There were plenty of things I hated about gym class in school, but giant parachute games weren’t among them. I loved playing them and always looked forward to it. I was thrilled when a reader (Joanna) sent me this terrific picture of kids outside of Boston playing parachute games. It brings back so many great memories; however, this particular parachute must have been reserved for girl gymnasts. LOL. Poor things are all wearing those tight and itchy long-sleeve leotards.
Do you remember giant parachute games as a kid?
Do you remember giant parachute games as a kid? My favorite activity was Turtle. All the kids would form a circle around the parachute. Standing, we would hold it in our hands and then at the same time lift it over our heads, get under it and hold the edge of it down by sitting on it. It was so exciting being inside that parachute, surrounded by a canopy of red, yellow and blue stripes. It felt tranquil inside even if the game only lasted for a few minutes.
I also loved parachute tag where the teacher would call out two kids’ names and they would run under the parachute and trade places. There was also the wave, where basically everyone shook the parachute while standing.
As a kid, I wondered why we didn’t play with the parachute every day. It was the only fun I ever had in gym class. The rest of the time, the boys hogged the court playing basketball. I’m not really sure what the girls were doing. Probably standing around waiting for the bell to ring. As a baton twirling mom I’d like to point out that nearly 40 years later, boys are still hogging gym courts the world over with basketball. I’ve tried to get space at taxpayer-funded community centers so Bridgette can practice her baton twirling. It’s a great big no-go. Every community center is reserved every afternoon for basketball. Ugh. I digress…
Anyway, the teacher only brought out the giant parachute once in a blue moon, but when she did, it was the best day ever. Better even than a day with a trip to the Big Slide!
Did you know you can buy giant parachutes on Amazon. Here’s one that’s on the small end that features handles. We didn’t have handles back in the day, but surely could have used them. LOL. Check it out: https://amzn.to/31kRBwt.
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