Rhymes

Plainy marmalade
Plainy marmalade
Many a nurse has lost her purse
Plainy marmalade

Then the ball throwing gets harder with each verse

Over marmalade etc, while throwing the first ball over arm.

Then dropsy marmalade, allowing the first ball to bounce

Then Plainy Plainy marmalade with the first 2 balls thrown up, as in juggling.

You can add them all together eventually.

Plainy Plainy over dropsy marmalade etc etc.

Have fun!

Each, peach, pear, plum
I spy Tom Thumb;
Tom Thumb in the wood
I spy Robin Hood;
Robin Hood in the cell
I spy William Tell;
William Tell at the table
I spy Betty Grable;
Betty Grable is a star
S — T — A — R.

My Mother said, I never should
Play with the gypsies in the wood.
If I did, then she would say;
You naughty girl to disobey!

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John next door neighbour carry on,
next door neighbour got the flu so I pass it on to you.

Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Jews
Bought his wife a pair of shoes;
When the shoes began to wear
Nebuchadnezzar began to swear
When the swearing had to stop
Nebuchadnezzar bought a shop
When the shop began to sell
Nebuchadnezzar bought a bell
When the bell began to ring
Nebuchadnezzar began to sing:
(choose any nursery rhyme)

As children we would put a tennis ball in a stocking (knotted) and standing with our backs up against the wall hit first under each arm and then each leg whilst reciting...
A sailor went to sea sea sea
to see what he could see see see
And all that he could see see see
was the bottom of the deep blue sea sea sea.

Have you thought of playing jacks when you can’t get out side? Used to love to play.

Over the garden wall
I let the baby fall
My Mother came out
and gave me a clout
She gave me another
To match the other Over the garden wall

We had a slightly different Nebuchadnezzar in South Wales

Nebuchadnezzar the King of the Jews
Bought his wife a pair of shoes.
When the shoes began to wear.
Nebuchadnezzar began to swear.
Tarra ze za zoo, Tarra ze za zoo
Tarra whopper, Tarra whopper.
Tarra ze za zoo

One started off with
Over under, over under up the apples and pears
under over under over something something stairs.

Can’t remember the rest but the 2 balls against the wall were thrown underarm and overarm.

The big ship sails up the alley alley oh
The alley alley oh
The alley alley oh
The big ship sails up the alley alley oh
On the last day of September
And several other verses

Was another tune we sang

1, 2, 3, mother found a flea, put it in the teapot to make a cup of tea
Flea jumped out, mother gave a shout, in came dad with his shirt (or something else!) hanging out!

Oh thank you MissAdventure! That rhyme popped into my head just the other day, goodness knows why (weird head!) and I could get as far as "make a cup of tea" but couldn't remember the rest. I can stop wracking my brains now!

Oh thank you so much, had a good laugh reading all those, some did come back to me, and loved those that I didn't know. Now just need to find a flat wall!!! Most of New Zealand is wooden weatherboard!!!
Cheers everyone

I remember a slightly different version but same sort of thing that went
Plainsie, clapsie, round the world to backsie.
Touch your knee, touch your toe, turn around and under you go.
We then added on the actions to the original ones, as it were, until it became quite complicated!
There was another ball one called Sevensie.
We used to chant the Nebuchadnezzar one while skipping, not when playing ball.