Resources - Activities Can Teach

Skip to my lou

We have all seen children skipping across a playground, but for some children, skipping is a very difficult skill to acquire. It requires balance, coordination, and the ability to hop on both the left and the right foot. If a child has trouble learning to skip, try breaking the activity down in parts.

First, make sure the child is able to hop on both the left and the right foot and maintain their balance independently. Then, take two different colors of tape, like blue and yellow, and tape a spot on the floor in blue followed by a spot on the floor in yellow. Continue alternating tape colors, placing the spots about 6" apart until you have 8-10 consecutive spots. Then, place a small piece of blue tape on the top of their right shoe and a small piece of yellow tape on the top of their left shoe.

Have the child walk across the 8-10 spots stepping only on the spot that is the same color as their foot. After they are able to correctly step on the circles, have them take a quick one-footed hop after they step on the circle. You can help them practice by doing this with them and saying, "Step, Hop, Step, Hop."

This is only one of many activities that may help a child learn to skip.

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Need ideas for an activity that practices on a targeted skill? Send us an email.

Contact: Lindsay Randle
Speech-Language Pathologist