HOPSCOTCH

There were two kinds of hopscotch played at school and on the sidewalks near our homes. As an adult, my daughter and her friends played rock hopscotch on a permanent 'board' in the garage. When the garage was remodeled to expand the living area of the house, the big question was do you have to cover the hopscotch board?

Shown in the photo are three silver haired ladies. The one that is at play is carrying her purse! Could that be three Amigos who played together in grade school?

The board shown was known as variation of rock hopscotch. The boards we made on sidewalks were made of two (xx), and numbered 1-8. If we had no chalk to mark the squares, we used a rock to make the faint pattern. If it was at school, we could get chalk from a teacher. In new neighborhoods, a piece of plaster board , at a house building job site, did fine because between the heavy paper, was a chalk like substance. Rocks were plentiful; the favorites were pieces of granite found by the railroad tracks.

The other kind, where we used a ball, which we rolled to the square, was also to eight and looked like (++). The best ball was a tennis ball. The worst? Golf ball because it rolled to fast or a play ground ball which was too big.

HOW TO PLAY

The first player stands behind the starting line to toss her or his marker in square 1.

Hop over square 1 to square 2 and then continue hopping to square 8, turn around, and hop back again. Pause in square 2 to pick up
the marker, hop in square 1, and out.

Then continue by tossing the stone in square 2. All hopping is done on one foot unless the hopscotch design is such that two squares are side-by-side. Then two feet can be placed down with one in each square.

A player must always hop over any square where a maker has been placed.

A player is out if the marker fails to land in the proper square

The hopper steps on a line

The hopper looses balance when bending over to pick up the marker
and puts a second hand or foot down

The hopper goes into a square where a marker is

Or if a player puts two feet down in a single box.

The player puts the marker in the square where he or she will resume playing on the next turn, and the next player begins.

I wonder if grandma every made the board in the dirt?

It feels like hopscotch season, wanna play?

e