Well, who knew today was national skipping day?! I certainly didn’t! Here’s some info and activity ideas!
Skipping skills
Try to complete the following skipping skills exercises. Count your best score for each skill without making a mistake or count how many you can complete in a set time limit (e.g. 1 minute or 30 seconds):
- Basic single bounce – Jump the rope with two feet together
- Double bounce – Jump the rope once then add a small rebound bounce before the next jump
- Skiier bounce – Jump side to side, two feet to two feet. Marking a line to jump along or across might help.
- Bell bounce – Jump forwards and backwards
- Single straddle bounce – Alternate between feet together and feet apart on each jump (the same as you would in a star jump)
- Scissor bounce – Jump whilst alternating feet to front and back
Here is a short video which demonstrates some of the skills. For those who want a harder challenge then watch all the way to the video and try the “Crisscross” which is the last exercise at the end of the video:
If pupils don’t have a skipping rope at home then they can also complete a craft activity to make their own skipping rope. Here are two examples using plastic bags and old t-shirts:
How to make plastic bag jump rope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTJEcqAxra0&t=46s
How to make T-shirt jump rope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePDAoBBZt7M
Using skipping for numeracy – Great for younger pupils
Parents with younger pupils might want to use it as a way of improving both their numeracy and physical literacy at the same time. Here are some ideas:
1. Ask the pupil to count from 1 to 10, 1 to 20 etc. whilst skipping
2. Ask the pupil to count backwards from 10 to 1, 20 to 1 whilst skipping
3. Skip whilst counting in different multiples e.g. in 2’s, in 3’s, in 5’s, in 10’s.
4. Ask them to solve a maths problem and then skip the answer. For example, 5 add 3 would require the pupil to skip 8 times.
