Gross motor skills – parachute and soft balls

DEVELOPMENTAL SIGNIFICANCE: Physical- Gross Motor  – Jumping  – Jumping up and down on the spot. (ELECT, 2014, p. 35)

HIGH SCOPE KEY DEVELOPMENTAL INDICATOR (KDI): Moving parts of the body: Children move parts of the body (turning head, grasping, kicking). (KDI, 2011)

Materials: 1 Parachute & Softballs

• The Up & Down game – warm-up: hold the end of the parachute really tight, then raise hands up to the sky and then down to the knees or feet.
• The Pop Corn game: a few children can throw softballs on top of the parachute as it moves up and down (waves). Children can do this until all the balls are out, then children can switch places.
• The Volcano game: In this game, the balls are placed in the middle of the parachute right on the floor. Then we will lift it really fast to get the balls flying out of the parachute, just like magma off a volcano.
• The Dome game: a few children will sit or lay down under the parachute, and the rest will raise the parachute all the way up and then pull it down on the floor to make a dome.