Don’t forget to instruct having straight arms above their heads to really get as much air underneath the parachute as possible. Then on the count of 3, have students bring the parachute all the way to the ground and quickly raise the parachute back up completely above their heads. Instruct your students to let all the air out of the parachute by using side-to-side easy movement. This parachute game is called “Climb the Mountain”. If you have a great group of students too, you can rely on doing a great job trapping the air and keeping the air underneath the parachute. If their behavior can’t be trusted, then they’re going to miss out. Some classes, I just don’t even dare to do such an activity with… which is super sad, but safety first. Let me preface the next game with, you have to always think safety first! Having trust in our students is huge with this next activity. Here is a short video of this game in action. The lifeguards’ job is to save the swimmers by running around the outside of the parachute saving the swimmers by pulling them back up into a seated position. When a swimmer is attacked/tagged they lay down and shout for help from the lifeguards. This disguises where the sharks are underneath the parachute, surprising the swimmers when they’re tagged. The swimmer’s job is to sit with their legs extended and move their hands while holding the parachute to make waves. Sharks are taggers, they ride around on scooters under the parachute and tag swimmers, like they are attacking them. With a class average of 45, I chose four and four, but do what you think is best for your class size and modify the number to make it work for you. The size of your class determines the number of sharks and lifeguards. In this game, you have sharks, swimmers, and lifeguards. Talk about excitement, this next game brings it! It’s a very fun game, but beware of the screaming! Students just can’t contain themselves. If the cat tags you then you come out and join the rest of the group moving the parachute. The cat’s job is to crawl around the top of the parachute trying to find the mice. Then choose several students to be mice, I typically choose an entire color to be mice, “if you’re on red, then you are a mouse this round!” If you’re not chosen to be a cat or a mouse, then your job is to move the parachute to keep the mice hidden from the cat. I wouldn’t do any more than 3 depending on your class size. In this game, pick a student or students to be a cat. This game is so much fun that I wish I would have played it sooner with my students. Or so I thought… Gopher’s parachutes are so durable! They also come in several different sizes, making them perfect for any size group. I mean what if their shoes are dirty? Or they rip the seams crawling all over the top of it? I laugh about it now, but I seriously didn’t play this parachute game for the first couple of years after seeing it, because I just couldn’t handle my parachute being mishandled. I had a difficult time getting over allowing my students to crawl on top of the parachute. I will say that this first game took me a while to get on board with. Here are three parachute games my students love to play! Parachute games are always known to be a crowd favorite. A classic and iconic piece of equipment that has been around the gym for generations. Nothing gets my students more pumped up than seeing a parachute on the ground as they walk in, and they love parachute games. As Physical Education teachers we have the best job! Our students come in excited to see what equipment is out and quickly start guessing what we are doing that day.
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