You might think that jumping with feet together is an easy skill for young children, but it is not. Their legs often become separated, as in a gallop, or they use only one foot, which is called a hop. Because of this, we held kangaroo races for Australia. We first used the hippity hops to sit and jump and then went to several variations of jumping only with feet. We later added different equipment with the jumping to make it more challenging. Children had to squeeze a ball between their knees in order to work on keeping feet together as they jumped a certain distance. It was not an easy task.
Students learned that Australia is both a country and a continent. They had a good time learning about kangaroos and baby joeys. We practiced saying “G' day, mate.”
The hippity hop is a fun way to work on jumping.
Our activities started with jumping on the hippity hops
and using both feet to push off the ground.
To work on keeping feet together, students
practiced jumping while squeezing a small
playground ball between the knees.
Some classes carried a ball as the joey while they continued to jump
to work on keeping legs together. There was much to think about.
to work on keeping legs together. There was much to think about.
