"Ring a Ring o' Roses" or "Ring Around the Rosie" is a
nursery rhyme orfolksong and playground singing game.
It first appeared in print in 1881, but it is reported that
a version was already being sung to the current tune
in the 1790s and similar rhymes are known from
across Europe. It has a Roud Folk Song Index
number of 7925
There are many versions of this rhyme, some of which
use entirely different words to the roses/rosy variants.
The most commonly seen first lines are 'ring a
ring of (or o') roses (or rosy)' and 'ring around a rosy'.
The most common variant of the third line,
especially in the USA, is 'ashes, ashes'. The many
versions aren't surprising as, being lines from
a playground rhyme, they would have first been
spoken, sung or chanted rather than recorded
in a book.
Ring-Around-The-Rosie is one of those games that can
bring someone back to their childhood. The rules
are simple to learn. Children who are 5 or younger
are more likely to think this game is fun. If you
haven't played in a while, here are some
helpful reminders.
1 Gather at least 2 kids together, or, ideally, 3 or 4.
If too many kids try to play at once, it's more likely
that someone will fall down too soon.
Explain the game rules to the participants and teach
them the short song. The kids should understand
the object is to sit down after the singing is
completed
Form a circle with the kids and yourself by
join hands with each other.
Walk around in a circle while singing this song
together: "Ring around the Rosie, a pocket full of
posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down."
Stop walking and quickly sit down on the word
"down." The last one standing is out of the game
and sits off to the side while the game continues.
Repeat Steps 3 to 5 until there is only two people left
in the game. The first person sitting after the song
ends is the winner.