Celebrating Leap Year and Leap Day in a preschool or child care setting can be a fun and educational experience. Below is a list of some fun and simple leap day preschool activities that you can incorporate on February 29…every 4 years! But first, check out this cute little video that explains what Leap Year is:
Desribe what the word “Leap” means:
- Discuss what it means to leap (a large jump or to jump over something). Differentiate between regular jumps and leaps. You can say, “A leap is like a super jump, much bigger and more exciting than a regular jump!”
Talk about Animals that Leap:
- Ask children to name animals leap (make a list). Some examples: frog, kangaroo, grasshopper, rabbit – they all push off with their powerful back legs to leap through the air.
Have Leap Year Dance Party:
- In a large area with lots of room to move, have a dance party where children can show off their best leaping dance moves. Play music related to frogs or include songs about counting and numbers.
Animal Leap Day Parade:
- Encourage children to dress up as their favorite leaping animals and have a Leap Day parade, while leaping like their animal.
Leap Day Obstacle Course:
- Set out hula hoops as ‘lily pads’ where children pretend to be frogs, leaping from lily pad to lily pad.
Leap Frog Fun:
- Get plastic leap frogs, and place a basket or some sort of bowl in the middle of the table. Have children try to get the frogs to leap into the basket.
Explaining Leap Years to Preschoolers:
- Keep it simple: Explain that a year is the time it takes for the Earth to go around the sun once. Usually, it takes about 365 days, but sometimes it takes a little bit more. In a leap year, we add an extra day to the calendar because the Earth’s trip around the sun takes a bit longer than 365 days.
- Use visuals: Draw a simple diagram or use pictures to show the Earth going around the sun, pointing out the extra day in a leap year.
- Relate it to birthdays: Explain that just like when they have a birthdaybirthday, their age increases by one every year, just like we add an extra day to the calendar in a leap year.
Amazon Picks and Resources
