Teach Your Child How to Hopscotch

The ultimate girls game for the sidewalk  Ehopscotch, although boys have been known to play this wonderful hopping game, it has mostly been the realm of young ladies. With video games and cable TV, the thought of playing an outside game seems to be furthest from young kids minds, particularly a game as old as hopscotch, but this is a great game to get your children back outside in the fresh air and have a blast doing so, and probably bring a little nostalgia back to the parents as well.

Children of all ages
The only material you need for this game is a piece of chalk and a stone.

Draw, on a sidewalk or playground, large squares on top of rectangles (each square should be the size of a foot at least) Just like the example below:

Number each square as shown above as well.

Once you have the board drawn up you can start to play. The first person throws a small pebble on the ‘one’ block. If the stone does not land in the block they lose their turn and play resumes with the next person in line.

Once the stone lands on the one the player then hops on one foot on the 2, usually this would be their left foot, being sure not to allow their right foot to land on the ground. They player then continues through the board hopping on one foot on the squares that sit alone (1, 2, 3, 6, 9) and using both feet to straddle the squares that are next to each other. (4-5, 7-8), being sure to skip the square in which their stone landed.

Once the player comes to the nine, the last square left, she turns around, while still standing on one foot and goes back over the board just as they did on the way down the board, this time the player stops, while still on one foot and bends down to pick up her stone. She then hops off the board and the next player in line takes a turn.

Once the player has completed the board with her stone landing on 1, she then throws her stone on the square with the 2. The first player to complete the board all the way through nine is the winner.

Ways to lose your turn:

• Your stone doesn’t land on its intended number  EYou throw it at the five and it lands on a six or rolls out of the board completely.
• You do not hop on one foot when you are hopping on one square.
• You do not hop on two feet when you are hopping on two squares together.
• Your foot lands on the same square where your stone is sitting.
• You fall over, touch the line, or your foot lands outside of the square.

If you do happen to get out then you simply pick up your stone and go to the back of the line. You will then have to complete that number again, If you were on number five and your stone rolled on number six you would go to the back of the line and wait for your turn and then throw your stone once again to number five.

Resources
Resources that can help you in your venture include:

• Street Play – http://www.streetplay.com/thegames/hopscotch.htm
• Creative Imaginations – http://www.creativeimaginations.net

Posted in Leisure.

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