Wake-Up Feet Hopscotch
With several hopscotch grids drawn on the ground, children move through them without a marker, following a made-up chant that tells them how to step each round. It warms up feet and legs and teaches the hopscotch path before playing for real.
How to play
- The teacher draws three or four simple single-column hopscotch grids and kids line up in front of each one (1 min).
- Round one, walking: step in every square chanting “feet, feet, wake up, feet” (1 min).
- Round two on tiptoe, very quietly, as if your feet were still half asleep (1 min).
- Round three with two-foot bunny hops in each square, and a clap when you reach the end (1 min).
- Last round, any way you like (walk, tiptoe or hop), then return along the outside without stepping on the grid (1 min).
Rules
- Wait until the friend ahead leaves the grid before you start.
- Walk back on the outside, not through the middle.
- Each foot lands inside a square, not on a line.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, use five big squares and only walking and tiptoeing.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, use seven squares and add the two-foot hop round.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, add a round hopping on one foot in single squares and landing feet apart in double squares.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: go through the grid with a wheelchair or walker and touch each square with a hand or a wheel.
- Autism: draw a chalk footprint in the starting square so the child knows where to stand.
- Visual impairment: draw extra-thick lines and walk the child through hand in hand the first time.
Learning goals
- Wake up feet, ankles and legs.
- Adjust steps to the size of each square.
- Wait for a turn in line.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Sidewalk chalk: 10
Teacher tip
Draw enough grids so no line is longer than five kids. The usual mix-up is kids walking back through the grid and bumping into the next player, so chalk an arrow for the return path.
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