Activity Tip: Bean Bags and Parachute

Josie Dease
Oct 19, 2023
3 min read

Parachutes and bean bags are great resources to have in any structured gross motor class setting! Students get SO excited when they see the parachute come out, which means it’s a powerful tool! When a resource is consistently highly engaging, we, as teachers, can use it to our advantage. We can use the engaging activity to sneak in skill practice, use it in a first/then structure (e.g. first we finish our choreo for the day, then we play our parachute game), or just have it in the back pocket on a day when your students (or you) are needing a little pick me up. Keep reading for some parachutes and bean bags game ideas to use in an early childhood dance setting💡

Blast Off

Have everyone grab a handle and put the beanbags in the middle of the parachute. Count backwards from 10 and “blast off” the bean bags by quickly lifting the parachute as high and as fast as you can! Count how many beanbags landed back on the parachute and have dancers do that many frog jumps, stomps, claps, etc. This is a great one to use with your very earliest learners.

Stop and Go

Have everyone grab a handle. Bean bags are optional for this one! This one is exactly like it sounds. When you say “go” students shake the parachute, they stop when you say “stop.” You might try to trick them by saying other words starting with /g/. If using bean bags, play until all the bean bags are off the parachute. This one is great for kiddos who are particular impulsive to practice controlling their impulses.

Right/Left/Up/Down

Have everyone grab a handle. No beanbags for this game! Play some music and test your kiddos listening skills by calling out directions as the music is playing. Have them rotate right, left, lift the parachute up or lower it down. As you progress, go faster and faster! But be sure to remind kiddos to use their watching eyes and to follow directions quickly! This one is great to develop quick listening ears!

Switch

No beanbags for this one! Have dancers each hold on to a handle. Lift the parachute as high and you can and call out two dancers names and a traveling step (chassé, bourré, etc.) The dancers called have to switch places under the parachute doing the traveling step. This one is great for making sure everyone knows their peers and developing body awareness in transitions!

Color Skill Practice

Have your students help you assign a dance skill you’re working on in class to each beanbag color. Place all the beanbags in the middle of the parachute and have everyone grab a handle. The object of this game is to shake all the beanbags off the parachute. The bean bags that are left on the parachute will be the skills the students have to do (e.g. if you assigned eschappe to the red bean bag, 2 red bean bags = 2 eschappes). Start by giving your students 10 seconds, then decrease the time they have to shake off the bean bags until they have only one second! This one can be used with dancers of all ages!

These are just a few ideas I use at my studio and I change up the games all the time to keep them interesting. I hope you read something that is usable for you and you're inspired to make bean bags and parachutes part of your class! It really is SO much fun!

Buy the beanbags and parachute I use for my early childhood classes here:

Parachute https://amzn.to/3tmqMKu

Bean Bags https://amzn.to/3RNmjKL

Find the other products I use in my early childhood dance classes here:

Movement Dice https://amzn.to/3RW7N3H

Rhythm Sticks https://amzn.to/3ROpvWA

Ribbon Dancers https://amzn.to/3PLnk3n

Rainbow Scarves https://amzn.to/3Fa9FhG

Egg Shakers https://amzn.to/3RQZVQF

Mini Trampoline https://amzn.to/45iNlg9

Balance Beam https://amzn.to/3LTwIAK

Balance Pods https://amzn.to/46FSdx1