Hopscotch: Chicago, circa 1970:

Hopefully you remember the hopscotch diagram. These varied, I’m sure from neighborhood to neighborhood. Colored chalk was always the best, but we’d use peeled drywall (garbage picked from the alley!) if necessary. Ours were in this format:


…………………………..TOP……………………………………..
…………………..was in an arc………………………………
……….inside was written ‘Sky Blue’…………………..
the squares were drawn and laid out in this
………………………..order by #……………………………….
…………………………… 10 ……………………………………..
……………………………. 9……………………………………….
………………………….7……8……………………………………
……………………………..6……………………………………….
………………………….5……4……………………………………
……………………………..3……………………………………….
……………………………..2……………………………………….
……………………………..1………………………………………..
…………………………_______………………………………..
………………………..(start line)……………………………….

Squares 1, 2, and 3 took up one sidewalk paver, (about 3 feet by us), 4&5, 6, 7&8 the next, 9, 10 and Sky Blue the next for a total of 9 feet. For an easier game, or younger kids, we’d sometimes eliminate #’s 9 & 10, and make sky blue only in the 3rd paver. (Don’t make it too big! You have to be able to jump over it!)

Get stones. ( ours were from the alley— again!) The best were roughly round , but with some flat sides, to allow it to land and stay-not roll out of the box. They should be about as big as a ping-pong ball, and try to find ones that don’t look alike. Players throw their stones from the start line. Whoever gets closest to the middle of sky blue goes 1st.

Player must throw their stone from the start line so it lands in square #1. If it lands there they hop through the squares, they may not hop in a square containing a stone. On squares 1, 2, 3,6, 9, and 10 it is a single hop–one foot–no changing feet! Squares 4&5, and 7&8 were hit simultaneously, one foot in each square. Player would have to turn as they jumped to sky blue so they’d land facing start-could land on both feet. They’d return jumping through the squares in reverse order now, and at the #2 square, bend, pick up their stone (on one foot as 2 is a single square), jump on #1 (no stone now) and across the start line.

If they completed this sucessfully, they can continue their turn, now throwing their stone in square #2, and continue as before.

Their turn ends when they make one of the following faults: missing the square when throwing the stone, switching feet on single jumps (you must stay on the foot you started on until you reach sky blue or start), touching the other foot down during single jumps or when picking up your stone, touching the ground with your other hand when picking up the stone, or jumping on a square that contains a stone.

When player 1’s turn ends, they leave their stone on the square that they faulted on; they must successfully complete this square on their next turn to continue, and player 2 takes their turn. (No player can jump on any square that contains a stone, so the game gets a little hard with 4 or more players. In that case, a round-robin is better. ) Players continue through the squares in order. Sky Blue is treated as a numbered square. On the approach, the player must jump over Sky Blue and turn, and land facing start. They then pick up their stone and return to start.The first player to complete this wins the game. For an extra-long game, we’d continue back through the squares in reverse order, with square #1 being the end. Guess we just had alot of energy!


Hope this helps!!! Have fun!!!!!