Improvised Parachute Play

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I bet most of us remember that magical day in elementary school PE when we got to play with the parachute (which was something like this). It was so much fun! Well, we were cleaning up our sensory bin the other day and as I shook the sheet to get it straightened out for folding, Erik's eyes just totally lit up. We ended up spending quite a while playing in the sheet before we put it away.

Before you judge my terrible photography skills, remember I'm sitting under a sheet while a one year old tries to jump into my lap. You give it a try and if you can come up with a better picture I'd love to see it, until then this is all we get. 

We played hide-and-seek/peek-a-boo, I let him sit on the floor while I made the sheet parachute over him, I showed him how to sit on it while I pulled it around the room for a fun ride, and then there was his favorite; trying to walk around the room with the sheet over his head so he couldn't see anything. I had to stick really close to keep him from running into anything too hard, but he thought this was the best.

 This was a really fun way to burn up a ton of his crazy energy and to just spend a few minutes playing together. All the walking and running around helps to strengthen his legs and torso (gross motor). He got to watch the sheet as it floated down to him, and feel the softness of it on his face. He got to explore his world in a whole new way (when he had it over his head) by experiencing his surroundings through feel instead of sight. And, my favorite, we just had some good old fashioned fun!


*Diedre Mower is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.