INTRODUCTION TO IP DIP DIP
Children’s culture, passed down for so long from older children to younger ones, is dying out. Rhymes which are hundred of years old and were heard on every street corner not so long ago are almost entirely gone.
So, in a bid to rescue them from extinction, I am compiling all the rhymes and games I can find in an easily accessible webpage. I hope that teachers, parents, children and other children’s culture enthusiasts will be able to make some use of them.
Each sung rhyme will have the tune playing, along with any variations and approximate area– I am always happy to add extra variations! Those without the tune noted are tagged ‘chant’ and are done to the rhythm of either the clapping or skipping.
I will also list taunts, riddles, myths and other games once commonly heard. Let’s allow children to go beyond simple jinxing and variations of ‘roses are red…’– they deserve it.
My main sources are Pete and Iona Opie’s books, along with comments found on old forums and my own memories. I am from Nottinghamshire, so it’ll be the variation from my area. I’ll add sources for everything in the tags of the post.
Actions done as the words are said are (in regular brackets and italics)Â by the side of the corresponding words.Â
Actions done afterwardsÂ
[are in italics, below or above in square brackets]
Names that are bold and in italics are examples and should be replaced with your own.













