Chute Fun!

Parachute Power!

Parachutes are a great way to teach agility, coordination, and teamwork and they are a favorite activity for a variety of abilities. Here are some games that are great to use with early elementary and special needs students.

Pom-Pom Parachute Power!

Put pom poms in the top of the chute and try to get them into the middle hole.  The object of the game is to work together to get the pom poms in the hole in the chute.

Merry Go Round

Walk, hop, jump, skip around holding the chute. Teach direction showing children to go clock-wise and counter-clock- wise  around the chute.   The object of the game is to work together to create a merry go round motion.   As you go around walking with the parachute sing this song.

Sung  to: “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush”

Here we go ‘round the merry-go-round

Here we go ‘round the merry-go-round,

the merry-go-round,

the merry-go-round,

here we go round the merry go round,

on a sunny morning.  ( or whatever weather it is such as rainy, cloudy, etc.)

Drop the ball

Place a soft ball of any size in the center and try to keep the ball from falling off on your side. The team that gets the ball off their opponents wins!

When the Parachute Goes Up

When you are doing this activity sing this song and perform the motions.

When the parachute goes up

Sung to the tune of "If You’re Happy and You Know It"

When the parachute goes up
When the parachute goes up
Stomp your feet
When the parachute goes up
Stomp your feet
When the parachute is high
and floats up in the sky
When the parachute goes up
Stomp your feet.

Other motions can be:

... bend your knees
...wiggle your bottom
...lift one leg
...shout hooray
...shake your head, etc. etc.

Name Game

Take the chute and move it up and down to the words of the song.

Sung to: "Row Row Row your Boat"

Up, up, up it goes
Up, up, up it goes
Up, up, up it goes
Down, down, down it comes
If your name is  _______ (insert a child's name)
Time to say Hello! (Make sure you sing a verse for every child.)

The Ocean

Have kids hold the parachute waist high. Take light small balls and place them on the chute. Have the kids move the balls slowly across the parachute and then gradually increase the activity of the balls to simulate ships getting tossed by wild waves of the ocean. Continue playing until the kids grow tired of the activity. When that happens, have the waves die down and have the kids slowly put down the chute.

Sky High

Put a light ball on the chute and have the kids walk towards the middle of the chute. See how by working together the ball can go higher and higher off the chute. For a variation of the activity, have the children try to catch the ball that they have tossed off the chute.

Ball Burp

Put a few balls on the chute and on the count of three wave your parachute high in the air with one quick motion to the ground. See if you can get all of the balls to pop off the chute.

Simon Says

Play Simon Says with the parachute. Have the children do the actions with the parachute that you call out. If Simon does not say and the child does the action, they are out.

For example say: Simon says walk in a circle, jump up and down, wave the chute, etc.

References:

Preschool Education Parachute

http://www.preschooleducation.com/gparachute.shtml

Wiles, Liz and Dick.  Parachute Play.  Elgin, Illinois: Building Blocks, 2000.