YELLOW BRICK ROAD MUSIC

There’s been a lot of happy skipping (accompanied with singing and dancing) around the house lately, since we’ve started planning the itinerary for our London trip. You can read more about that here. It’s in this spirit that I decided to choose the Skipping Rope Song for my song of the week. This is a great piece that students can learn during the year and practice during the summer months.

MOVEMENT
Two students start spinning the rope with a steady beat as everyone sings the song. When they sing “Up jumps Ella” they replace “Ella” with a student’s name. The chosen student then begins skipping the rope. When they reach the end of the song, the chosen student jumps out and takes over in holding one end of the rope. The next time through, a different student is chosen, and the cycle continues until all students have had a chance to skip rope.
To keep the excitement going, separate students into several groups, so that they won’t have to wait very long for a turn to skip rope. Consider having them form a line up to the rope so that there’s no confusion as to which student goes next.
JUMP ROPE ALTERNATIVE
If you don’t have jump ropes available or don’t have the space to use them safely, try using hula hoops instead! Have two students sit on the floor, holding onto either side of a hula hoop placed flat on the floor. Once the song begins, the two students work together to keep a steady beat by hitting the hoop on the floor. Make sure they don’t raise the hoop up too high. Then, when a student’s name is called, they jump inside the hoop (continuing to jump to the steady beat). The chosen student jumps out of the hoop on the word “four!” and takes the place of one of the students holding the hoop. The cycle continues just as it would with a skipping rope.
I hope you find this idea helpful as you plan for next school year. Don’t forget to watch the video above and subscribe to my Youtube channel for weekly inspiration. Also, please share your thoughts in the comments section. I love hearing from all of you!

5 Responses

  1. I love jump roping! I wish there was a better way for me to do it in my room, because I feel like the transition of going outside and coming back in, plus the added safety precautions I have to take when I take the kids outside, make it such a pain to do anything outside my room that I end up avoiding it 🙁 I'm motivated to try to figure out a way to get some jump roping games into my classes again now!

    1. I love it too!!! The PE teacher at my school is great to work with and she lets us combine for these types of activities so we can do it in the gym!