My mom's skipping ropes

Arta's ropes n an old rice bag in the cold storage room at the Lake.

It is hard for me to name a particular toy I loved as a child except perhaps my mom's skipping ropes.

Made from calfing rope, I loved when my mom would pull them out and turn rope for us.

I loved all the skipping rhymes and the fun we had skipping with all the kids in the neighbourhood or at church.

Here are a few of my favourite skipping rhymes.

Apples, peaches

Apples, peaches, pears and plums

There are options for what ropes are made of ...
but they all sting when they catch you on the calf.

Tell me when your birthday comes

[You would then skip "peppes" (or really fast skipping), and say the months of the year, trying to not get out until you reached the month of your birthday.]

January
February
March ...

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, show your shoe.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, that will do! 

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, go upstairs.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say your prayers.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn out the lights. 
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say good-night! 

The children jump rope while they sing this rhyme. They act out the actions as the words come up in the rhyme.  An example: when they say go upstairs, the child pretends to climb the stairs.

Cinderella

Cinderella, 
dressed in yellow 
went upstairs to kiss a 'fella 
made a mistake and kissed a snake 
how many doctors did it take? 

1
2
3 ...

[count until someone messes up]

I loved skipping so much that I eventually as an adult bought double dutch ropes so I could teach my children how to skip double dutch. We had so much fun doing it on our driveway and many of the kids on our street in Montreal would join us for skipping after school. My kids are too old for skipping now, but I still love my ropes so much that they hang by our front door.