Skipping-rope rhyme facts for kids
A skipping rhyme is a fun chant that children say while they are skipping. These rhymes have been around for a long time. You can find them in many different cultures all over the world. English-language skipping rhymes have been recorded since at least the 1600s. Like many old stories and songs, skipping rhymes often have many different versions. This article shares some of the chants used by children who speak English.
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History of Skipping Rhymes
People have been jumping with ropes for a very long time. Explorers saw native people jumping with vines in the 1500s. In Europe, boys started jumping rope in the early 1600s. At first, this activity was not thought to be proper for girls. This was because they might show their ankles! There were no special songs or chants with the jumping back then.
Things changed in the early 1700s. Girls began to jump rope. They added the fun chants, owned the ropes, and decided how the game was played. They also chose who could join in.
In the United States, girls took over skipping rope in the late 1800s. This happened when families moved to cities. Cities had sidewalks and smooth places that were perfect for jumping rope. There were also many other children to play with.
Another idea is that before 1833, a type of pants called pantaloons became popular. These pants let girls jump rope without showing their ankles.
The chants help to organize the game. They often have silly or nonsensical words. These chants are special because children usually taught them to each other. They did not always have a deep meaning. This is different from nursery rhymes, which adults often taught to children. Nursery rhymes sometimes had a lesson or a moral. Skipping chants might talk about boyfriends or getting married in a playful way.
Examples of Skipping Chants
Sometimes, two children hold a long rope about 12 feet apart. They turn the rope while other children take turns jumping. If a child was not a good jumper, they might always be a 'rope-turner.' When it was a child's turn to jump, they would run in as the rope turned. They would jump to the rhyme until they made a mistake. Then, they would become a rope-turner, and the next child would jump.
Jump In, Jump Out Rhymes
For a line of children waiting to jump, these rhymes helped control the time. Jumpers would jump in at the start of the chant. They would jump out at the end. Then, the next jumper would take their turn.
- Charlie Chaplin went to France
- To teach the ladies how to dance.
- First the heel, then the toe,
- Then the splits, and around you go!
- Salute to the Captain,
- Bow to the Queen,
- And turn your back on the big submarine!
In another version, the teacher is "Benjamin Franklin." With the Charlie Chaplin rhyme, the jumper had to follow directions. They would touch their heel, then their toe. They would do a small split, turn around, salute, and bow. On the last line, they would jump out of the rope. This rhyme from around 1942 shows that children knew about World War II. The Queen they bowed to was the mother of the current Queen of England.
Here is an Australian version of the Charlie Chaplin song. It was sung at Salisbury Primary School in Brisbane, Australia, in the mid-1950s:
- Charlie Chaplin went to France,
- To teach the ladies how to dance,
- First he did the Rumba,
- Then he did the twist,
- Then he did the Highland Fling,
- And then he did the splits.
- All in together, birds of a feather:
- January, February, March, April, May, etc. (Each child had to jump in during the month they were born.)
Counting Rhymes
Most rhymes help count how many times a jumper can jump without making a mistake. These rhymes were often used when there were not many jumpers. They were also used when there was plenty of time to play. These rhymes can be very simple.
This chant was heard in London in the 1950s:
- Big Ben strikes one,
- Big Ben strikes two,
- Big Ben strikes three,
- (etc.)
And another one:
- Applesauce, mustard, cider
- How many legs has a spider?
- 1, 2, 3, etc.
Sometimes, it was "Salt, vinegar, mustard, pepper. How many legs does a spider have? 1,2,3, etc."
- Had a little sports car, two-forty-eight,
- Ran around the cor-(jumper jumps out, and turners continue the syllable until they reenter)-ner
- and slammed on the brakes, but the brakes didn't work,
- So I bumped into a lady who bumped into a man,
- Who bumped into a police car, man, oh man!
- Policeman caught me and put me in jail,
- All I had was ginger ale
- How many bottles did I drink?
- 10! 20! 30! 40! ...(The count goes up by 10 for each successful jump.)
- Butterfly, butterfly: turn around. (The jumper turns while jumping.)
- Butterfly, butterfly: touch the ground. (The jumper touches the ground while jumping.)
- Butterfly, butterfly: show your shoe. (The jumper sticks out their shoe.)
- Butterfly, butterfly: [n] to do.
- One, two, three, ... (This counts up to a number 'n'. The number 'n' gets bigger with each new set of jumpers.)
Another version uses "teddy bear" instead of "butterfly." This rhyme likely started after the early 1900s. That is when the term "teddy bear" became popular because of Theodore Roosevelt.
In some skipping rhymes, after the alphabet finishes, players keep counting numbers. They count until the jumper gets caught in the rope. Players might use the letter where the jumper made a mistake. They can then use it to find a name, like a best friend or a boyfriend/girlfriend.
- Ice cream, Soda pop, cherry on top,
- Who's your best friend, let's find out;
- Goes A! B! C!
Or:
- Ice cream soda, cherry on top
- Who's your boyfriend/girlfriend, I forgot;
- Is it an A! B! C!
Or:
- Ice cream sundae, banana split
- [Name of jumper]'s got a boyfriend/girlfriend,
- Who is it?
- A! B! C!
- Ice cream soda, Delaware Punch,
- Tell me the name of my honey-bunch.
- A, B, C, etc.
- Cinderella dressed in yellow, went upstairs (or downstairs) to kiss her fellow, by mistake kissed a snake, how many doctors will it take? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 etc. (Go to 20 then go down to the next line)
- Cinderella dressed in blue, went upstairs to tie her shoe, made a mistake and tied a knot, how many knots will she make? 1, 2, 3, etc.
- Cinderella dressed in green, went downtown to buy a ring, made a mistake and bought a fake, how many days before it breaks? 1, 2, 3, etc.
- Cinderella dressed in lace, went upstairs to fix her face, oh no oh no, she found a blemish, how many powder puffs till she's finished? 1, 2, 3, etc.
- Cinderella dressed in silk, went outside to get some milk, made a mistake and fell in the lake, how many more till she gets a break? 1, 2, 3, etc.
The counting keeps going as long as the jumper does not make a mistake. If they do, the counting starts over again.
Other Skipping Games
Skipping rhymes are not always just rhymes. They can also be games. One game is called "School." In "Kindergarten" (the first level), all jumpers must run through the rope without skipping. In "First Grade," jumpers must skip in, skip once, and then skip out without getting caught. The levels continue like this. There is also "Mouse Trap." In this game, there is a special rope pattern. Players must run through the rope without getting caught. If a jumper gets caught, they must then hold the rope.
Speed Rhymes
Some rhymes are made to test how fast a jumper can move. The rope is turned more quickly during these rhymes. A key word like "pepper" often tells the rope turners to speed up.
- Mable, Mable,
- Set the table,
- Don't forget the salt,
- Vinegar,
- Mustard,
- Pepper! (The rope turning gets very fast after this word.)
When "RED HOT PEPPERS" was called, the children turning the rope would turn it as fast as they could.
Related pages
Images for kids
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German illustration of girls skipping, c. 1860
