Clapping Games And Skipping Rhymes: 20 With The Words

Clapping games and skipping rhymes are passed on entirely by children, never written down, and every playground has a slightly different version. That's why you can't remember the second verse.

Here are the words to the main ones, with the actions, so you can teach them to somebody.

Clapping games with the words

• A Sailor Went To Sea Sea Sea - clap, own hands, partner's hands, alternate. On 'sea' salute, on 'chop' a chopping hand, on 'knee' touch your knee. Then the verses stack: sea, chop, knee, sea chop knee all together.
• Under The Bramble Bushes - 'under the bramble bushes, down by the sea, true love for you my darling, true love for me'. Ends in a mock wedding, as everything did.
• Miss Mary Mack, all dressed in black, with silver buttons all down her back - the most universal clapping rhyme there is.
• Double Double This This, Double Double That That - fists and palms, speeding up until someone fails.
• My Mummy Told Me, When I Was Born - clap patterns with a shout at the end.
• Pat-a-cake for the very youngest, which is the same game, four hundred years older.

Skipping rhymes for a long rope

• Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around / touch the ground / show your shoe / that will do - actions performed while skipping.
• Cinderella, dressed in yella, went upstairs to kiss a fella - the counting version, how many kisses did she give, one, two, three.
• I Like Coffee, I Like Tea, I Like [name] In With Me - the caller names someone who runs in mid-rope.
• Not Last Night But The Night Before, twenty-four robbers came knocking at my door.
• Salt, Mustard, Vinegar, Pepper - the rope turns faster on 'pepper' until you're out.
• Down In The Valley Where The Green Grass Grows, another counting one.

Skipping rope games and how they work

• Two turners, everyone else queues to run in - the key skill is running in on the rope's upswing, not waiting for it to be flat.
• Bumps: the rope turned twice per jump, counted until you miss.
• Snake: the rope wiggled on the ground and jumped rather than turned. The entry level version.
• Double dutch - two ropes turning inwards alternately. Start by running in on the beat rather than jumping in cold.
• Higher and higher: the rope raised an inch at a time, elimination style.
• Elastics, or French skipping - two people stand inside a loop of elastic, a third does a sequence at ankles, knees, thighs, waist. 'England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, inside, outside, inside, on.'

Ball and wall games

• Two-ball against a wall, with a rhyme for the sequence - under the leg, clap, turn.
• Sevens: seven throws, seven bounces, seven catches, in sequence, no drops.
• Wall ball, where dropping means you run to touch the wall before someone hits you with the ball.
• Donkey - miss a catch and you get a letter, D then O then N.
• Queenie-o coco, who's got the ball - one player faces away and has to guess who's hiding it.

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How to write it so it lands

• Every playground had different words. Yours aren't wrong.
• Run in on the upswing, don't wait for the rope to be flat.
• Elastics needs nothing but a loop of knicker elastic, which is why it lasted fifty years.

Where to shop next

• Traditional British party games explained
• Victorian and vintage parlour games
• Church hall and village fete games
• Wartime and 1950s party games
• Irish, Scottish and Welsh party games
• Seaside and beach games
• Card games your nan taught you
• Dice games explained
• Pen and paper games
• Playground games we all played
• Board games hub
• Kids' party games by age
• Nostalgic quiz questions
• Free feel good tools
• Shop cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Birthday cards for kids
• Mother's Day gifts
• Wedding cards
• Wedding cards guide
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What are the words to A Sailor Went To Sea?

'A sailor went to sea sea sea, to see what he could see see see, but all that he could see see see, was the bottom of the deep blue sea sea sea.' You salute on 'sea', then repeat the verse with 'chop' and a chopping motion, then 'knee', then all three together.

What are the words to Teddy Bear Teddy Bear?

'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.' Each action is performed while still skipping.

How do you play elastics or French skipping?

Two people stand inside a loop of elastic held round their ankles while a third jumps a set sequence in and out of it, usually to 'England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales'. Clear the sequence and the elastic moves up to knees, then thighs, then waist.

How do you do double dutch?

Two ropes are turned inwards alternately by two people. The skipper runs in on the beat rather than waiting for a gap, then jumps once per rope - it's twice the speed of a single rope, so timing the entry is the whole skill.

Do you sell games?

No - we make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. Every game here needs a pack of cards, some dice, a pencil or nothing at all, and the only products on this page are our own cards.