Playground games

Two ball, up against the school wall, usually to the song “the big ship sailed up the alley,alley ooo.

Oranges and lemons.

The farmer wants a wife.

All at Primary school.

Two ball, french elastic, hop scotch, Simon says, tin pan alley and cops and robbers.

Mostly two balls, skipping and hop scotch all of which I loved. I still sing this to my granddaughter whilst demonstrating two balls (which really impresses her).

When I was one I sucked my thumb
The day I went to sea.
I jumped aboard a pirate ship
and the captain said to me
We're going this way, that way, forward and backward
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to fill my tum
and that's the life for me.

Whips and tops.

French skipping - with elastic stretched between two girls and a third one jumping in and out and making certain manoeuvres. We were obsessed! I wonder if it is still played in playgrounds? I never saw anyone playing it when my own boys were little.

The big ship sailed; one potato, two potato; statues; tig; hospital Tig; Chinese ropes; hopscotch; all played at primary school. We were much too grown up to play at secondary school.

Just loved whip and top. We used to colour the top of our tops with coloured chalks. Up and down a car free street for hours. Also skipping. A long rope, someone’s washing line probably.
‘ All in together girls
. This fine weather girls
. When it comes your birthday please jump out,
January, February’ etc.

For choosing there was dip dip dip, or eany meany miny mo, or your shoes are dirty, please go home and change them!
And all those other nonsensical clapping games.
What time is it Mr Wolf? ….DINNERTIME!
Exclusively girls though.
Boys were usually content with football - of course, and knocking chunks off their knuckles with conkers.

I forgot What's the time Mr Wolf! Loved that

French skipping
Jacks
And my best friend and I spent hours 'galloping' around the playground pretending to be horses - influenced by Champion the Wonder Horse.
Later we played games with secret codes like the Man from Uncle.

Marbles, Fag cards, Cats cradle, The farmer’s in his den, Hopscotch, What time is it Mr Wolf.

The Big Ship Sails

Twos and Threes

Stuck in the Mud

Leap frog
What’s the time MrWolf
Hopscotch
Hot Rice
Skipping
2 balls up the wall
Mothers and fathers

Balls against the wall skipping occasionally with other girls so long rope that you took turns with a long rope & you had to be. quite quick too!

Oh yes Mrs Ken 33,my Dad used to say whip and top was what he played with using a leather boot lace. Thankyou to others for reminding me of two ball and didn't french skipping use up alot of elastic bands?!!

Two ball, up against the school wall, usually to the song “the big ship sailed up the alley,alley ooo

We played this as well. Also skipping games and something called "Jacks" where you threw a stone up and had to scoop up cube shaped squares in increasing numbers. Then there were various forms of tick.

When we kids were trying to decide who was going to be "it" we had dipping games where we stood in a circle chanting a rhyme and were gradually eliminated. The one left was "It"

One of the rhymes was:-

Dip dip dip
My blue ship
Sailing on the water
Like a cup and saucer
O U T spells OUT!

Tiggy on high.You ran around like a mad bull and whoever was it tried to catch you but you were skinch if up high.
"Realleso" One person "IT'tried to tig you and if caught you put your arm on the first person who had been caught,you could be released by someone running under your arm.
We pretended to be fairies with just the top button of our coat buttoned up and the rest flapping.
Skipping with two ropes going at the same time.
I did play hopscotch which we called Hoppybeds.
Trains where you all held onto the back of each other and went as fast as you could.
We still played Tiggy on high at the Grammar school in the indoor playground/cloak room when it was wet

The caretaker at our grammar school was called Mr. Wolf, he was not amused when girls followed him around chanting "What time is it Mr. Wolf?"

Kiss Chase
Hide and Seek
Kick The Tin
Red Rover
Hopscotch
A huge skipping rope that could have 5 of us skipping together.

Handstands. I spent a lot time upside down.

Two ball - the alphabet game. You carried on until you dropped the ball but the other person couldn't use your words. eg.
My name is Ann,
My fathers name is Alan,
We live in America,
and we sell apples.
etc.

Oh, poor Mr. Wolf! He must have put up with it for years!

We loved skipping, and I try to recall all the songs that we skipped along with.
Two little black birds sitting on a wall, one named Peter, one named Paul...

I don't see any little girls skipping now, but I could have done it forever.

We had a game called Donkey where you bounced a ball on a wall and jumped over it when it came back, and the person behind you caught it. If you missed, then you got a D... until you spelled Donkey, then you were out.

Also hand clapping songs, does anyone remember Miss Mary Mack?

Big Ship with two ropes
Whip and top
Sliding on icy puddles in the playground - wouldn't be allowed now.
Handstands
Juggling three balls, I was quite good, missed my vocation there. 🙂
Tick (called Tag in some places I think). We weren't allowed to play it in the cloakroom but we did and I ran into a peg and cut my head open - had to go to hospital to have stitches. I can still feel the scar.

Whip and top, two balls against the wall and we danced-made up our own ballets based on well known ones.
This afternoon, on duty it brought back memories, though the ‘performances I was asked to watch this afternoon were more contemporary dance than ballet.

Regarding slides on the playground ice, a few years ago I researched the history of our village primary school and was told that, many years ago, if the forecast was for a hard frost, the headmaster would throw buckets of water down before he went home, so the children could have fun sliding the next day.