JUMP ROPE ACTIVITY CARD

If you think that jumping rope is just for girls, you haven’t checked out the sport yet.

Gear Up

A rope! Duh. But not all ropes are actually made of rope. Ropes come in cloth (regular rope), speed (skinny cord), beaded (plastic beads that CLACK when they hit the ground), and even electric.

Play it Safe

Avoid spills — set the right length for your rope. To find out what that is, stand on the center of the cord and pull the handles up so they fit right under your arms. When you jump over the rope, the rope should just brush the floor under your feet. If it doesn’t touch the floor, it’s too short. If it hits the floor in front of your feet, it’s too long.

How to Play

Jump rope is just a fun game that girls play in their backyards or on the playground, right? NO WAY! Betcha didn’t know that aside from being a great aerobic workout, jumpers of all ages can compete nationally in categories such as speed, freestyle, and double dutch, which is where two ropes are turned like an egg-beater by two turners, while one or two people jump within the moving ropes.

Rhyme Time. Check out these great jump rope rhymes, or make up your own.

• Miss Mary Mack
  Miss Mary Mack Mack Mack
  All dressed in black, black, black
  With silver buttons, buttons, buttons
  All down her back, back, back.
  She asked her mother, mother, mother
  For 50 cents, cents, cents
  To see the elephants, elephants, elephants
  Jump over the fence, fence, fence.
  They jumped so high, high, high
  They reached the sky, sky, sky
  And they didn’t come back, back, back
  ‘Til the 4th of July, ly, ly!
• Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
  Teddy bear, teddy bear,
  Turn around.
  Teddy bear, teddy bear,
  Touch the ground.
  Teddy bear, teddy bear,
  Shine your shoes.
  Teddy bear, teddy bear,
  Skidoo.
  Teddy bear, teddy bear,
  Go upstairs.
  Teddy bear, teddy bear,
  Say your prayers.
  Teddy bear, teddy bear,
  Turn out the light.
  Teddy bear, teddy bear,
  Say good night.
• Red Hot Pepper
  Red hot peppers in the pot.
  Gotta get more than the leaders got.
  1,2,3,4,5,6…

Fun Facts

Every year, schools across the country participate in Jump Rope for Heart (JRFH), an activity to raise money to stop heart disease and stroke. JRFH has donated more than $327 million to the American Heart Association!

Speed, freestyle, single rope, and double dutch are all different ways to jump rope.

The 2001 11-under year old national champ jumped 304 times in one minute. Yikes — that’s fast!