We have a large colourful parachute at kinder which we use for music and movement, cubby building and for hanging in the room to jazz it up.

Teddy’s parachute is a wonderful song off the CD Echo Fred by Kids Music Company which the children love. We put a bear or another type of soft toy in the middle of the parachute and while listening and singing along to the song we attempt to bounce the bear as high as we can.

The children have discovered that team work is all important. Working together the bear does indeed hit the roof!

Before packing the parachute away the children often request the song boa constrictor. This involves beginning the song with the parachute under our feet and slowly moving it up past our toes, knees, middle and neck as the song instructs, until we are …

… gulp … swallowed!

We don’t always use the parachute, we have a lot of scarves of different shapes, colours and sizes which make wonderful individual boa constictors.

Here’s the boa constrictor song:

I’m being swallowed by a boa constrictor,

I’m being swallowed by a boa constrictor,

I’m being swallowed by a boa constrictor,

and I don’t like it very much!

Oh no, oh no, he’s swallowd my toe, he’s swallowed my toe.

Oh gee, oh gee, he’s up to my knee, he’s up to my knee.

Oh fiddle, oh fiddle, he’s up to my middle , he’s up to my middle.

Oh heck, oh heck, he’s up to my neck, he’s up to my neck.

Oh dread, oh dread he’s swallowed my …

… gulp!

To pack away the parachute, we whoosh it up and down together three time, (once again teamwork is needed) counting as we go and when we get to three, Sherry or Donna hold on to the parachute scrunching it up into a bundle as all the children let go! …… Or do they?

Letting go is a difficult concept for some children, one we will continue to work on!