Aclapping game(orhand game) is a type of usuallycooperative(i.e., non-competitive)gamewhich is generally played by two players and involvesclappingas arhythmicaccompaniment to asinging gameorrecitingof arhyme,oftennursery rhymes.Clapping games are found throughout the world and similar games may be known throughout large areas with regional variation.
Nature of the games
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Due to thecommunication skillsandcoordinationrequired, simple clapping games areage appropriatefor children age 24 months and above.[1]In many cultures clapping games are played by all sexes and ages, but in many European and European-influenced cultures, they are largely the preserve of girls.[2]
Claps commonly included in patterns are clapping one's own hands, clapping both hands of a partner, and clapping one hand of a partner, generally across such as the right hand of each player. The clapping may include other activities such as thigh slapping, or a final move such as touching the ground and freezing.[3]Sara Bernstein describes seventy-nine "basic hand-claps".[4]
Clapping patterns may be used with only specific rhymes, generically with most rhymes, or improvised. Children in different areas may be more or less strict about which claps accompany which rhymes but generally different clapping patterns may be used to accompany different rhymes. The rhymes are generally very similar to ajump-rope rhymes.Some games are played without a rhyme, such as 'Slide', and not all require the players to clap each other's hands, such as 'Sevens.'
Clapping games are a part oforal tradition.As such there are a variety of distinct clapping games or families of games. A game may be performed or played in various versions found in different areas and times and often according to ethnicity. For example, "Hello, Operator" may be called "Miss Susie"or"Miss Lucy"and may contain, omit, or vary verses or specific lines. Clapping patterns and actions may also vary. There is nocanonicalversion of any game though children often fight over whose version is "right" or "real".
Examples
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Clapping games include:
- "A Sailor Went to Sea"[5]
- "Down Down Baby"(also known as" Roller Coaster ")
- "Down by the Banks"[6]
- "Mary Mack"[6]
- "Miss Susie"[6]
- "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man"
- "Pease Porridge Hot"[5]
- "Pretty Little Dutch Girl"
- "Stella Ella Ola"
- "Cup game"
- "Crocidilly"
- "Four White Horses"
- "Bobo Ski Waten Taten"
- "Shame Shame Shame"
- "Rockin' Robin"
See also
editReferences
edit- ^L. Acredolo and S. Goodwyn,Baby Minds: Brain-Building Games Your Baby Will Love(Acredolo 2000), p. 52.ISBN9780553380309.
- ^P. Blatchford and S. Sharp,Breaktime and the School: Understanding and Changing Playground Behaviour(London: Routledge, 1994), p. 40.
- ^K. D. Gaunt,The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop(New York, NU., New York University Press, 2006), p.6.ISBN9780814731208.
- ^Bernstein, Sara (1994).Hand Clap!,p.13-39.ISBN1-55850-426-5.
- ^abGryski, Camilla (1998).Let's Play: Traditional Games of Childhood,p.30-1. Kids Can.ISBN1550744976.
- ^abcBernstein (1994), p.7-8.
External links
edit- [1]videos and sound recordings from the British Library showing clapping games over the last century