Once a toddler can jump confidently, hopping soon follows.
Hopping is a gross motor skill that develops strength and balance.It requires the coordinated movements of large muscles groups in the body.
When my Pre-Schooler started to learn to hop, she brought her knee up high so that her thigh was parallel to the ground. This is an inefficient position for hopping but perhaps comfortable and necessary until strength and balance is developed.
With encouragement and many opportunities to hop, she developed a more efficient style where the knee swings forward and backwards to counter the momentum. We played a lot of Hopscotch.
Very soon after she mastered the hop, came the gallop.....same leg in front, hop, step, hop, step. She galloped whenever she could. And then one day, she just decided to skip. And has not stopped.
Being able to confidently hop, skip, gallop, jump and run means that she is more keen to do so whenever the opportunity arises. The patterns of movement in these actions form the basis for more complex skills.
Having someone to hop, skip and gallop with is great encouragement.
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