a

stArt '

ClowD I Drawthefaceofa clown on a shed of paper about IO x lScm.

2 Cut a hole. about 2cm in diameter,in the centre of the fo=

3 Put your thumb through the hole from the back, and suddenly your clown hu a Reshy,life·likenose. Wiggle your thumb to make hls nose twitch.

4 If you want to give your friends a surpri.&e, turn the paper over and write instructions on the back, such as, ' Put thumb in here and turn paper over.' P&5ll the paper to your friends with the instructions upperm<nt.

PUT TffUMB IN HERE

0 ANI> TURN fAPEROVEK

WJoldo&pl l Onlwthefaceof'aairl on 1 piece of paper· Cut out ~e holes of about lcm diameter.

2 Ntttdrawalargedot on each of your thumbnails.

~ Hokiing your fists like e one below, slip your

thumbs into the holes to f~m eyes.. (See the Ulp pteturc opposite.)

~"~~!bring thetipofyour ... umbdown by :ating your thumb like

s . . .

~.andthegirlwill . lfyouftndthistrick

=cult to perform because fi .:.;per moves, get a n toholditforyou.

n..o ................ Here are aome further ideas forfinacrpictures:

1 One finger is used to make an elephant's trunk.

2 Usetwoftnge:rstomakc the paddling legs of a child.

3 Usetwofl.ngerstomake tbcdevil's homs.

Try to think of some more ideas to use in this way.

Wl5tl YOU WERE HERE

Hand obadowo

ll's fun making pictures by cutinasbadows of your handl qainst the wall of a room. It is best to do this in_the evenin& with not more than one light on ~ a desk lamp or bedside lamp will provide a" suitable light .. Stand between the lamp and the wall at a point which allows you to throw a strorlJ shadow.

1 Dog: place the paJms of your hands to&ether and curl your forefinaers. Stick up your thumbs to represent the dog's ears and move your little fingers up and down to make him bark.

2 Cat:yourkft list forms the eat's head; raise the knuckle joints of your forefin&er and little finger to represent ears. Cup your right hand around your dbow and stick out a finger to form his tail. You can hold a few blades ofgrus in your~ hand to represent the eat's whiskers.

4 Swan: one hand forma the swan'• bead; hold the 1lm two flnaers with your thumb and let the remainillg two fingers fonn the beak. The other hand forms the wing.

5 Bull: with the thumb and forefinger of your right hand, form the hull's hems. Hold your other hand at an angle, so that the shadow of your lingers is fore-shortened, to form the hull's oose.

6 Elephant: balding your left: hand palm down, stick out the forefinscr &nd littk finger to represent tutk:s lfld stretch thetwomidd1efl.ngersdown to represent the elephant's trunk. Place your ri&ht hlfld on top, fingertios to knuckles, to shape the top ofhis head.