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Hand-clap games with kids: classic rhymes and how to teach them

Two pairs of hands and a rhyme are all you need. The basic patterns, the classic rhymes and how to teach them without frustration.

By the ClapOut team · Published · 5 min read

Clapping games are one of the easiest kinds of play to share with a child. You need no toys, no screen and no space, just two pairs of hands and a rhyme. They work in a waiting room, in the car (for the passengers) and at bedtime, and children who learn one tend to teach it to their friends within the week. This guide covers the basic hand patterns, a few classic rhymes to start with, how to teach them at different ages, and ways to keep them fresh once your child has them down.

The building blocks

Nearly every partner clapping game is built from a handful of moves. Sit or stand facing each other, close enough that your hands can meet comfortably.

The most common full pattern, which fits a great many rhymes, is: own clap, right, own clap, left, own clap, both. Once that is smooth, you can play most four-beat rhymes with it.

Start with the youngest: pat-a-cake

For babies and toddlers, the goal is not a pattern but the shared rhythm and the joy of it. Sit your child on your lap or face to face, and gently move their hands, or clap your hands against theirs.

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man,
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
Pat it and prick it and mark it with B,
And put it in the oven for baby and me.

Swap the letter for your child's initial and their name for "baby". Act out the words: pat, poke a finger for "prick", trace the letter on their palm, and "push it in the oven" with a big swoop. Toddlers love the moment of the swoop long before they can clap in time.

For preschoolers: one move at a time

Three- and four-year-olds can usually manage an own clap and a "both" clap, but crossing over to a single hand is hard at first. Start with a two-move pattern: own clap, both, own clap, both, said slowly to a rhyme they know.

When that is steady, add thighs at the start: thighs, own clap, both. Only add the crossed right and left hands when they are ready, and do not worry if they mix up left and right. Saying the moves out loud ("clap, right, clap, left") helps more than any amount of demonstration.

Classic rhymes for school-age children

From around five or six, most children can manage the full pattern, and the traditional rhymes come into their own. Here are three that work well with the standard pattern.

Miss Mary Mack

Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack,
All dressed in black, black, black,
With silver buttons, buttons, buttons,
All down her back, back, back.

The repeated words are the fun part: on "Mack, Mack, Mack" and the other triples, clap your partner's hands three times, quickly. There are many more verses, and they vary from family to family, which is a good conversation starter in itself: ask older relatives how their version went.

A Sailor Went to Sea

A sailor went to sea, sea, sea,
To see what he could see, see, see,
But all that he could see, see, see,
Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea.

Use the standard pattern, with three partner claps on each "sea, sea, sea". In later verses, swap the word and the action: "chop, chop, chop" with a karate-chop hand, "knee, knee, knee" with a knee slap, "toe, toe, toe" with a touch of the toes. Each verse adds an action to the previous ones, so it becomes a memory game too.

Say, Say, Oh Playmate

Say, say, oh playmate,
Come out and play with me,
And bring your dollies three,
Climb up my apple tree.

This one has a gentle, swinging rhythm, so it is a good rhyme for slowing a game down and practising accuracy. It started life as an 1890s popular song, and children have been clapping to it ever since.

Circle games for a group

When there are more than two children, try a circle game. Everyone stands in a ring with hands out to the side: right hand palm down on top of the neighbour's left hand, left hand palm up underneath the other neighbour's right. The "clap" travels around the circle as each player brings their right hand over to slap the next person's palm.

In "Stella Ella Ola" and "Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky", the rhyme ends on a counted word or a final beat. The player whose hand is about to be slapped on that beat tries to pull it away in time. If they are slapped, they are out; if they dodge, the slapper is out. The game gets faster and tenser as the circle shrinks. It is a lovely mix of rhythm and reaction, and children who usually struggle with turn-taking often love it.

How to teach without frustration

  1. Go slower than feels necessary. Say the rhyme at half speed, with clear gaps. Speed comes later and is the reward, not the starting point.
  2. Teach the moves before the words. Practise the pattern in silence, counting, until it flows. Then add the rhyme.
  3. Mirror, do not correct. If your child goes left when you go right, follow them for a round. Getting the rhythm going matters more than getting it perfect.
  4. Stop while it is fun. Five minutes of laughter beats twenty minutes of drilling.
  5. Let them teach you. Older children almost always know rhymes their parents have never heard. Being taught by your child is good for both of you.

Variations to keep it fresh

What children get from it

Clapping games are fun first and foremost, and that is reason enough. Along the way they practise keeping a steady beat, coordinating two hands across the middle of the body, remembering a sequence, and adjusting to another person in real time. Many teachers use them for exactly those reasons. They are also one of the oldest forms of children's culture, with a history we explore in clapping games around the world.

And if your family enjoys the race of a well-timed clap, ClapOut is a card game built around one: when you are down to your last card, you clap before anyone catches you. The family game night guide covers the gentlest settings for young players.

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