England (first recorded in print 1855; part of a wider tradition of 18th, 19th century singing play-party games)
Ring Around the Rosie
Also known as Ring-a-Ring o' Roses (UK), Ringel Ringel Reihe (Germany), Ringa Ringa Roses (India)
A circle singing game where everyone falls down on cue.
3+ playersAges 2-7In or outCalmSmall spaceNo kit
The rules
How to play
1
Players hold hands in a circle and walk or skip around singing 'Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of posies, ashes! ashes! we all fall down!' On 'fall down', every player drops to the ground together.
2
Younger children love the falling; with older ones the fun is in seeing who falls fastest or last.
3
Stand up, reform the circle, and repeat.
4
There is no winner, it is a pure cooperative play song.
Keep it fair
With very young children, focus on everyone falling together rather than racing, remove the competitive element entirely and just enjoy the song.
Good for building
coordinationrhythmcooperation
What you need
Nothing at all, just the kids.
More to play
