One of our BEST ‘toy’ investments for our children was an 8-foot trampoline in the back garden – they’ve jumped on it on their own, with us, with friends, on sunny days, windy days, overcast days, and even when it’s been snowing! They’ve also come up with a number of games they’ve made up on the trampoline. These are some fun ways to keep the jumping going for a while :-
1. Trampoline towel drag :You might need an adult’s involvement for this one. Each child can have a turn at being ‘wrapped’ inside a towel. The adult holds onto one edge of the towel with the child in it, and literally drags and pulls the child around in the towel on the trampoline. They love it!
2. Bounce me over : A child sits in the middle while other children bounce right near him/her to try and topple them and get them to fall over. Once the child has fallen sideways, they are ‘out’, and someone else gets a turn to sit in the middle.
3. Trampoline Ball Dodge : Put a few balls (preferably bigger ones like a football or beach ball) on the trampoline with you. The aim of the game is to bounce on the trampoline and run around on it while dodging the balls and avoiding them making any contact with you. When a child has been touched by a ball 10 times, they are ‘out’. Carry on playing until you have a winner – the person who has been touched the least amount of times by a ball.
4. Trampoline Ball Attack : Again, have a few balls on the trampoline with you. This time though, the aim is for each player to kick a ball or balls towards another child so that it touches their legs. Children must again try and avoid any contact with a ball. This is like ‘tag’ but using balls to ‘tag’ another player. Play until there is a winner who hasn’t yet been ‘tagged’.
5. Trampoline Wet and Wild : Get a garden hose, preferably with a sprinkler attachment, although it is not essential. Then, attach it to the top of the trampoline net, so that it ‘showers’ the trampoline and anyone on it. The children will just love running around in between the sprays of water which also makes pretty rainbow patterns.
Enjoy your jumping!
Leave a Reply