Well there is no one true way IMO. It all depends on what you are working on at that particular moment. That said, I find that there are less headaches when using the following approach:
If you need to get really crazy, libraries like TweenMax from Greensock can really help you out. You'll need to employ a good amount of math for responsive work since you will need to calculate your item positioning based on viewport size etc.
The approach you outlined is perfectly valid assuming your client/boss is cool with it. Excessive animation on mobile devices usually looks kinda janky anyways. Anyways, hope my 2 cents helps!