Make An Indoor Hopscotch Game Out Of Bubble Wrap

Hopscotch is the perfect activity for kids. It keeps them fairly contained and safe while letting them work off some steam. Plus, it’s fun. But what do you do when it’s cold or rainy outside and the kids need to jump? You bring it indoors with bubble wrap.

I first got the idea from the Craftaphile blog whose author made a set as a birthday gift for her niece. It’s certainly cute as a homemade gift, but it’s also an activity you can pull together for your own kids fairly easily. All you need is bubble wrap, scissors and a Sharpie.

I happened to have an extra long piece of bubble wrap (online shopping for the win), which I cut into 10 even pieces and laid out to see if they would fit in my narrow dining room. Don’t fuss over the size and shape of each block too much; kids don’t care if it’s perfect.

Then, I took Craftaphile’s advice and wrote the numbers on the flat back side of the bubble wrap. You’ll want the bubbles facing up, which means you have to write the numbers backward on the back. Like so:

This was, honestly, the hardest part. My brain was not a fan of figuring out how to write block numbers backwards, so I pulled up an image of backwards numbers on my phone and used that as a guide. There is a good sample here.

Then you simply let the numbers dry and arrange them however you’d like on the floor. You don’t even need to tape them down; they stay in place surprisingly well and are easy to adjust if they shift after a few uses.

Then, you let them jump:

Was a hero this morning when I surprised my kid with indoor bubble wrap hopscotch. pic.twitter.com/BOYzYwHQNb

— Meghan Moravcik Walbert (@MeghanWalbert) October 25, 2019

My only concern was that the bubbles would be popped after a few rounds, rendering this project officially Not Worth It, but that was not the case. We hopped and skipped several times (that’s right, I did it, too), and then we walked around popping the remaining bubbles for the hell of it. My son loved it so much that he thanked me for making it when we were done.

This would be a great activity to bust out during a kid’s indoor playdate or birthday party for an unexpected twist on a classic game.