Do you remember playing Ring Around the Rosie as a child? I do! I remember playing this game when I was fairly young. When my son came home from daycare a few days ago saying “posies, posies” while grabbing his older brother’s hand. I was trying to figure out what he was talking about. My son would grab his older brother’s hand and start walking around in circles until they both fell down. Then it clicked in my head that he was playing Ring Around the Rosie with his older brother. My youngest son thinks it is hilarious to fall down on the floor.
Disclosure: The opinions reflected in this post are my own and may vary from your own opinions of the Nursery Rhyme.
I decided to investigate the origin of this nursery rhyme after my husband told me that it was talking about the Bubonic Plaque. I was curious to see if this was true since I had never heard that rumor before.
Ring Around the Rosie is a popular childhood Nursery Rhyme that has been around since the mid 1300′s. However, due to contrary belief most people don’t know what the origin or story behind this popular kids nursery rhyme. Many people believe that this song was written about the “Black or Bubonic Plague”; however, according to Snopes this rumor is false. The popular nursery rhyme original origin is unknown and people later decided to tie the nursery rhyme to the bubonic plague that swept through Western Europe. In 1350, the bubonic plague was responsible for killing over a third of the people that resided in Western Europe.
“Ring Around the Rosie,
pocket full of posies,
ashes ashes,
we all fall down.”
The first written version of this nursery rhyme wasn’t released until the late 1800s when Kate Greenway published Mother Goose and The Old Nursery Rhyme Book. So it seems quite silly that the popular nursery rhyme was sung by children all over the world for over 600 hundred years before anyone questioned the origin of the nursery rhyme. In fact no one knew where the origin came from, in fact, no one bothered to write down the old nursery rhyme until Greenway published the first written version of Ring Around the Rosie. In fact, there are several different versions of the popular nursery rhyme; however, they are not as popular as the original version.
Ring Around the Rosie is a fun game that you can keep your toddler or young child easily entertained. Parents, you don’t have to worry about the origin of the nursery rhyme because it isn’t talking about a disease that wiped out many people a long time ago. Snopes, has more information about the history and origin of the popular nursery rhyme if you are interested in learning more about the history and the possible meaning behind the nursery rhyme.
Nursery Rhymes such as Ring Around the Rosie is a great way to teach your child new vocabulary words while you are playing a game. Kids won’t even realize that they are learning a new nursery rhyme while they are spinning in a circle with their friends or family member until they all fall down. So grab your child and go play a few rounds of Ring Around the Rosie.
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Did you teach your toddler or young child to play Ring Around the Rosie?
