Hopscotch

Finding Fitness Through a Childhood Game

By Penny Powell

One morning after breakfast, my 8-year-old son, Caleb, ventured outside to our backyard, picked up a rock and began drawing on the unpainted concrete patio when he called out to me, "Mom, how do you draw that...?"

"Hopscotch," I instinctively replied, finishing his sentence.

"Yeah that," he answered. I walked closer to the sliding door that led outdoors and saw that he had already drawn a perfect square but needed direction with designing the rest of the hopscotch board.

I wasn't certain where Caleb's sudden interest to draw a hopscotch board had come from. In fact, it had been a long while since he had seen the game played. Perhaps the memory of some of the children in our former neighborhood playing hopscotch on our cul-de-sac while he rode bikes and played tag nearby with his buddies had come to the forefront of his mind that day.

Whatever the reason, Caleb's inquiry about how to draw a hopscotch board prompted me to get him to briefly return indoors for a visual image from the tiles on our kitchen floor. I hopped on them to give him a demonstration of how the game is played.

Once Caleb realized this age-old game offers competition, he was instantly up for a challenge against me. While his athletic and competitive nature had him focused on the competitive aspect of the game, I, however, was thinking not only about the fun quality time this would be with my son, but also about the exercise we would get in the process. The fresh air and serenity of the outdoors were added benefits.

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