When Charlotte called, "who wants to play freeze tag?" we all ran and put in our feet to find out who would be "it."

She chanted, "cub scout you're out" touching one foot with each word. She landed on Junie - that's Junie picking up her cute little two year old foot and moving it out of the circle (this rhyme uses the process of elimination.) After four more rounds of cub scout you're out, just one foot was left. That person was named "it" and we were all off and running!

Did you chant rhymes like this as a kid? Do your (nanny) kids use them now? I much prefer them to:

"I'm it!"
"You're always it!"
"No, you're always it!"

They're simple, friendly and welcoming. They give kids an easy way to choose who's it without relying on adult help. If kids know and use several, they can't easily do the math to predict the outcome. They're so fun to chant! Of course there are regional variations - that makes them even more interesting. If your kids don't know any, teach them a few!

Here are our favorites:

Cub scout you're out

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
Catch a tiger by the toe
If he hollers let him go
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe

Bubblegum, bubblegum in a dish
How many pieces do you wish?
(The person whose foot is being touched on the word "wish" says a number and then that number is counted out)

Ink a bink a bottle of ink
The cork fell out and you stink
(This one works on the process of elimination.)