Gross MotorKindergartnersPreschoolersToddlers24 Comments
A very silly and fun gross motor activity to get the kids moving with a simple tape jumping game!
Tape jumping for preschool gross motor – this is an inspired game for sure!
This is so simple. So, so simple.
But I love the way it works on preschool gross motor skills, like jumping.
Gross Motor Tape Jumping Game for Preschoolers
Set up your own gross motor tape jumping game with:
- Tape
- Open space to play & move
I taped out 6 lines to start on the floor, roughly a foot apart. We didn’t measure, so they’re probably not quite equal.
Then, I numbered them. Really, this was just an easy way to measure their success.
And that’s it.
No seriously. That’s really it.
Simple Ways to Play Jumping Games with 6 Lines of Tape
I first told the boys to see how far they could jump. We were going for pure distance on this one.
They stood on line 1 and just jumped as far as they could. I marked and tracked which line they jumped to each time.
They literally jumped to do this game! It was so much fun.
The whole point was to work on simple preschool gross motor skills. It has the added bonus of getting my active kids moving on days we’re stuck indoors.
Looking for more indoor activities? You’re gonna want to check out our full collection!
Our gross motor tape jumping game itself is just fun and silly.
You could add to the learning and have a preschool tally up their jumps – working towards a number just a tad out of their counting reach.
Or you could ask an older child to add up their total distance jumped, counting each jump’s distance.
Gross Motor Jumping Game for Everyday Play
They did this over and over.
Every time they got a second, they were jumping – challenging each other and inventing new ways to play games with the tape!
Henry was leaping beyond the 6, so we set it up to 8 to challenge him a little. It made him do a little running start.
He may have slipped on a few landings and had a wipe-out. But it was all fun for him!
Preschool gross motor games tend to have a few spills. But if it’s fun enough my boys never seem bothered.
George didn’t jump too far each time. He made it more a game to try to jump just to the next line.
And that was a great challenge for him!
I loved seeing him jump.
Henry wasn’t jumping from a stand until he was probably 3, George has been doing it successfully for the past 6 months, since he turned 2.
He seems very advanced in his gross motor skills.
But that’s just me comparing my kids, which I know I shouldn’t be doing. Every child develops at their own pace!
They just had a blast! I had a hard time taking photos through the laughter. It was just a great time for giggles.
It was so nice to get the kids moving indoors on a cold, winter day. Definitely something we need to do more often.
And this gross motor tape jumping game was just too simple (and too much fun) to not do again and again!
Check out these gross motor activities to get the kids moving too!
The Imagination Tree also has an active jumping game to learn phonic sounds.
What can you do with just a few lines of tape and a little space? We’d love to see your creative ideas!
WANT TO SAVE THIS ACTIVITY?
Enter your email below & we'll send it straight to your inbox so you can access this activity later! Plus, you'll get simple activities from us every week!
Kristi says
Hi, I tried this today with my 2.5year old daughter. What a hit! Easy prep, she was active and she had a ball! Great idea!
[email protected] says
They must have been exhausted after all that jumping! Lots of snow here, will have to try this tomorrow…
Jamie Reimer says
Snap a photo!
Jennifer says
Thats a brilliant games! My son, Henry! Is 2 & has been jumping non stop since just after his first birthday! I’m definitely setting this game up for when he gets up from his afternoon nap :D thanks for a great idea :) xx
Jamie Reimer says
Have fun!! :)
Nipper says
highly recommend bare feet on slippery highly polished timber flooring.
Jamie Reimer says
I do too! We must have dirty floors though or something, my kids never slipped.
karen olson says
We have a number puzzle with dollar bill shaped numbers. I scattered them on the floor and my son had to arrange them in order and jump over each. So first he had just number one to jump over, and then 1 and 2, etc.. By 13 it was getting tough but he loved it! Adding this physical activity was the reward for finding each number. Worked great!
Jamie Reimer says
Awesome use! Love the added learning of numbers!
MissK says
Thanks!!! It made our morning :)
Jill Stone says
Great idea! I did something similar with my son, but we put tape on the wall to see how high he could jump. We will have to try it on the floor next time.
Jay @ Learning to play and playing to learn says
Olympic long jumpers in the making! Looks like great fun.