A classic jump rope chant reimagined as a call-and-response ball game — the whole class wins together, or starts over and tries again.
Hello, sir, hello sir,
Meet me at the grocer.
No, sir!
Why, sir?
Because I have a cold, sir.
Where'd you get the cold, sir?
At the North Pole, sir.
What you doing there, sir?
Catching polar bears, sir!
How many did you catch?
One sir, two sir, three sir, four sir, five sir…
Catching Polar Bears is a traditional American jump rope rhyme that translates beautifully into a classroom ball game. The call-and-response structure gives every student a role — the class asks the questions, and the child in the center provides the answers while bouncing a ball on the beat.
The chant builds naturally toward the counting section, where the center player bounces the ball to each person around the circle in turn. The whole class succeeds or fails together — there's no elimination, just a team goal of making it all the way around without losing control of the ball. That cooperative structure makes it particularly effective with younger grades.
Stand in a circle. One child goes to the center with a ball — about 10–14 inches. The younger the students, the larger the ball should be.
The class begins the chant and the center player responds. They continue in call-and-response fashion throughout the verse, with the center player bouncing and catching the ball on the beat.
When the counting begins — "one sir, two sir" — the center player bounces the ball to the first person in the circle, who bounces it back. They continue around the entire circle, one bounce per person.
The whole class wins if the ball makes it all the way around without being dropped. Even if someone misses, the center player keeps going — the goal is to complete the full circle. For an extra challenge, keep going after completing the circle and see how high you can count. Record the class record on the board.
Kindergarten: Wait until late in the year unless you have an unusually coordinated group. Use the largest ball available. Have everyone say all the words together rather than doing the chant responsively — call and response is a refinement to add once the game mechanics are solid.
Aiming the ball: Before the first game, point to the spot on the floor halfway between you and the person you're bouncing to. Say "that's where I aim." When someone bounces too close to the receiver later, you can fix the problem by simply referring back to this demonstration rather than stopping the game.
Preventing hard bouncing: Before demonstrating, ask "what will happen if I bounce it too hard?" (It will go over someone's head and the game stops.) Then frame it as a challenge: "I'm going to watch who really gets the right balance — it's not easy." This heads off misbehavior before it starts because students want to prove they can do it correctly.
For advanced 4th and 5th graders: Add the option to bounce the ball under one leg before passing it — an extra challenge for groups that have mastered the basic game.
One playground ball, 10–14 inches. The younger the students, the larger the ball should be for easier catching and controlling.
Cooperative. The whole class wins together by getting the ball all the way around the circle without a drop. This makes it appropriate even for grades where competition can become counterproductive, and it means no individual student is singled out for a mistake.
First grade works well as a starting point for the full call-and-response version. For Kindergarten, simplify by having everyone say all the words together and wait until late in the year when motor skills are more developed.
Pre-empt it before it happens during your first demonstration. Ask the class what would happen if you bounced too hard, then frame accurate bouncing as a skill challenge worth mastering. Most students respond to this framing and self-correct before misbehavior starts.
The real problem
Every teacher knows this feeling. You find a song, try it on Monday, and something goes sideways — the kids don't engage, you're not sure how to introduce it, the lesson loses momentum. It's not that the song was wrong. You just didn't have a clear picture of how it actually goes.
That's what makes The Singing Classroom different. Every song in the library — including this one — has a full video of Deborah teaching it with real students. You don't have to guess how to introduce it, how to structure the activity, or how to handle the tricky moments. You watch it. Then you teach it.
150+ songs. Every one demonstrated. No more hoping it works — you already know it will.
The real problem
Every teacher knows this feeling. You find a song, try it on Monday, and something goes sideways — the kids don't engage, you're not sure how to introduce it, the lesson loses momentum. It's not that the song was wrong. You just didn't have a clear picture of how it actually goes.
That's what makes The Singing Classroom different. Every song in the library — including this one — has a full video of Deborah teaching it with real students. You don't have to guess how to introduce it, how to structure the activity, or how to handle the tricky moments. You watch it. Then you teach it.
150+ songs. Every one demonstrated. No more hoping it works — you already know it will.
Watch Deborah teach the ball game and call-and-response. Catching Polar Bears is just one of 150+ songs in the complete Singing Classroom library — every one with full video demonstration, teaching guide, and animated game instructions.
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