Storytime Ideas: Hop, Hop, Jump!

It is part seven of our summer storytime ideas series.  Each week we gather in our local park to read great books for kids  along with completing book activities together with our neighbors. This week we featured Hop, Hop, Jump! by Lauren Thompson.

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Storytime Ideas: Hop, Hop, Jump!

The Book

Hop, Hop, Jump!  is a fun book for little movers and shakers.  The text is short and rhythmic.  Not only do the kids learn to move in different ways (wiggling, stomping, clomping, etc.) little ones also reinforce learning the different parts of their body.

The Group Activities

Find Your Letter Partner

Each child was given a letter.  They had to hop around calling out the sound their letter represents and find their partner.  When they found a partner, they each named one word that started with the letter.

Skill building:  listening, discrimination and letter sounds

Red Light, Green Light

As a kid we used to play a game we called “Red Light, Green Light”.  We played a similar game to work on the sight words go and stop.  I made a sign with two pieces of foam sheets (red and green) and a large craft stick.  On one side I wrote the word go  in green and on the other side stop in red.  We had all the kids line up in the grass.  I stood at one end of the field and turned the sign so the kids saw the word go.  They had to run, hop, skip, etc. towards me until the sign was turned to stop.  This was a run way to burn some energy and practice recognizing two sight words.

Skill building: sight word recognition

Roll & Play

We also played a game called Roll & Play.  It’s a favorite game in our house that works with little ones as young as 18 months.  The kids take turns rolling a color.  Then, they select the corresponding color cards.  The directions are read and everyone acts out what was said.

Skill building:  following directions, taking turns (sequencing)

Follow-Up Activities

Letter  and Sight Word Jumping

This is a quick and easy letter jumping game to play on the driveway from A Little Wall.  We’ve done a variation of this activity by drawing a hopscotch frame and exchanging letters for the numbers.

Here is a sight word jumping game from Hands On: As We Grow.  This would be a fun indoor or outdoor activity.

Gross Motor Fun

3 Dinosaurs has a fun gross motor activity that goes with the book Jump, Frog, Jump! that would be a perfect compliment with our storytime book.

Jumping Frog Math

Here is a fun gross motor games that also helps kids practice measuring.  It’s called Frog Jump from Coffee Cups and Crayons.

Jumping Colors

A fun science extension would be to explore jumping colors from Gift of Curiosity.

Books about Jumping

Jump, Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan

Hop Jump by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Anna Banana 101 Jump Rope Rhymes by Joanna Cole are fun for kids who know how to jump rope or just like to jump around.

For more storytime ideas to go along with the book, Hop, Hop, Jump! and other great books, follow our Storytime Ideas Pinterest board.

Follow Jodie Rodriguez @ Growing Book by Book’s board Storytime Ideas on Pinterest.

Join us again next week when we share storytime ideas for Splash! by Jonas.