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.

For children, hopping signals sophisticated advances in both physical coordination, balance, AND cognitive development. As your child refines his physical coordination, he is also building essential neural pathways in the brain. It's those exact same pathways which will one day become the conduits for left/right brain thinking tasks such as creativity, reasoning, and self-regulation.

Steps:

1. Draw a hopscotch design on the ground. The squares should be large enough to fit one foot

2. Throw a flat stone or similar object (small beanbag / shell) to land on square one. It has to land inside the square without touching the border

3. Hop through the squares, skipping the one you have your marker on

4. Pick up the marker on your way back. When you get to the last number, turn around (remaining on one foot) and hop your way back in reverse order. While you're on the square right before the one with your marker, lean down (probably on one foot still!) and pick it up. Then, skip over that square and finish up.

5. Pass the marker on to the next person. If you completed the course with your marker on square one (and without losing your turn), then throw your marker onto square two on your next turn. Your goal is to complete the course with the marker on each square. The first person to do this wins the game!