Lydia’s developed a powerful love for jumping rope, thanks in large part to the new Disney Channel movie, Jump In, and she’s on a mission to master double dutch. A few days ago she scrounged up a couple of ratty, too-short jump-ropes, and enlisted her brother and a plastic lawn chair as rope-turners, but her dreams remained frustratingly out of reach. Today I took pity on her and bought a couple of twelve-foot jump-ropes while she was at school, and after dinner Helena and I took her out onto the driveway and gave her some lessons. She almost got the hang of it, and I expect that after a couple more days she’ll be double-dutching like an old pro. And speaking of old pros, though Helena and I didn’t get the courage up to try jumping ourselves, I was surprised by how quickly and completely the old techniques and rhymes and feelings of playground jump-rope divas resurfaced. Those were the days, huh?
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Going Dutch
May 28, 2007
Those were the days, although I never could get the hang of it myself. I’m too uncoordinated. LOL!
I also miss those days of jump rope. My sister and I would head out after finishing the supper dishes, round up a few neighbourhood friends and jump until dark. We never did double-dutch (I don’t think I had even heard of it) but we had a whole host of rhymes and sequences.
Did you ever try the Chinese skipping rope (that’s what we called it). A long rubber band (made from tons of smaller ones), held first at the ankles, then knees, then hips… and you had to do a series of movements before advancing to a higher level. Much fun.
Oh and four square, and tether ball and kick ball… sigh!
Why is it called Double Dutch anyway? (The Dutch part)
We called the Chinese skipping rope Twist!