A couple of posts ago I talked about playing hula hoop with your grandchildren.  I thought that I’d better include jumping rope.  Couldn’t leave that out now, could I?

Everybody knows how to jump rope, right?  Well, once you have mastered that and can jump without wheezing, gasping and passing out for a couple of minutes, start adding different steps and tricks.

Jumping Jack.  Remember those adorable jumping jacks that we had the opportunity to do in our gym classes in days of yore?  Apply that to your jumping rope repertoire.  To do this, your legs will do the same motion that you do when doing a jumping jack.

Heel tap. Did you ever learn the Mexican Hat Dance in grade school?  This step is similar to that. You jump and land on one foot while you tap the heel of the other foot on the floor in front of you.

Toe tap.  This is like the heel tap except you tap the toes of one foot on the ground behind you.

Knee lifts.  To do this, start by bouncing twice for every turn of the rope.  Then, when you are ready, bring one knee up so that your thigh is parallel to the floor on the second bounce.  So you bounce once normally and on the second bounce lift your knee.

Here is a video that shows you how to jump and cross the rope at the same time.  He also demonstrates jumping on one foot for a while, then the other foot for a while, then alternating back and forth on individual feet. This fellow does some fancy dance steps and other tricky stuff.

So how do you use this information with your grandchildren?  First, buy a plethora of jump ropes.  You can find them in retail stores.  (You don’t necessarily need to go to expensive sporting good stores.  Unless you are into spending lots of money when you really don’t have to . . .)

Then, invite your grandchildren over.  Give them their very own jump rope that they can take home afterwards.  (If you bought a plethora like I suggested, you will have plenty on hand at your house when they come for a visit.) Explain and demonstrate some of the steps that I have mentioned here.  (Yes, DEMONSTRATE them.  That means you’ll need to practice beforehand so that you will be able to do them without getting your feet all tangled up in the rope.)

Of course you can jump while saying little chants like this one:

Fudge, fudge, call the judge
Mama had a new born baby.
Wrap it up in tissue paper
Send it down the elevator.
How many babies did she have?
(Then count until you make a jumping mistake.)

Did you ever do that chant?

Your grandchildren might know some tricks of their own.  Have them show you what they can do.

You can also hold a contest.  See who can jump the longest or who can do one of the steps that I described for the longest time.  Set up a routine and see who can be the first person to conquer the routine.  Maybe you can have a traveling trophy that the winner takes home after every ‘competition’ at Grandma’s house.

If you’re going to have a grundle of grandchildren over at the same time, have two grandchildren turn a long rope while others jump.  Watch the following video to get ideas of some fantastic things you can do! There’s a fellow in white shorts and a red shirt that does some amazing things about half way through the video.  And then the guy on the bike.  And then the line of people.  Oh my! Makes me wonder how long they all had to practice to be able to jump like this.