Thursday, May 1, 2008

Hopscotch

According to Wikipedia, "Hopscotch originated in Britain during the early Roman Empire. It was initially designed as a training regimen for Roman foot soldiers who ran the course in full armor and field packs, as it was thought this would improve their footwork. Roman children imitated the soldiers by drawing their own boards and creating a scoring system, and 'Hopscotch' spread throughout Europe." However it began, children in many different countries now play some form of hopscotch.

When I was in school girls used to have to draw their own in chalk or use a stick to outline the squares on the playground dirt. I wonder why modern schools feel compelled to provide these permanently painted versions?

Thanks to my granddaughter for her participation in this month's theme day photo for "Numbers."

Check out other City Daily Photo Bloggers take on "Numbers."
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.
at

18 comments:

  1. JillyMay 1, 2008 at 11:27 AM

    Brilliant choice for today's Theme. I had forgotten Hopscotch but used to play it as a kid. Lovely post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gerald (SK14)May 1, 2008 at 11:39 AM

    a wonderful choice for the theme

    ReplyDelete
  3. USelaineMay 1, 2008 at 11:54 AM

    Ah, that's nice, captured in air. Like Jilly, I had forgotten hopscotch, but our playground had them painted on too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. CrazyCowMay 1, 2008 at 11:56 AM

    Wow, this brings back memories of happy days playing with friends. We also had to draw our own hopscotch grid, either with chalk or with a stone.

    ReplyDelete
  5. rcMay 1, 2008 at 12:13 PM

    Great idea for the photo!!!

    And a fun way to learn numbers for the kids

    ReplyDelete
  6. KimMay 1, 2008 at 12:50 PM

    Gorgeous colors together, and I really love your POV and the action of the shot. I favor these sorts of leg only shots, being a big fan of Bob in Barcelona's penchant for what Sally in Sydney has dubbed "Bob shots." You capture is a perfect example of that art form. We used to have special glass markers from Japan (sort of like flattened patterned marbles) and boys and well as girls would spend all of recess playing. Thanks for bringing back those memories!
    -Kim
    Seattle Daily Photo

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lady DemeterMay 1, 2008 at 1:48 PM

    nice and creative choice for this theme day! :)

    cheers from germany

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jane Hards PhotographyMay 1, 2008 at 2:58 PM

    I'm Bristih and this most definatly took me back to my childhood. It's agreat action shot, a very interesting read, and a highly original choice. A Big well Done

    ReplyDelete
  9. rafMay 1, 2008 at 3:07 PM

    Excellent take on the numbers theme, Benjamin, and so very well done! I'd have to agree, somehow the permanent hopscotch pattern just takes some of the "kidstuff" joy out of it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Nathalie H.D.May 1, 2008 at 3:35 PM

    What a brilliant idea and photo ! Brings back great childhood memories...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Profile Not AvailableMay 1, 2008 at 4:01 PM

    Wonderful idea! I love the outfit on your grandchild too! I really enjoyed this photo!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Knoxville GirlMay 1, 2008 at 4:02 PM

    Look at those flying feet! Great shot! I hadn't thought about hopscotch for decades - yes, this brought back some nice memories of chalking a grid on the sidewalk and playing with my friends.

    ReplyDelete
  13. NevaMay 1, 2008 at 4:04 PM

    A very cute choice...I used to love hopscotch as a kid but now there is not much fascination with it for me except as a spectator!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Kris McCrackenMay 1, 2008 at 5:58 PM

    Do they use rocks or back to throw into the squares?

    It was a weird one at my primary school, as only girls seemed to play it. Yet I can think of no good reason why we never did, it looks like fun.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Clueless in BostonMay 1, 2008 at 7:34 PM

    Great idea for a theme day post. Hopscotch is such a classic children's game and brings back lots of memories.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Louis la VacheMay 1, 2008 at 8:46 PM

    Perfect for the theme day!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Benjamin MadisonMay 2, 2008 at 7:22 AM

    Thanks all for your kind comments. In preparation for this theme I shot a half dozen photos of the grid. When I later looked at them they seemed kind of dead. So I went back yesterday with my granddaughter (I take her to school every morning) and got her to do some hopping. Much better! She just used a rock for a marker.

    When I was in elementary school here in Western Canada in the 50's games were very gender specific. Hopscotch and skipping were strictly for girls. Boys played marbles. Boys also had some games with baseball cards and chestnuts (conkers?)

    ReplyDelete
  18. • Eliane •May 2, 2008 at 3:41 PM

    Nice!!! Yes, what's up with the painted version? We used to draw ours and would rival in creativity to decorate them. I played "marelle" (French for hopscotch).

    ReplyDelete

Greetings!
I hope you will leave a comment and visit these pages again. Should you wish to contact me directly you can use the email address in the rightmost column of each blog page.Due to increasing amounts of spam comments (it's up to about 200 per day now) I have decided to limit comments from anonymous visitors.