Parachute Games

Did you know that parachute games:

• Encourage cooperation


• Strengthen upper torso


• Refine perceptual skills


• Reinforce turn-taking/sharing


• Develop a sense of rhythm


• Requires following directions


• Promotes social interactions


• Enhances language development

Parachute games are non-competitive. People with differing abilities can all play the same game. What games? Here are a few simple ones:

• Put balls in the middle and make them bounce like popcorn
• Make waves of varying sizes - use your voice as a tool to emphasize directives - tell an ocean story
• Parachute Tag - lift the parachute high in the air - call out 2 children's names - they try to switch places under the chute before it comes down again
• Merry-go-Round - all the children face the same direction - use varying locomotor movements to make the chute move around - change directions and/or tempo
• See-Saw Pull - all the children sit holding the chute - they pull back and forth cooperatively

Don't have a real parachute? A bed sheet will work just fine. Or, come to our classes. We have 2 very colorful parachutes in different sizes that we love to pull out and use!