Parachute umbrella games encourage young children to learn to play cooperatively and non-competitively, share and take turns. Children develop important listening skills as they wait to hear and follow directions for each game. They also get the chance to work on their gross motor movements as they learn to jump, hop, skip, crawl and move forward and backward. Group activities take on new meaning as children learn to work together to achieve various goals that can include raising and lowering the parachute, rotating it and going under it.
Parachute umbrella games are excellent for indoor and outdoor play. There must be adequate space when you play these games indoors, an open area like a gymnasium often being a great spot. Young children are more likely to hurt themselves if they play these games on concrete. Dry grass can be a safer option. Teach children to be aware of the importance of playing safely. They will have to try not to bump heads or crash into each other.
You can use a play parachute for a variety of umbrella games. All you really need is a little creativity and an enthusiastic bunch of preschoolers. One such game requires you to assign the numbers from one to five to each of the children around the perimeter of the circle. Have the children raise the parachute above their heads several times. After about the third lift, call out a number. That group of children will run under the "umbrella" as the game then repeats. When you call out the next number, the two groups of children must exchange places as quickly as they can.
Although play parachutes come in varying sizes, they can often be quite cumbersome to put away. The best way to gather up one of these chutes is to grab it in the center before twisting it into a giant rope. Then roll it up and stuff it into a storage sack. Many drawstring laundry bags are well-suited for this purpose.