What a great idea for a thread! I remember all of those playground games and rhymes.

I played a lot of skipping games. The ones that stick out the most for me are:

Cinderella, dressed in yella

Went upstairs to kiss a fella

By mistake she kissed a snake

How many doctors did it take?

1,2,3,4,5.........

And:

Miss Molly had a baby, his name was Tiny Tim,

She put him the bathtub to see if he could swim

He drank up all the water, he ate up all the soap

He tried to eat the bathtub but it wouldn't go down his throat.

And:

Inky, pinky, ponky

Daddy bought a donkey

Donkey died, Daddy cried

Inky, pinky, ponky.

The only one I remember is if you're at the top of a play structure or something, you'd shout out, "I'm the king of the castle and you're the dirty rascal!"

I remember both of those too!

Here is another one we used to choose who was "IT" for a game. Everyone makes fists with their hands and stands in a circle. The leader taps each person's fists, one tap per word (except "hanging" which got 2):

"My mother and your mother were hanging out clothes

My mother punched your mother right in the nose

What colour was the blood?"

(someone would say a colour)

"R-E-D and you are not "IT" in this game of hide-and-go-seek."

The person whose fist was tapped on the last word would take that fist away. Repeat until one person with one fist remains, and that person is IT.

we played a few games. I don't know how to spell the one so I'll wait and see if anyone else knows it. One patty cake type game I remember goes to the song...

Miss Mary had a steamboat
The steamboat had a bell *toot toot*
Miss Mary went to heaven,
The Steamboat went to
HELLo opperator,
please give me number 9,
and if you disconnect me,
I'll kick you in
behind the yellow curtain
there was a piece of glass
Miss Mary sat upon it
and hurt her little
ASSk me no more questions
I'll tell you no more lies
The boys are in the bathroom
zipping up their
FLIES are in the city
the bees are in the park
Miss Mary and her boyfriend
are kissing in the
dark is in the movies
the movies are a show
the show is on TV set,
and that is all
I know I know my ma
I know I know Pa,
I know I know my sister with the 80 meter bra

Another one one you slap your lap, clap and then snap with your right then left hand. On the beats you say "concentration, concentration has begun keep the rhythm BethanK, Kappa" and then Kapa would have to respond with her name then someone elses on the snaps. If you didn't get the snaps right or you mixed up the names etc you'd be out. We played a thumbwar when it got to two people.

I remember that one Bethany. I also used to play some other clapping games.

Cee Cee my playmate,

Come out and play with me

Bring out your dollies three

Climb up my apple tree

Slide down my rainbow

Into my pot of gold

And we'll be jolly friends

Forever more, more, more.

LAVA MONSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!  The lava monster could only touch metal and the ground on the play structre and everybody alse could ony touch wood or you fell in the lava and if the lava monster tagged you you became the new lava monster. 

I'm sad to say this but that game is not part of my childhood Twinkle_Toes it's part of my present. Yup second year University and my friends and I still go and play lava (though it's usually pretty early in the morning and dark when we're playing so there is an added twist)

Hey Namaste,

There is an alternate version to that one too:

Cee Cee my enemy

Come out and fight with me

And bring your pitbulls three

Chop down my apple tree

Slide down my garbage can

Into my dungeon door

And you will stay in there

Forevermore more, more. 

Nice, eh?

Namaste, 

We did that too, and added this chant at the end:

More, more

Shut the door,

Don't forget

To wash the floor.

Does anyone remember the skipping game ...all in together girls, never mind the weather girls, jump out when you birthday comes...is it January, February, March, April......    The idea was for everyone to jump in a the beginning and jump out on your birthday month... We hardly ever made it to December.

I remember for cooties we had the cootie shot and I remember playing a lot of tag and freeze tag, where whoever's IT has to touch everybody and if you get touched you can't move and the only way you can move again is if someone who isn't frozen or IT touches you. That one was pretty fun.

We had foot hockey too, which was like soccer with a tennis ball, but it felt more like hockey. It was pretty much only a guy's game but eventually the girls complained that they weren't allowed to play, but it was because all they ever did was stand around and talk.

I remember RED BUTT too. With that game, we threw a tennis ball at a wall and someone would try to catch it (generally it was whoever was in the path of the ball anyway) and if they dropped it then they had to run to the wall. Meanwhile, someone else had to get the ball and throw it at the wall. If the ball hit the wall before the person could touch it, they got a letter. Get all seven letters and you were out. Last person in won.

Good memories...

We played what you call RED BUTT, except we called it Wall Ball. There used to be a huge crowd of kids playing, boys and girls, and if the ball hit the wall before you did you were out, no seven letters thing for us.

I've never heard of Lava Monster, although we used to play games where we couldn't touch the pavement or the grass, or whatever.

And I don't know the all in together skipping rhyme...that's a new one for me!

Does anyone remember a game called Grounders?

Sure do remember grounder Namaste but I hated having my eyes closed so I never played.

We also played Red Butt but instead of just being "out" after you got the letters you stood against the wall and each person had the chance to chuck the ball at your butt...hance the name.

Did any of you ever play four square?

Is four square with a ball, cuz we played a game on the square grids with a ball. I can't remember all the rules though.

We also used to play Red Rover. Kind of a dangerous game though.

Yup that's the one Namaste. We had a bunch of rules but I only remember the basics. One person was "king" and they made the rules at the begining of the game and then starting by bouncing the ball to another person, they had to bounce the ball on to another person and so in. If the ball hit your square twice before you got it you were out, or if it hit your square and then went out of the playing area you were out. I also remember something about poison.. I think there was a mall square or circle in the middle and if that ball it that and someone yelled poison you had to run to the courner of your box, last one there was out. We used to have huge lines for that game.

Red Rover was banned when I was in grade 5 but we played it secretly anyway. We also played British Bulldog.

I just remembered this as well. In the winter we used to find pieces of icysnow (or even just snow) and go down the big plastic slide while sitting on it. You could get going pretty darn fast.

I went to a small country school that was on a small hill and the senior boys would carry pails of water and pour them down the hill until it was covered in ice. Then of course, we would slide down in every way imaginable.  Of course this was long before teachers had yard duty, and it would never be allowed today, but I can't remember anyone ever getting seriously hurt!

I have never heard of the "KEYS" protection that Kappa is talking about.

I love the clapping ones!!!

I had 2 sisters so we skipped alot! Do any of you remember...

'Had a little sports car 1968,

went around the cooooooorner and slammed on the brakes,

Police man caught me, put me in jail,

all they had was ginger ale, how many bottles did you drink?

(then they turn the ropes super fast and you count to see 'how many')

pommum: I always thought, in retrospect and even a little bit at the time, that the KEYS thing was kind of weird. I have no idea how it developed. I should ask some of the people who grew up in the same city I did to see if there were people in other schools doing the same thing.

Namaste, I LOVE Grounders! So much fun, especially when there is a huge piece of playground equipment to play it on. I remember hanging upside down or balancing precariously in all sorts of ways as the "blind" person went by.

I remember playing Four Square and Red Rover a bit, but Four Square required someone to have a big ball, which often nobody did. Red Rover was, of course, banned at some point...though it was "legal" for awhile.

Grounders....anyone remember grounders?  Fun times.

As-Salaamu Alaiykum

-Omni

Yep. Sure do, Omni. In fact, we were discussing it upthread.

Just thought of another this morning:

"Liar, liar, pants on fire, hanging on a telephone wire!" Not a game, of course, a rhyming taunt.

My kids and all the kids in the neighbourhood at night played a game called "Kick the can". It involved kids and hiding and getting home to kick the can. I didn't know their rules but they played it for hours - esp. at night. Anyone know it?

Ha! I remember all of these. I really liked skipping as a little girl. Good memories.

HA! I got a bloody nose playing grounders.  I was it and a guy was sitting on the monkey bars swinging his feet and kicked me in the nose.  It hurt! That ended my grounders playing carrer.  And I still play red rover.  We spontaniously did in wrestling one day....

Out of those mentioned:

• Never heard the "keys" protection
• Did the Cinderella skipping chant, but not the other two Namaste mentioned
• Yes to King of the Castle and 'IT'
• Did a variation of the steamboat - instead of Miss Mary it was Snoopy, but instead of going on to the bathroom line etc. it ended with "Snoopy and his steamboat are a bunch of little lie lie lies"
• Yes to Concentration
• No to Cee Cee, Lava Monster, cootie shot
• Yes to frozen tag
• No to Red Butt and Grounders
• No to Four Square and icy slide
• Yes to sports car, except at the end before the ropes started going really fast, we said "pitch, patch, pepper!"  And when we slammed on the brakes you had to land with the rope between your feet/legs.
• Yes to Red Rover
• Yes to the liar liar chant
• Yes to Kick the Can

We played kick the can to. Basically it was like hide and seak but if you were caught you had to run to the can. If you kicked the can before the person who was "it" you were safe. If they got to the can before you did you were out or the new "it" depending on how you played.

We didn't do a lot of skipping games. Mostly we just tried to double dutch (which people were really bad at) but I had my mom teach me how so I was pretty good

Anybody remember Red Light, Green Light?

I don't remember "kick the can", but it sounds like a lot of fun.

I DO remember Red Light, Green Light, as well as What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf? Basically, the same as Red Light, Green Light, except with the Wolf chasing everyone back to the starting line every time it was "lunchtime!" Otherwise, you had to take however many steps Mr. Wolf said the time was (1 to 12 steps) and try to get up to the level of the Wolf before being eaten for "lunch." Mr. Wolf was not allowed to look either, and calling lunchtime all the time was considered Bad Form. 

Not sure I can remember the rules for Red Light Green Light except that you stop on Red and go on Green. But is there anything else, like something that makes you "out"? 

Yep, I played Red Light, Green Light, Punkins. How 'bout What Time is it Mr. Wolf?

It's interesting to see how playground games don't really change all that much over time. You and I played many of the same games, Punkins. Some of my friends' kids are still playing the same games that I was playing almost 20 years ago.

Yes! What Time is it Mr. Wolf - I was thinking of a couple of games that had wolf in them, but coud not remember the names. 

The other wolf one goes "sheep sheep come home"  "no, we're afraid" "afraid of what?" "the big bad wolf" "oh, don't worry, he won't catch you", with the farmer on one side and everybody else on the other, and the wolf in the middle.  The goal was to make it to the farmer without being caught.  Sound familiar to anyone?

And of course, who can forget the ubiquitous Duck, Duck, Goose ....

we played duck, duck, goose and drip drip drop. That one you needed a glass of water and you'd put a drop on someone's head for the "drip" and dump the rest of the glass on the person's head for "drop".

Oh yes, Duck, Duck Goose. I really didn't like that game. I'd sit there praying as the person came by: "Don't pick me, please don't pick me". I dunno why, but I really didn't like it.

Me neither Namaste but I played anyway. I couldn't run fast enough to win so I always lost and was it forever. I hated it.

Grounders, Kick the Can, Red Light Green Light, and What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf? Those were favorites...I always used to hate being "It" in Grounders, though. I didn't like to have my eyes closed, so I just learned to be really good at the game so I'd never have to be "It"!

Yes to all of the above.  Good times.  And some not so good times....

Hello Everyone

Here is another regional variation (south-western Ontario) of the playmates rhyme.We sang this with a complicated partner-clapping rhythm.

O come ye playmates

Come out and play with me

And bring your dollies 3

Climb up my apple tree

Slide down my rain pipe

Swing on my cellar door

And we’ll be jolly friends

For ever more, more, more

So sorry playmate

I cannot play with you

My dolly’s got the flu

Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo

Ain’t got no rainpipe

Ain’t got no cellar door

But we’ll be jolly friends

For ever more more more

This reminds me of a discussion from an under grad course I took with Prof. Edith Fowke many years ago. She had done quite a bit of work with children's rhymes in different parts of Canada. ("Sally Go Round the Sun" is one of her books) As students we had to submit rhymes and games that we remembered from our home areas - I always suspected that we were helping her with research

She was a wonderful lady. Thanks everyone for bringing her back to my mind.

What about Simon Sez

I always lost that game

That's cool, Sadiesoo! I didn't know anyone studied this at the academic level, but it seems that you can do graduate work in anything at all, these days.

Duck, duck goose was never a game that was played when adults weren't present, if I recall. It was always a game we played at Brownies or at someone's birthday party, never one we did on our own.

I remembered another rhyme from where we would play Slapsies, or whatever in a big circle. Everyone would sit (or stand, I guess, when it was too wet on the ground) with palms up and overlapping each other and you had to swing your left hand over to touch the person's left hand on top of your right hand, while singing:

"See Ma-ri-o, Ma-ri-o

See Do-min-ee-ca, ma-ca-ron-i

Lao lao tee tee tee

Lao lao, tee tee tee

One, two three: BOTTOMS!"

On the word "bottoms" (sometimes we said "slapsies" instead) the person who was about to get their hand slapped had to move it really quickly. If they managed not to be touched by the last person, they were still in the circle, and the last person the rhyme ended on was out. If they were touched, they were out. This continued until there were only two people left. At the end you had to stand in front of each other, clasp your left hands together (or right hands, but only one hand each) and swing them back and forth. You had to somehow slap the other person at the end, unclasping your hands, but I can't remember how.

I never got to the final showdown: I was always out really early on.

Does anyone remember the baby game. ( circles on babies'palms) Round and Round the garden, Goes the Teddy Bear. One step, two step, get him under there (walk fingers up arm and tickle underarm) Babies belly laugh

we played something like that Kappa but not with those words at all ours was something like (sorry the spelling is going to be way off here)

est chico chico

chico chio clap clap

est chico chico

velo velo the toilet over flows

say one, two, three, four FIVE!

say

Bethany, I think I played the same one as you. It's called "Stella, Stella, Ola".

I love stella stella ola!

yup that would be it Namaste!

The other baby game is "This Little Piggy" played with a baby's toes.

"the toilet over flows"...typical playground humour!