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Playground Games

  • Thread starter Thread starter emmachisit
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emmachisit

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I remember a lot of games we played amongst us boys - Polly-on-a-mop, Tag, Marbles, etc etc - but one game the girls played always puzzled me.
Standing in pairs, they would clap each others opposite hand in a seemingly random fashion; all the time chanting some rhyme or other, nothing that sounded sense. My young sister used to say "It's a secret" if I ever asked what they chanted. Anyone out there remember any? I'm 76 next month...so you can probably excuse my lack of memory - if indeed any chants were ever divulged. :roll: :roll: :roll:
 
Hand Clapping games

I remember playing those clapping games years ago in the playground or whilst waiting in a queue at school. All you needed was a partner and
a rhyme. Nursery rhymes were used a lot and sometimes rhymes that were made up, so it could be anything really. There were rhymes for skipping rope I remember and rhymes for when you threw a ball up a wall and caught it.
Something like:
Oliver-Oliver-Oliver Twist
Bet you a penny you can’t do this:
No 1 -Touch your tongue
No 2 -Touch your shoe
No 3 -Touch your knee
No 4 -Touch the floor –
No 5 - Stay alive
No 6 - Pick up sticks
No 7 - Jump to heaven
No 8 - Bang the gate
No 9 - Walk the line
No. 10 Start again.
I loved doing this over and over until my Mum came out and told me to stop..the noise in the house was awful!!

The clapping games are still played mostly by children from other countries such a Asia, Jamaica, etc. My daughter teaches English in Tokyo and she has told me that she has seen hand clapping games played all over in her area.
When she was in High School she said the female Asian students used to play for long periods of time and she could never undersand what their rhymes were about.
 
The clapping game that I recall, probably came later than you are referring to, but it went like this...............

3 6 9 the goose drank wine
The monkey chewed tobacco on the street car line
The line broke
The monkey got choked
And they all went to heaven in a little row boat.....clap clap

Clap hands, clap hands etc..........

To stay in the game, you had to keep up with the fastest person that could chant and clap it...........it often became inchoerent and girls (in their well known manner) would end up in fits of giggles :lol:
 
In the 40's we used to chant

One potato
two potato
three potato four
five potato
six potato
seven potato
more.

Over and over again.

Does any body remember the game where you ran into a skipping rope being turned by two girls. You had to be invited in and there was a chant as you did it, then you were sent out again. I can't for the life of me think what we said.
 
Clapping games

Hi Sue & Jennyanna,
Your replies brought back a few memories.
I seem to remember one that started -"My mother said.....if I was good?"
And the one that young sister eventually told me - blushing all the while, was:- Never marry an old man,
I'll tell you the reason why,
He always smokes tobacoo
And never zips his fly.
No wonder they were always giggling. :oops:
 
Skipping rope Rhymes

Hi:

These are a couple of rhymes I remember very well from skipping. The season usually started in the Spring and we were always looking for rope big enough to use. Loved it when my mother's line broke!!!!

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around,
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, show your shoe
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, that will do!
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, go upstairs-
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say your prayers-
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn out the lights-
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say good-night!

The rope jumper did the actions in the rhyme and if you got tangled you were out.

This next one is the one I remember most because the best skippers were great to watch with this one. You needed very competent rope turners for this also.

Two little dickie birds sitting on a wall
"One named Peter, one named Paul"
"Fly away, Peter, fly away, Paul"
"Don't you come back 'till your birthday's called"
"January, February..............................December"
"Now fly away, fly away, fly away all"

Two skippers would enter the rope, one named Peter and one named Paul
The rope would turn a few times and the girls would skip. When "Fly away Peter. Fly away Paul was said they would leave the rope. The rope then would turn faster and faster as each month of the year was called. "Peter and Paul" would come into the rope when their birthday month was called. .At the end they would both "Fly away" out of the rope.
Here''s another rope rhyme:

All in together Girls
Never mind the weather girls
When I count to 20
The rope must be empty.

Many people jumped into the rope depending how big the rope was
at 20 they all jumped out and started again.

I like this one also:
Jelly on a Plate
Jelly on a plate
Jelly on a plate
Wibble wobble wibble wobble
Jelly on a plate
Pickles in a jar
Pickles in a jar
Ooh ah, ooh, ah,
Pickles in a jar
Sausage in a pan
Sausage in a pan
Turn it over, turn it over
Sausage in a pan.

Can't quite remember the sequence for this one but I remember the verse. If you weren't very good you usually wouldn't be asked to take part in the more difficult gmes.
 
Clapping Games

I feel sure that there must be dozens or even hundreds more of these games. The more I read of them, the clearer my memories of 1930's playgrounds become. I wonder if the games are still played nowadays. :)

Can you skip to Ring Tones?
 
Palyground Games

Another skipping chant started as below but I can't remember it all

Eberkernezer the kings of the jews
bought his wife a pair of shoes
when the shoes began to wear
Eberkernezer bought .............

Perhaps this will jog someones memory and they can finish it.
 
Clapping Games etc

Hi Pom,
Thanks for the link - which I have added to my favourites. I will spend an afternoon trauling through them.
I expect I shall find all those that are mentioned above covered on the site.
Again, many thanks. :D
 
oh yeh...
clapping songs...
''When Sally was a baby, a baby Sally was...
she went a ....''
 
Hi, one skipping rhyme I remember, and now I cant think why. Today it would be very politically incorrect and something else besides, I'm not sure I should repeat it but here goes.
" I lke coffee I like tea
I like sitting on a Bl..k Mans knee" I dont remember any more.

Two Ball rhyme. Lord Mayor, Be Fair, Befo oxo. No idea what it means. Happy days of innocence, Mariep
 
Di.Poppitt said:
In the 40's we used to chant

One potato
two potato
three potato four
five potato
six potato
seven potato
more.

Over and over again.

Does any body remember the game where you ran into a skipping rope being turned by two girls. You had to be invited in and there was a chant as you did it, then you were sent out again. I can't for the life of me think what we said.
Click to expand...
In, in, a bottle of gin,
I call my friend ***** in.
Out, out, a bottle of stout,
I send my friend **** out!

Hope that's useful, as that's the chant I remember.
 
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