Slovenia is a country located in Central Europe. It has a population of around 2 million people and borders Austria, Croatia, Hungary, and Italy. The climate varies from Alpine in the northwest to Mediterranean along the coast. Some notable aspects of Slovenian culture presented include the national anthem, folk costumes that differ by region, traditional folk games like "Chris Cross King Matias" and "Fox and Hens", and folk dances such as "Abraham's Got Seven Sons" and "Marko's Jumping."

1. SLOVENIA
Presentation by Petra Kočar

2. Facts about Slovenia: http://www.burger.si/
• Location in Europe:
Central Europe - Mediterranean Europe
Area: 20.273 km2
The highest peak : Triglav (2.864 m)
Length of Adriatic coastline: 46.6 km
Population: ~ 2.000.000
• Neightbour countries and lenght of borders:
Austria: 330 km
Croatia: 670 km
Hungary: 102 km
Italy: 232 km
• Climate:
Alpine in north-west Slovenia
continental in central Slovenia
sub-Mediterranean in south-west Slovenia (coastline)

4. Slovenian anthem:
God's blessing on all nations,
who long and work for that
bright day
when o'er earth's habitations
no war, no strife shall hold its
sway;
Who long to see
that all men free
no more shall foes,
neighbours be.
France Prešeren (1800-49)

5. SLOVENE NATIONAL COSTUME
In Slovenia we have several national costumes according to the region.
You will see our children dancing in a very simple Slovene
national dress that is typical for our region of Ljubljana.

6. On this picture you can see the best known national
costume that is presented around Slovenia, Europe
and even world by many folk ensembles. This
national costume origin from Upper Carniola region.
A very typical Slovene addition for every Slovene
national dress is Slovene carnation; you can see that
the woman on this picture is holding a bunch of red
carnations.

7. SLOVENE FOLK GAMES
Collected, prepared and played by Barbara Stančevič

8. CHRIS CROSS KING MATIAS
Origin of the game: SLOVENIA
Number of the children: 3+
Expected age of the children: 3+
Playing space: gym, playroom, classroom, playground,
meadow, forest
Duration of the game: 15-20 minutes
Aims:
 Children develop movement coordination
 Each child seeks one’s own way of solving the
movement problem
Materials needed: elastic band
Game preparations:
 We prepare two equally long elastics. We pick two
volunteers who hold elastics; they both hold both
elastics for the end of elastic.

9. How to play the game:
 Two children hold the elastic and they say: “Chris
cross king Matias!” While saying those words they
re-knit elastic with their hands and legs so that it
becomes a sort of a net.
 The other children try carefully to come trough the
“net” while crossing the net they are not allowed to
touch it.
Game options:
 children can take turns in holding elastic; the child
who makes the mistake takes the place of elastic
holder
 child who touches the elastic is out of the game or
he/she has to make one gym exercise
 we can play this game in scope of the polygon
activity
 children cross the net trough all possible wholes –
trough the whole one child already went is not
allowed to go again so when all possibilities are
used up the game begins again
 elastic could be moving away
Game recommendations:
 It is recommended that the elastic is held by the
adults!

10. HOW SOLID IS THAT BRIDGE ?
Origin of the game: SLOVENIA
Number of the children: 6+
Expected age of the children: 4+
Playing space: gym, playroom, classroom, playground,
meadow
Duration of the game: 20-30 minutes
Aims:
 Children develop space orientation and coordination
 In case puling the rope in the end of the game they develop
strength
Materials needed: /
Game preparations:
 We pick two children, who stand opposite to one another
they hold their hands in way that they form the bridge. They
agree what is who; they can pick the fruit like one is apple
and the other is plum or they can pick something else like
colour or number… The other children form a column in way
that they hold each other for the waist of the chid in front.

11. Game description:
 The column travels freely around the space and
when it comes to the closed bridge (children
forming the bridge put their hands down in way of
closing the bridge) the dialog begins:
 First child in the column: “How solid is this bridge?”
 The bridge: “Like a stone, like a rock and like a
bone!”
 First child in the column: “May our army cross the
bridge?”
 The bridge: “Yes you may, but only if you leave the
last one behind.”
 First child in the column: “If only you can catch
him!”
 The bridge opens (children forming the bridge lift
their hands up) and the column runes under the
bridge. At the last child in the column the bridge
closes –children forming the bridge put their arms
down and they catch the child. They ask the
caught child what he/she likes best a plum or an
apple. Child must go and stand behind the one the
child picks (children in the column shouldn’t know
who is an apple and who is a plum). The column
again goes around and comes back to the bridge.
The game goes on as long as there are children in
the column.

12. Game options:
 Before each time the column passes trough the
bridge children forming the bridge agree who is
an apple and who is a plum
 Instead of the fruit children can pick something
else like some other food or colour or sport….
 If the last child of the column runes away the
column goes trough again
 In the end two groups of children can pull the
rope
 Before the bridge catches the last child he/she
walks around naming days of the week
Game recommendations:
 younger children should hold each other arms
or shoulders

13. RING GIVING
Origin of the game: SLOVENIA
Number of the children: 6+
Expected age of the children: 4+
Playing space: gym, playroom, classroom, playground,
meadow
Duration of the game: 15-20 minutes
Aims:
 Development of child’s sensuality perception
Materials needed: a ring or other small object
Game preparations:
 Children sit in half circle holding their hands together.
The group pick out two children. One goes out of half
circle, the other has a ring in his/hers hands.

14. Game description:
 The first child that goes out of half circle closes his/her
eyes and covers them with his hands.
 The child holding the ring walks from child to child and
says: “Rings we give, rings we give! Hide it good, hide it
well, don’t let the cat get to you!” and secretly he puts the
ring to the hand of one child.
 When he finishes the half circle all children call the first
child- the cat: “Kitty, kitty, kitty!”
 When the cat comes to the half circle all the children a
quiet and the cat –first child sniffs the children’s hands and
guesses who’s got the ring. If he guesses correctly than
they switch places, otherwise the same child guesses
where’s the ring for so long that he/she guesses correctly.
 Children switch places.
Game options:
 we change the lines children are saying
 instead of the cat we can have some other animal
Game recommendations:
 If one of the children betray the one having the ring to the
cat, we remind him of fair play rules and if he/she does it
again we exclude him/her for two game rounds!

16. FOX AND HENS
Origin of the game: SLOVENIA
Number of the children: 5+
Expected age of the children: 5+
Playing space: gym, playroom, classroom,
playground, meadow, forest
Duration of the game: 15 minutes
Aims:
 Development of speed, space orientation
and coordination
Materials needed: fox and hen masks, apron
for the housewife
Game preparations:
 We organise playing space: in one part we
set the fox den and in the other side hen
house.
 We define playing roles: hens, fox and
housewife

17. Game description:
 Hens go around in front of the hen house while
the housewife looks after them. The fox takes
advantage of the housewife’s carelessness and
takes one of the hen; the fox runs holding the
hen into the fox den.
Rules:
 hen is not allowed to go into the hen house
 housewife is not allowed to go into the fox den
 if the housewife grabs the hen that the fox is
holding on and they are not in the fox den jet
than the hen can return back into the hen house
 the hen cooperates with the fox when it is
caught; the captured hen doesn’t fight the fox
and cooperates in running from the housewife.
Game recommendations:
 It is recommended that children exchange roles.

18. SLOVENE FOLK DANCES
ABRAHAM'S GOT SEVEN SONS
Abraham’s got seven sons
Seven sons’s got Abraham
All were eating, all were drinking,
They were doing all like this:
All like this, all like this
They were doing all like this
All like this, all like this
They were doing all like this.
 Children form the column and they hold each
other hands.
 First in the column leads the column around the
playroom.
 When the lines in the song say: “…They were
doing all like this” the first one comes up with an
activity (for example: jumping, waving, touching
the nose, clapping….) and all the children repeat
after him/her. When the song ends the first child
goes to the end of the column.
 So we have a new leader of the column and
everything repeats again!

19. MARKO'S JUMPING
Marko's jumping,
Marko's jumping all over the meadow,
a-jaj, ajajaj, all over the meadow.
a-jaj, ajajaj, all over the meadow.

20.  Children form the circle and holding each
other hands they walk around into the left
direction singing the song.
 We let one dancer holding white
handkerchief in one hand into the middle of
the circle.
 Dancer with the handkerchief walks around
in the circle near other children to the right
direction. Dancer walks around waving with
white handkerchief high over his had and he
is looking for his girl dancer.
 When the song starts: “a-jaj”, he takes the
dancer under her hand and they dance in
the meddle of the circle. When the song is
over he gives the handkerchief to the girl.
 The song begins again and now he girl picks
out the boy dancer. The dance continues as
long as children are enjoying it.