20th July World Jump Day

Tomorrow is World Jump Day! I have written about this before here. Last year the preschool classes and I had great fun jumping. We read Emily Likes to Bounce and then did lots of bouncing. We talked about animals that jump and what you needed to be able to jump, so maybe on this Jump Day we can look at animals who jump and leap. Of course there's rabbits, frogs, kangaroos and penguins, but even dolphins and whales jump out of the water so we can see them.

20th July World Jump Day

Many ideas have been floated to combat global warming and to help  create a more sustainable planet – and World Jump Day is one of them. The aim of the day was originally a plan to shift the orbit of Earth, to extend daylight hours and to create a more standardised climate throughout the world. 

As it turns out, this proposal was not really a scientific experiment, but was actually a satirical art installation. But either way, it served its purpose of reminding people about the negative impact and effects of global warming on our home, planet Earth.

So on World Jump Day, people around the world are encouraged to synchronise their watches, stop what they are doing, and jump at precisely 11:39:13 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). 

Jumping is a fun activity that is good for the body and the soul. In fact, it can often be fun and lead to laughter, which everyone knows is a happy activity. Whether you choose to just jump, jump rope (skip), pogo stick, trampoline or skydive, you will still be jumping and enjoying the planet.

Can we read children's books before or after jumping? Of course we can!

• With a very young child share Jump!  by Tatsuhide Matsuoka 

A frog jumps. Boing! A kitten jumps. Boi-ing!

A dog jumps. Boiyyyyyyoiingg!

• Emily Likes to Bounce by Stephen Michael King is just perfect to start you off.

• Jump for the Stars  by Vogue Williams includes a very bouncy rhyme to get you going.

BOING! BOING We BOUNCE so high, 
We’re JUMPING for the stars! 
If we don’t stop soon, 
We’ll land on planet Mars

• Jump and Shout  by Mike Dumbleton and Peter Carnavas

• Jump Frog Jump  by Robert Kalan  and Byron Barton is an oldie but a goodie if you want to have your preschoolers joining in with the repetitive refrain.

• How far Can a Kangaroo Jump? by Alison Limintani provides lots of room for maths activities and comparison because it compares animals and how far they jump.

• Jetty Jumping by Andrea Rowe and Hannah Summerville 

• Jabari Jumps  by Gaia Cornwall

• Jump!  by Michelle Magorian

• Ready, Steady, Jump!  by Jeanne Willis and Adrian Reynolds

• Jumping Jack  by A.H. Benjamin and Garry Parsons

• Puddles are for Jumping  by Kylie Dunstan

• Fox and the Jumping Contest  by Corey R. Tabor

And there's always those monkeys jumping on the bed!

• Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow

• Ten Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed  

by Pam Adams & Tina Freeman