10 Different Ways To Use A Jump Rope

I bet you think that a jump rope is just a jump rope right?  Well, you could totally use a jump rope to hold the trunk closed on your car when bringing home a big item, but that is not where I’m going with this.  There are lots of fun games that use a jump rope.  Check out 10 different ways to use a jump rope.

1. Make a train: Young children don’t really have the coordination to jump rope, but they can hang onto a jump rope with a bunch of their friends and pretend to be a train.  This is a great way to move groups of young children from place to place and still have it be fun.
2. Relay race: Each team needs a jump rope.  The first player on each team jumps rope while moving from one end of the basketball court to the other and then back to their team.  Then the next player take the jump rope and does the same thing until all of the players on the team have gone and whoever makes it to the finish line first wins.
3. Action jumping: This game needs at least 3 players.  Two people twirl a long rope and one person jumps in.  The people twirling the rope or other people that are watching the jumper call out an action to do while jumping.  For example, jump on only your left leg or touch the ground.  They keep giving the jumper actions until the jumper makes a mistake and then the person who called out the action gets to be the next jumper.
4. Snakes: One or more ropes can be used for this game.  Snakes is a fun game for younger children who can’t jump rope the traditional way.  You hold the rope or ropes by the end and wiggle it by the feet of the children like it’s a snake.  The object is that the kids have to jump over the “snake”.
5. Double Dutch: This is a more difficult way to jump rope and really meant for older children.  Double Dutch uses two long ropes that are twirled in opposite directions.  The jumper has to rock back and forth jumping over the ropes as they come at them from opposite directions.  The routines that can be created doing Double Dutch are amazing and that have Double Dutch competitions.  They’ve even made a movie about it.
6. Wind the clock: One person spins around while holding one end of the rope and the other kids jump over the rope.  The kids usually chant a nursery rhyme like Hickory Dickory Doc or some other rhyme to make it more fun.  If a child misses jumping over the rope they are out until the next round.
7. Jump rope routines to music: Turn the jump rope into a way to do a whole musical routine with coordinated jumping with a group.  Everyone jumps slow, then fast, then folds the rope and swings it from side to side etc.  All the kids do it at the same time and simultaneously.
8. Use it to jump over: As part of an obstacle course or while working on conditioning the rope can be placed on the ground and the child can jump back and forth over it staying on their toes.  This is hard work and they will get more agile as they practice this.  If multiple ropes are used you can create a ladder out of them and kids can jump in and out of the ladder further working on agility.
9. Three-legged race: You can use a jump rope to tie legs together for a three-legged race and then as part of the race you have to jump a different jump rope three-legged.  Trying to jump rope while tied to another person is almost as much fun as running down the field while tied together.
10. Jump Rope Water Splash: Each child is given a paper cup full of water.  One at a time the children jump into the spinning jump rope and they have to try not to spill any of their water.  The first time they will each jump three times and then jump out.  See who has the most water left in their cup.  If everyone has a lot of water left in their cup you can go another round where they have to jump for five times.  Whoever has the most water at the end of the round wins.  This is a great game to play outside on a hot day.

Contacts and sources:
Debbie Denard

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