Monday, September 14, 2009

Sidewalk and Table Top Hopscotch

Sidewalk and Table Top Hopscotch
By Gloria Goldsmith, Gloria@AVKO.org

Sidewalk Hopscotch is played outdoors and is so much fun, it doesn’t seem like your REALLY working on spelling! Get some chalk and use the driveway or the sidewalk area. (If you live in the country without paving or sidewalk, see Table Top Hopscotch.) Give your student(s) each a piece of chalk and have then draw LARGE boxes in any order they like but they must have both single, double boxes mixed in any order on top of one another. Make it 12 to 16 boxes single and double boxes long. Then give each child a word they will write out correctly (with your help, if needed) filling in all the boxes with different words. When done writing, then take a small rough stone with lots of edges and let them roll it along toward whatever word they want as their target. The word it lands nearest is their word.. They have to hop to the word, pick up the stone, look up at the sky and spell the word aloud. If they spell it correctly they go forward from that word. If they spelled it incorrectly, they have to come back to their last position. The goal is to go to the end and come back first. The winner should get some sort of prize. Maybe a pencil, tootsie roll, but I like a home-made Crown as King or Queen of the Hopscotch! Or course the King or Queen can do a victory dance, making it all the more fun! A nice glass of ice tea or lemonade under a shade tree is a great way for everyone to celebrate and plan their victory dance for the next contest.

Table Top Hopscotch is played in doors for winter games or if you have no sidewalks or paved driveways. It is played the same way except the student draws out the rectangles on a large piece of paper. (Tape two pieces or more together.) Use a small piece of paper wadded into a ball as your stone. And instead of hopping by foot they hop their fingers over the course, slapping their hand over the target word they are to spell. Without peeking they spell the word to you or another player and if they get it right, put a bingo chip or paperclip there to mark it while the next player has his turn. Be sure the winner gets to put on the crown and do a victory dance and everyone gets some sort or celebration.