Dipping Rhymes.

[the_great_she_elephant]

OK Folks, Let's go on a little nostalgia trip. What were the "dipping" or counting out rhymes you used in the school playground.

I can recall several from my school days in England,  but I'm sure those of you who grew up here or in other countries would remember different ones. Meep I'd love to hear some of the ones you and your friends used..

We had the ubiqitous "One potato, two potato .... ,of course,  but others I remember included:

Dip, dip, dip,

My blue ship,

Sails on the water

Like a cup and saucer

O U T spells OUT  (or occasionally IT)

and:

Inky, pinky, ponky,

Daddy bought a Donkey

Donkey died, Daddy cried,

Inky , pinky, ponky.

I also wonder, were the counting out rhymes used exclusively by girls, or did boys use them for their games too?

[darksideofthemoon]

She sells sea shells by the sea shore

Two toads totally tired tried to hope to Tilbury

? 

?

Six thick fiddle sticks

but these are tongue twisters, so maybe I am 'off subject'?

[the_great_she_elephant]

One potato, two potato, three potato, four.

Five potato, six potato, seven potato, MORE

the MORE person was 'it'

The way we did it prolonged the suspense to absurd lengths - especially if there were quite a few players.. Everyone held out two fists and the counting went on til there was only one left - the owner of that fist was declared IT. I think sometimes recess must have been half way over before we actually got  around to  playing anything.

[spotweldersfriend]

I eat my peas with honey
I've done it all my life
It makes the peas taste funny
But it keeps them on the knife

[j*oono]

We did it that way with the fists too She_el.  It makes me feel like I'm in the playground thinking about it.  This was in England.  I don't think it was done much at school in Australia.

[b3llag1na]

The One Potato Two potato rhyme was done with 2 fists when I was little  - here in Australia.

We had lots of skipping ones, played with a lloooonnnggg rope - up to 20 kids (mostly girls) could be "in" at once!

All in together

This fine weather

I saw a nanny goat

Putting on a petticoat

Push

Bang

Fire! 

(on fire everyone had to get out of the rope at once - or you were out!

And on the "All in" you had to all get in to the moving rope!

[mugssy65]

Kids still do eni meani but it's now catch a tiger by the toe.
We did "ip dip dog **bleep**, you are not it" lol

[lurker17260]

Convent (or Proddy, depends what school you went to) dogs
Sitting on logs
Eating bellies out of frogs

I think there was more but can't remember

[the*scarlet*pimpernel]

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@the_great_she_elephant wrote:

One potato, two potato, three potato, four.

Five potato, six potato, seven potato, MORE

the MORE person was 'it'

The way we did it prolonged the suspense to absurd lengths - especially if there were quite a few players.. Everyone held out two fists and the counting went on til there was only one left - the owner of that fist was declared IT. I think sometimes recess must have been half way over before we actually got  around to  playing anything.

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ahhh that's right. The person who got more had to put that fist behind there back . That's how we did it too. I'd forgotten the exact mechanics of it. (Obviously I don't have an elephants memory :-))

[cherry*135]

Not a rhyme though.. What's the Time Mr Wolf?... ends up with dinner time and the other children run away and the Mr Wolf child has to catch one of them to become the next Mr Wolf.

We played the one potato, two potato etc,, with fists, in NZ.

Looking at what is posted here already, seems alot of these rhymes/games originated in England.

[the_great_she_elephant]

(Obviously I don't have an elephants memory :-))

Hahaha - It's it's interesting the different ways people remember things about their past. Some of my siblings can remember all kinds of physical details about various houses we lived in - the number of stairs, the plants in the garden, how the furniture was arranged. I don't remember those things at all - I remember more things that happened, what people said and did and what it it felt like to be me at those  times.