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Archive for the 'Parachute Play' Category
While having fun playing with a play parachutes, parachute games encourage cooperative play, noncompetitive play, and reinforces sharing and taking-turns. Play parachute games also helps with strengthening upper body muscles, primarily the muscles in the shoulders, arms, and hands, and gross motor skills. When playing together, parachute games develop perceptual motor skills and a sense of rhythm. Language activities can also be incorporated into most parachute games.
See-Saw Pull: From a sitting position, pull the parachute back and forth in a see-sawing motion.
Make Waves: While gripping the parachute, everyone moves their arms up and down to make small and large waves.
Wave: Where one person puts hands up and person next to her follows action. (like the wave at a baseball game)
The Ocean: Pretend the parachute is the ocean. Try to let everyone who wants to have a turn ‘in the ocean’. Everyone is standing and one or two children (shoes off) go toward the center and lie down - then all make waves - it’s a neat sensation.
Mushroom: From a standing position, ask all the children to bend down and take hold of the parachute. When the leader calls “up”, all the children raise their arms lifting the parachute up as high as they can, then everyone takes 3-4 giant steps toward the center - making a mushroom shape, pulling the chute behind them and then they sit on the edge of the chute.
Ball Roll: Try to roll balls into the hole in the center of the parachute.
Popcorn: Start with everyone holding the chute stretched out. Place a number of small plastic balls, beanbags, or small stuffed animals on the chute. Shake the chute to make them rise like popcorn. See how quickly you can bounce them off without letting go of the parachute.
Poison Snake: Place four to six pieces of yarn or rope on the chute. By shaking the chute, try to make them hit the players on the other side. Keep track of who gets bitten.
Parachute games encourage cooperative group play that reinforces turn-taking and sharing and helps to build muscle tone. Parachute activities are usually quite physical. To avoid injuries and to maximize the fun, explain the terms and rules to your children before approaching the parachute.
Playing with a parachute will also help develop perceptual, cognitive, motor, and academic skills, that can be used in many aspects of a child’s life.
Terms:
Directionality - Forward, Backward, up, down, clockwise, counter-clockwise, right hand, left hand, high, low, and sideways.
Locomotor Skills - Skipping, hopping, walking, running, jumping, galloping, and leaping.
Movement Skills - Fast, slow, accelerating, decelerating, light, and heavy.
Ways to grip the parachute:
Rules & Safety:
Parachute games are for all ages; however, you may need to change each game for the age group that is involved. The nature of parachute games means that children are actively running around, pulling the chute, crawling around, and possibly climbing on other children. Playing with a play parachute is generally very safe; however, from time to time, an accident will happen.
To avoid injuries, explain the following rules:
Have the children remove their shoes before approaching the parachute.
Encourage the children to space themselves around the parachute so that there are no large gaps. If there is a large gap, roll up the parachute - making a smaller parachute.
Have the children hold the parachute with both hands at all times. Don’t allow the children to remove their hands in order to hit balls.
The children should take care of others: they should not kick under the parachute and they should watch their elbows, either of these can cause injuries.
If the parachute is used for trust exercises, i.e. walking on air - parachute game, use play mats under the play area.
If the parachute has a hole in the middle, please ensure that the children know it is dangerous to place their head through the center.
If these precautions are taken, your children will have an entertaining and educational experience with the play parachute.
Play Parachutes come with or without handles and a variety of different sizes.
We recommend that your play parachute has handles, because it is easy for kids to hold on to the handle as the parachute waves in the air.
To select the size of the play parachute depends on two factors:
1) What is the area that you have to use the play parachute?
2) What is quantity of people that you want to us the play parachute at a time?
The 6 foot play parachute has 8 handles that works great for 3 to 4 people at a time.
The 12 foot play parachute has 12 handles that will accomidate from 4 to 6 people.
The 20 foot play parachute will accomidate with its 16 handles - 6 to 8 people.
A 24 foot play parachute has 20 handles and is great for 8 to 10 people.
When selecting a play parachute, for durability purposes, select a high quality nylon parachute that is double stitched. We recommend that you always store your parachute in a carry/storage bag. (Never use the play parachute for a sunshade or exposed to the sunlight for an extend time period. Nylon detoriorates very quickly in direct sunlight.)
With the use of parachute games, through cooperative group play, a play parachute will help build upper-body strengthening and muscle tone. Parachute play also will help develop perceptual, cognitive, motor, social, and academic skills.
Young children enjoy rhythmical and musical activities; older people find it enjoyable and challenging by tossing a ball with the play parachute and moving as a team to catch it.
Parachute Games:
Wave: This is like the wave at a football stadium. One child starts out by raising his arms up or down in the air and the next child then follows the motion of the child before him.
Running by Numbers: Run underneath and switch places with the other playmates. Provide a number of the locations on the parachute, then call out the number. This parachute game is a pleasure for all ages.
Parachute Tag: Everyone lifts the parachute over their head. Call out the child’s name and they need to skip, hop, or crawl to the other side. The challenge is to make it to the other side before the parachute comes down and tags them.
Bouncing Balls: Hold the parachute tight at about chest level with 2 or 3 foam balls. Have 3 or 4 children get underneath the parachute and then they need to try to knock the balls off while the children holding the chute need to try to keep them on.
Get a play parachute and get the health benefits of play parachute games.
As winter approaches, children need indoor play activities that are fun and educational. We recommend parachute games. Playing parachute games encourages cooperative play. Children will learn how to share and take turns.
While playing with a parachute, children can increase strength in their shoulders, arms, and hands. It will help with their sense of rhythm and also improve their language skills, perceptual motor skills, and listening skills.
When children work together they can make playing with a parachute fun! Incorporate songs, rhymes, and movement activities to energize them.
Activities to play:
1) Play see-saw/tug-of-war while sitting down
2) Make waves with the parachute
3) Ball Roll - make the ball roll into the hole in the center of the parachute
4) Parachute Tag - call out a child’s name and have him run under the parachute before it comes down
5) Chute Ball - Place the ball on the parachute and throw the ball as high in the air as you can