Rainy Day Projects

Fold-and-Play Paper Hopscotch Board

Hopscotch is one of the oldest sidewalk games in American childhood, traced back centuries across Europe and Asia — and you can bring it indoors on a rainy day with nothing but paper and a marker. This activity suits 3-to-5-year-olds because the folding is simple, the squares are big enough for small hands to draw in, and the payoff is immediate: a real game they made themselves. You end up with a long paper board the child can hop along in stocking feet.

Ages
3–5
Time
25 min
Adult help
Adult alongside
Mess
Low mess

Before you start

Before you call the child over, tape four to six sheets of plain paper end-to-end along their long edges to make one tall strip — use masking tape or regular tape on the back so the front stays clean for drawing. Lay it flat on a hard floor. Have a washable marker ready. Most children this age can manage the number writing with your hand-over-hand help; what they love is the coloring-in part, so let that take as long as it needs. The strip may slide around as they draw — tape the ends lightly to the floor. When drawing is done, show the child how to toss a small folded paper square onto a number and hop to it. The game winds down naturally when they want to decorate more squares.

You will need

  • Plain white paper6 sheets, standard letter size
  • TapeMasking tape or clear tape works equally well
  • Washable markerOne dark color for numbers, extras for decorating
  • ScissorsAdult uses these only, to trim edges if needed

    Keep scissors in adult hands throughout; the child does not need them for this activity.

  • CrayonsoptionalOptional, for coloring the squares

Steps

  1. 1

    Tape the paper into a strip

    Lay your sheets of paper end-to-end on the floor and tape them together along the short edges to form one long vertical strip. Flip the strip face-up. Press the seams flat with your hand so the surface is smooth enough to draw on.

    Tip: Six sheets makes a strip about 66 inches long — long enough for eight squares with room to spare.

  2. 2

    Fold and mark the squares

    Fold the strip in half, then in half again, and once more — you will have creased lines that divide it into rough sections. Open it back out and use those crease lines as guides to draw the hopscotch grid: single squares at the bottom, then a pair side by side, alternating up to the top. Draw the lines in dark washable marker so the child can see them clearly.

    Tip: Don't worry about perfect proportions — squares about a hand-width across work fine for little feet.

  3. 3

    Let the child write the numbers

    Point to the bottom square and say, 'This one is number one.' Help the child write the number inside, guiding their hand if needed. Work up the board: single squares get one number, paired squares each get their own number side by side. Stop at whatever number the child can manage — it does not have to reach ten.

    Tip: If writing numbers is frustrating, draw dot patterns like a die instead — one dot, two dots, and so on.

  4. 4

    Make a paper tossing marker

    Tear or cut a small piece of paper and fold it into a tight square about the size of a large button — this is the 'stone' the child tosses onto the board. Show the child how to stand at the bottom, toss the marker onto a square, and hop down to pick it up.

    Tip: A folded marker slides less than a crumpled one, which helps it stay on the square.

  5. 5

    Play a round together

    Demonstrate hopping on one foot on single squares and landing with two feet on paired squares. For 3-to-5-year-olds, two-foot hopping the whole way is perfectly fine — the point is the sequence, not the footwork. Call out each number as they hop to it.

    Tip: If the strip slides, tape the bottom edge to the floor with a strip of masking tape.

Try it another way

  • For a quieter version, skip the hopping and have the child walk the board while tapping each number with a paper-towel tube.
  • In the UK and Australia, a common version called 'Beds' uses the same grid but players hop the whole sequence twice — once going up and once coming back — without putting both feet down on single squares.
  • If you have two children, each makes their own paper marker in a different color and they take turns, each playing their own stone up the board.

Keep in mind

  • Tape the paper strip securely so it does not slide on hard floors — socks on smooth floors can cause slipping, so have the child hop in bare feet or non-slip socks.

What they get out of it

Children practice counting in order, learn to follow a simple sequence of steps, and build the balance and coordination that come from hopping and landing deliberately.

Take it to the table

Materials checklist, the steps and the variations on one Letter page.

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