HOPSCOTCH - What is phenomenal about this game?

We always find that traditional games provide a great learning path for children. Integrating play and learning magnifies the impact of learning and understanding. Consider Math, English or any coursework, integrating it with play have made children show greater interest, involvement and thus making learning easier. One such traditional game is Hopscotch. Playing hopscotch just as a game has lots of benefits for a child’s overall development. Integrating it for learning will show phenomenal results.

Hopscotch? What is so phenomenal about it? Let us find out.

1. HOPPING

Believe it or not, hopping on one foot is one of the most complex movements the human body can perform. The technical term for it is homolateral movement, defined as one side of the body moving while the other side of the body is still. Thus kids develop physical coordination.  As a child refines her physical coordination, she is also building essential neural pathways in the brain thus resulting in cognitive development, in terms of creativity, reasoning, and self-regulation etc.

2. BODY CONTROL

As much as we think kids don't like rules, rules provide challenges that make games so much fun. The mechanics of Hopscotch are so brilliant, forcing kids to hop, jump and stop with deliberate control. As such, Hopscotch is a master at helping children master self control.

3. BODY RHYTHM

 The rules of the game require you to stop hopping, do something else and then start again. And that's the best practice of all for developing rhythm. Body Rhythm helps acquire language skills by helping children tune into speech patterns which in turn, aids memory.

4. LEAPING

Once children have tackled hopping, leaping comes next, which is also a big part of Hopscotch. As the game progresses, it's often necessary for children to leap over two or more spaces at one time. Two-footed, that's hard. But Hopscotch requires a one-footed leap, and that takes a lot of strength.

When young children push themselves to new, physical achievements, the brain is recording these sensations and preparing itself to take on even bigger challenges in other areas of life and learning.

5. BALANCING

Hopscotch involves one-footedness and that's a real test of balance.

 Balance is an essential building block to all physical movement, and cognitive, emotional, and social growth as well. 

6. SPACES 

Children playing hopscotch become spatially aware. In understanding this, children come to learn concepts such as direction, distance and location.

7. EYE/HAND COORDINATION

The game begins by pitching your pebble into the required boundary. Until you get the pitch right, you can't play, making Hopscotch a natural motivator for eye/hand coordination.

There's a ton of body-brain computing going on as the child aims for accuracy.

8. MOTOR CONTROL

Stopping mid-way on one foot is hard enough. Now the rules require the player to bend over and pick up their pebble. That takes a lot of body control and concentration. Added to this the delicate control of the finger muscles to reach and retrieve the pebble.

9. PLANNING AND STRATEGIZING

Because the game changes on each turn, children have to work out how they are going to approach it each time... hop-hop-leap-jump-hop-stop, etc. Planning and strategizing are life-long skills learned through play. Hopscotch allows children to physically realize their plan.

10. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Hopscotch creates the framework for learning about peer relationships. Playing with friends and taking turns paves way to social development just like any other real-life multi player games. Children also develop character, sportsmanship and developing the skills and attitudes they'll need for a well-balanced approach to life.

Sadly, such traditional games are on the verge of extinction. When are we going to realize all this?

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Source: http://movingsmartblog.blogspot.in/2012/06/why-hopscotch-matters.html