Play & Learn: Parachute Party

You can have a Parachute Party at home with whatever you have available—blankets, tablecloths, and even towels will work.

It’s a fun way to get out some wiggles and sing some songs, but it’s also helpful for your child’s physical and mental development.

Playing is one of the elements of the Every Child Ready to Read program. It’s one way for children to gain physical strength and coordination. When you’re playing with a parachute together, your child is developing fine and gross motor skills. Fine motor skills involve smaller muscles like the ones in hands and fingers, which your child uses to grip the parachute. Gross motor skills involve larger body movements, like lifting the parachute or jumping when it’s time to get your parachute up high.

Playing with a parachute is also a team effort. By playing with others, children learn about taking turns, sharing and communication. Parachute play provides plenty of opportunities to talk about who will move which way, who will get to lead a song, or what movements you’ll do along with a rhyme.

Singing is another of the five early literacy practices. It helps children learn to read by slowing down language and breaking it up into smaller pieces. Singing helps with phonological awareness, the understanding that words break into small parts. Repetition is also one of the most important ways young children learn. Singing songs assist in mastering new words and remembering them more easily.

Parachute Play Reading List

There are some outstanding books to read along with parachute play. You can look for stories related to the rhymes and songs you use or reference the parachute itself. Read before your Parachute Play to prepare for the activities, or afterward to remember and talk about the fun you had.

You can check out these books from the Plano Public Library with your Plano Library Card: