Summer is winding down and soon the sound of school bells will fill our days. Check out this family fitness activity as a great addition to your back to school barbeque, summer fun family night, or afternoon activity! All you need is some sidewalk chalk, a rock, and creative mindset and a smile.
HOPSCOTCH!
It is believed that hopscotch dates all the way back to the 17th century, and this playground game is still alive today! The game provides a great avenue for developing strength and flexibility in kids. Strength is achieved by the impact that hopping has on the body, and flexibility is improved with the bending to pick up the rock. Simple, yet effective and most importantly – FUN!!
To play, simply draw a hopscotch board (as shown in the picture), and grab a rock. If you have a large family, or many friends playing, draw a few boards so participants are moving more than they are standing in line.
1st round: Play the traditional hopscotch game. Toss the rock on the hopscotch board into the square marked “1”, and hop with one foot in each square, skipping the square where the rock landed. Once “10” is reached, turn around and come back, picking up the rock on the way. This continues as each player attempts to get the rock to land in squares 1-10 (in sequence) on each turn. (First turn the rock is tossed in square 1, next turn square 2, on so on…) If, while hopping through the court in either direction, the player steps on a line, misses a square, or loses balance, the turn ends. Players begin their turns where they last left off. The first player to complete one course for every numbered square on the court wins the game.
2nd round: 2 participants “race” in side by side hopscotch boards. To begin, each player tosses their rock in any square on the board. At the sound of “go”, they race to complete the course, skipping the square where their rock landed on the way to “10”, and picking up their rock on the way back to 1. Another participant is designated as the “referee” and shouts “red light” at any given moment (multiple times) throughout the course. At the sound of “red light” participants must FREEZE in any position they are in until the referee calls “green light”. If, while hopping through the court in either direction, or while “frozen” the player steps on a line, misses a square, or loses balance, the other plays wins.
3rd round: Get creative!! Encourage your family to come up with their own version of hopscotch! Share your ideas with us on Facebook, tagging us in a post and / or pictures of your family playing for a chance to win a FREE RECESS KIT! Winner will be announced Sept. 1st
