UPDATE: The Optional Reading book originally suggested for this activity (Five Green and Speckled Frogs) may be challenging to secure. An alternative book has been added.

Be Prepared: Offer this activity on a carpeted or soft floor. Provide a well-defined space for each toddler’s participation with a nonslip carpet square or use of masking tape to create an area of approximately 36 x 36 inches. Note the activity description below suggests that shoes with smooth soles should be removed to prevent slipping while jumping. Arrange for another adult or preschool-age child in your center to demonstrate the simple physical movements and jumping approaches described in the activity plan if you do not wish to do so.

Invite 3–4 toddlers to do some jumping. Encourage each toddler to help you look at the bottoms (soles) of their shoes to make sure they are not smooth. Explain that we might slip if the bottoms of our shoes are smooth. Invite toddlers with smooth soles to remove their shoes for the activity. Encourage each toddler to stand in an activity space (carpet square or marked area).

Explain that we will get our bodies ready to do some jumping. First, demonstrate and encourage each toddler to stand with his/her feet apart (but not a wide distance from each other). Explain that this helps us keep our bodies from tipping when we move different parts of our bodies. Demonstrate what it means for our body to tip by leaning your body slightly to a side.

Then lead toddlers in simple movements that help them focus on balance. Possibilities include:

• raise arms so they are straight out, then up next to our heads, then down so our arms rest on the sides of our bodies
• slowly move arms up and down; pretend we are big bird gently moving our wings
• lift one foot slightly off the floor, stand briefly on our other foot, put the raised foot back on the floor, and then repeat these movements with our other foot

Explain that we will jump in different ways. Demonstrate and then lead toddlers in the following types of jumping:

• Jumping in place. When you demonstrate a jump, draw attention to how your knee bends and how your body moves down slightly when we jump. Point to your knee and encourage toddlers to do the same. Emphasize that both of our feet leave the floor and then land on the floor when we jump. Lead toddlers in jumping in place 3–5 times. Provide a pause between each jump so toddlers do not fall and have a little time to think about what they are doing next. Remind toddlers that we are staying in our own area (carpet square or marked space) to jump.
• Jumping forward. Lead toddlers in jumping out of their own area (off their carpet square or on the outside of their marked space), pausing, turning around, pausing again, and jumping forward again to return to their own area. Point out that we jump one time each way. Emphasize the word forward when you describe that we are jumping forward. Again, draw attention to how our knees bend and how both feet leave the floor and then land on the floor when we jump.
• Jumping from a squat position. Invite toddlers to pretend we are frogs. Demonstrate a squat position, including lightly touching the floor with both of your hands. Point out how much our knees bend when we squat. Explain that touching the floor with our hands helps us keep our body in place and not tip over. Lead toddlers in jumping from this squat position out of their own area, pausing, turning around, pausing again, and jumping back to their area again from a squat position. Remind toddlers that both of our feet leave the floor and then land on the floor when we jump. Remind toddlers that we are jumping forward, beginning with our hands lightly on the floor while we pretend to be a frog.

Conclude the session by inviting each toddler to sit in his/her area, take 2–3 deep and slow breaths, and tell what we did. Kneel or sit to participate in this conversation. Emphasize that, when we jump, we bend our knees, lift both feet off the floor, and then land on the floor with both feet. Remind toddlers that we worked hard to keep our bodies from tipping. Emphasize that each jump was different.

Be Prepared: This activity is for a toddler who participated in Option 1 without major challenges. Arrange the nonslip carpet squares close together in a circle on the floor. If nonslip squares are not available, use masking tape on a carpeted or soft floor to define each square in the circle. Mark the starting point with colored tape that is affixed next to the square.

Invite one toddler to play a jumping game. Point to and explain there are squares in a circle. The toddler can jump to as many squares as he/she wishes. We jump once each time we jump. Try to land in the middle of the next square. It is not necessary to go all the way around the circle.

Demonstrate how to jump forward. Emphasize bending knees, lifting and then landing on both feet at the same time, and waiting (pausing) after we jump. Explain that waiting after we jump can help us keep from tipping and think about our next jump. Encourage the toddler to look at the square where he/she is jumping. Offer the option of pretending to be a frog by jumping from a squat position (hands touching the floor before jumping).

Walk alongside the toddler so he/she is aware of your presence. Give verbal support as appropriate without interrupting the toddler’s focus. It may be helpful to offer quiet reminders about waiting after each jump and looking at where he/she is going next. It also may be helpful to remind a toddler that we jump from square to square in our game.

After a toddler has jumped 2–3 squares, ask if he/she wants to jump, stop, take a break, or jump to several squares. Fully support a toddler’s preference.

Conclude the session by engaging the toddler in discussion of what happened. Enthusiastically acknowledge the toddler’s efforts in jumping from space to space.