Small Play Parachute for Kids Archives - Bear Paw Creek

Our Story — The How and Why Bear Paw Creek Began

Madison Stephens — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 18:04:42 +0000

Our Story — The How and Why Bear Paw Creek Began

This January marks 25 years in business for Bear Paw Creek, this is a big milestone for us and we are extremely grateful to everyone who has supported us along the way.

We have been celebrating all month long by sharing some behind the scenes, a 25% off flash sale, and still have something extra fun planned for the end of the month. We also wanted to share a little bit about the how and why Bear Paw Creek was started. For those who have been following us for a long time, this story may already be familiar to you, but we have had a lot of growth over the last several years. Including more followers on social media and our blog, which makes this the perfect time to do a retelling of our story.

Keep reading to learn about the start of our business (before we were named Bear Paw Creek!), growth over the years, how our products are beneficial, and our goals moving forward.

The Start of Bear Paw Creek's Music and Movement Props

In January of 2000, sisters Janet Stephens and Kathy Schumacher MT-BC came together along with Janet's husband, Christopher Stephens, to create a business that was then called Props & Bags, Etc. With Janet looking to create an income from home and Kathy looking for someone to create products to meet a need in the music therapy community, they meshed their passion and ideas together to create products that would serve the music and movement community for years to come.

With Christopher's innovative mind, Janet's designing and sewing skills, and Kathy's experience in music therapy and knowledge of what that community needed, they introduced the creation of a unique line of movement props along with solutions for organizing and transporting them.

The Props & Bags, Etc. 2000-2001 catalog contained: stretchy bands, bean bags, streamers, tote bags, and instrument cases.

Our Story — The How and Why Bear Paw Creek Began Share on X

Our Development and Growth Throughout the Years

In 2001, Bear Paw Creek picked up their first wholesale customer, West Music, who we continue to work with to this day! The movement props continued to grow in popularity which encouraged them to continue going and also create more props to add to the product line. In 2008, the brand name was changed to Bear Paw Creek.

Fast forward to 2012, Janet had the opportunity to take a course on building websites with WordPress. With this knowledge added to her "tool belt", she was able to create a new website to better offer Bear Paw Creek's products to the public.

The new website allowed them to open up and quickly expand the business's retail market as well as connect with customers on a one to one level through emails, blog posts, and in later years, social media. Bear Paw Creek continues to expand and grow, reaching more retail customers, along with a growing list of resellers, stateside and internationally.

In recent years I, Madison Stephens (Christopher and Janet's daughter), have taken over the social media marketing for Bear Paw Creek. This opened up a whole other avenue of connection with our customers.

Seeing videos of stretchy bands, scarves, streamers, bean bags, and all of our other creative movement props being used in countries all around the world by people of different ages and abilities is both mind blowing and extremely humbling. It is an honor to be a part of this business my parents and aunt started and the impact it has.

We have learned so much and have been inspired by all of you sharing your movement activity ideas on social media and how you use our movement props with your children, students, and patients. It has also led to some new product ideas, wonderful collaborations, and big growth for our business. If you aren't already connected with us on Facebook and Instagram, please give us a follow! And keep tagging us in your videos and pictures, it truly is one of our favorite things to see our products in use.

Bear Paw Creek: Retailer, Wholesaler, and Manufacture of Handmade in the USA Movement Props

Something that not everyone knows about Bear Paw Creek is that, for the last 25 years we have been the manufacturer, retailer, and wholesaler for our company. People are sometimes shocked to hear that our movement props are handmade by us in Missouri, USA!

When we first began in 2000, our target audience was music therapists. The music therapy community is wonderful and has been huge supporters of Bear Paw Creek. We are extremely grateful for them and all of the important work that they do! Over the years as our product was being purchased and shipped all around the world, we realized that music therapists are not the only ones that have a need for these props.

Our music and movement props continue to be used by music therapists, but are also being used by music teachers, activity directors, recreational therapists, parents, dance instructors, grandparents, physical therapists, early childhood educators, special education teachers, occupational therapists, rehabilitation specialists, and so many more.

All of these amazing people combine our props with music to help their patients target specific goal areas, work on a variety of skills, and sometimes, to just have fun with music and movement. A few of the skills movement props help target are:

Physical development: Props can help with coordination, balance, and gross motor skills.
Cognitive development: Props can help with spatial awareness, teamwork, and understanding of locomotor and non-locomotor movements.
Creative expression: Props can help with creativity and musicality.
Social-emotional development: Props can help with social-emotional development.
Strength and flexibility: Props can help with strength, mobility, and flexibility by encouraging movement.

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A Thank you for Your Support and Our Goals Moving Forward

We cannot say thank you enough to all of our loyal supporters for the last 25 years. Bear Paw Creek would not be the successful business that it is without all of you trusting us to provide high-quality made in the USA movement props, sharing about them with friends, using them with your children and patients, sharing your music and movement activity ideas on blogs and social media, and coming back again and again to purchase our products.

Bear Paw Creek is honored to have the opportunity to make a small impact in the world with what we provide. But it's all because of our amazing community of people all around the world that our products have been as successful as they are.

Looking back on the last 25 years there has definitely been a lot of change and growth. However, our core values have remained and will continue to remain the same: commitment to the people who use our products, and enthusiasm for the manner in which our customers improve the lives of others.

It is our goal to continue to equip teachers, therapists, and parents as they seek to enrich the lives of others through creative movement products and music. We understand the importance of music and movement for developing healthy minds and bodies of all ages and are honored to have your trust and support as we continue to create high-quality movement props.

Here's to the next 25 years!

Madison Stephens

Madison has been a part of BPC her whole life. As a young child, she and her siblings helped stuff stretchy bands and flip bean bags. Over the last six years she has become even more involved and is now an official BPC employee with the role of seamstress and social media manager. When she’s not working, you’ll find her spending time with family and friends, going on walks with her dog, working with horses, or cooking and baking. Madison feels honored to have the opportunity to work alongside her mom, Janet Stephens, and be involved with the family business.

The post Our Story — The How and Why Bear Paw Creek Began appeared first on Bear Paw Creek.

Winter Music and Movement Activities With Indoor-Outdoor Snowball Movement Props — by Matthew Stensrud

Madison Stephens — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 00:58:44 +0000

Winter Music and Movement Activities With Indoor-Outdoor Snowball Movement Props — By Matthew Stensrud

Anticipation fills the room. Eyes are focused and an entire class waits with bated breath. Ever so slowly, a student carries a hand drum filled with snowballs into the middle of the circle. One by one, classmates carefully and silently take a snowball, place it in front of them, and slide the drum to the next friend. Finally, all students have a snowball and mirror the teacher as hands move closer and closer to the snowball. At the last minute, they pull away.

“It’s too cold! We need our gloves!”

One might think this was a planned creative exploration. But that was not the case in my room this past winter! Rather, a kindergarten friend called out these words on their own. And so our playful journey into Bear Paw Creek’s Indoor-Outdoor Snowball Movement Props began.

And what a fun journey it has been! From beat keeping to one and two sound exploration to building snow people, here are three ideas for using these fabulous props in your own space.

1. Do You Want to Build a Snow Person?

First up in our winter music and movement activities list is, snow people!

“Let’s build a snowman!” a student chimes in. Yet another student-driven idea, and who am I to tamp down their enthusiasm?

We start collecting snowballs in the middle of the circle and quickly realize they do not stand up well on their own. But maybe two snowballs can be eyes? Maybe another the nose? What other instruments do we have in the room that could help us?

After a few minutes, we have a snow person built from hand drums, rhythm sticks, and more. The song “Aiken Drum” (which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIgjIC6Xdk4) is a perfect way to bring this person to life.

Here are some possible lyrics to guide us:

There’s a snow person in the music room, music room, music room

There’s a snow person in the music room and their name is Frosty

And their eyes are made of snowballs, snowballs, snowballs

And their eyes are made of snowballs and their name is Frosty

And their body is made of a rhythm stick, a rhythm stick, a rhythm stick

And their body is made of a rhythm stick and their name is Frosty

Winter Music and Movement Activities with the Indoor-Outdoor Snowball Movement Props by Matthew Stensrud @mistersorff Share on X

2. Snow Falling, Falling Snow!

Falling snow. Falling snow.

Falling falling snow snow.

One and two sound exploration comes to life with these snowballs! Students can compose their own patterns by moving snowballs around and beat markers like the polyspots shown below only enhance the sense of pulse and colorful guidance for downbeats.

Pairing this idea with a snow song like “Dancing Snowflakes” from A Seasonal Kaleidoscope by Joyce Coffey can make a great rondo form as students sing the song and then share their snow patterns. There are many other songs that can also be used with these winter music and movement activities, don't be afraid to get creative!

3. Keeping the Pulse & Tossing Games

As we hold the snowballs with our imaginary gloves, take a moment and watch your students. Do they explore the way the fabric feels? Maybe they gently toss it back and forth between their two hands? Maybe they tap it on various body parts? Or scrub it like a sponge? This exploration should be encouraged and as facilitators, perhaps we add vocal sounds that slowly connect us to a pulse. Soon enough, we’ve arrived at a steady beat that we are tapping on an open palm.

Snowballs, snowballs

Let’s play with our snowballs

Sung on a simple sol-mi-la, this playful start is key to encouraging students to making songs on their own. Each time I explore this with a class, the text above is a little different.

Students start calling out their own words and phrases, and we should capture that and bring it to life for our young friends. My favorite thing about these Bear Paw Creek Snowball Movement Props is how light - and quiet - they are. No noisy bean bags this time! Students of all ages can easily toss them across the circle for a simple tossing game using a sol-mi-la melody with the text below. First, have students toss back to you. Next, they can try a friend!

Toss the ball to Rosie

Toss the ball to Mr. S

Toss the ball to Evelyn

Toss the ball to Mr. S

Another fun movement prop to use in tandem with the indoor-outdoor snowball kit is a parachute. You can check out our small play parachute here. The smaller size is perfect for one-on-one use with a student, teaching patience and taking turns by having a few students go at a time, and if you have several small play parachute you can split your class up into several groups. Take turns seeing who can get the snowballs to fly the highest! Check out this video shared by Hannah Zimmermann (@musicwithzimm) to see the snowballs in action with a parachute.

Quiet Winter Music and Movement Activities (or any season!)

No matter what you explore with these snowballs and winter music and movement activities, it’s a beautiful and serene scene to behold - such play and in such a quiet space. You can’t say the same when exploring egg shakers or rhythm sticks!

Now, go play in the snow!

In Friendship, Matthew Stensrud (@mistersorff)

Matthew Stensrud

Matthew Stensrud is an internationally-acclaimed and award-winning Elementary Music and Movement Teacher and currently teaches PK-4 music and movement at Sidwell Friends Lower School in Washington, DC. He received his Master of Music Education from George Mason University and Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, is an Orff Schulwerk approved Teacher Educator of Movement, and teaches Movement Levels in New Jersey and Oregon. Matthew is also currently on the National Board of Trustees for the American Orff Schulwerk Association and was a key content contributor to the book Responsive Classroom for Music, Art, PE and Other Special Areas. He is well-known on social media as @mistersorff on Instagram and provides mentoring, lesson plans, and more on his Patreon page, www.patreon.com/mistersorff.

The post Winter Music and Movement Activities With Indoor-Outdoor Snowball Movement Props — by Matthew Stensrud appeared first on Bear Paw Creek.

“Resilient Child” by Miss Julieann — Album Release Celebration!

Madison Stephens — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 21:15:17 +0000

"Resilient Child" by Miss Julieann — Album Release Celebration!

We are so excited to be partnering with award winning children's musician and therapist, Miss Julieann, to celebrate her brand new album Resilient Child. The album was created to teach resilience skills to children and will be available on all downloadable platforms, September 22, 2023

The buoyant album, characterized as, “Disney meets Nickel Creek”, proves that heady concepts can become an irrepressible, musical rumpus in the right hands. Resilient Child, features songs about developing support systems, coping skills, emotional expression, and self-worth by a professional music therapist.

To celebrate the release of Resilient Child, Miss Julieann is doing weekly giveaways leading up to the day the album comes out. We are thrilled to be included in the very first giveaway! Keep reading to get details on where you can enter and to learn more about Miss Julieann and her new album.

About Miss Julieann

Julieann Hartley, MT-BC, NMT, and NTP is a board certified music therapist, nature educator, illustrator and children's musician. After obtaining degrees in both music therapy and psychology, she graduated from Anna Maria College as valedictorian. After many years working as a community music therapist, she released her first kids album, Therapeutic Songs for Kids, which won a 2019 Parents' Choice award. Resilient Child is her second album and is on track to be just as popular and well-loved as her first.

She is currently recovering from a neurological infection, and focusing on putting together content for other therapists, teachers and parents to be able to help children develop the resilience skills they need to overcome life's inevitable challenges. Besides music, she has an interest in hiking (she completed the Appalachian Trail in 2015), rock climbing and foraging. She is passionate about introducing children to the wonders of nature and wild foods and in addition to doing concerts with kids, she loves to run workshops on safely foraging for wild foods, and acorn processing with kids.

Why Miss Julieann's Therapeutic Songs for Kids?

"As a music therapist, who works with kids and adults with special needs all day, I needed music that could support children with motor, speech, cognitive, emotional and behavioral needs. I had a hard time finding songs that were easy for my clients to sing, easy for their parents to remember and were easy to individualize to meet their development goals. So, I wrote them. They have been designed specifically to engage ALL children and provide opportunities for interaction, despite their developmental needs. I also designed each song to have the ability to be adapted to meet a variety of motor, speech, emotional, behavioral goals. After years of parents, teachers and therapists asking for a CD with all my most useful songs, I finally made one and I'm ready to show the community how to use music to support our children!" - Julieann Hartley, Board Certified Music Therapist

Check out the awesome album release celebration we are participating-on with with Miss Julieann! Share on X

How to Enter the Bear Paw Creek and Miss Julieann Giveaway

By entering the giveaway you could have the chance to win a Listen Learn Music & Movement Prop Set, which includes:

1 Connect-a-Stretchy Band
1 Rainbow Balloon Ball
Set of 6 Bean Bags (primary colors)
Set of 6 Scarves (primary colors)
12 downloadable songs from Rachel Rambach to use with your new set!
1 Small Play Parachute

To enter for your chance to win, head over to our Instagram page and read the captions for the details! The giveaway ends Tuesday, September 5th at midnight! The winner will be announced on Instagram stories the next day (on Wednesday) and Miss Julieann will contact the winner through her account (@missjulieannmusic) via DMs.

Click here to go to the giveaway post!

In addition to the giveaway, you can get a sneak peak at the Resilient Child album by listening to the newly released single titled, "I Am Enough". Be sure to follow Miss Julieann on Instagram to stay up to date on all of the other fun giveaways she has planned and to be notified when Resilient Child is available for download.

Madison Stephens

The post “Resilient Child” by Miss Julieann — Album Release Celebration! appeared first on Bear Paw Creek.

Back to School Giveaway — Worth Over $900!

Madison Stephens — Sat, 22 Jul 2023 14:43:46 +0000

Annual Back To School Giveaway — Worth Over $900!

It's time for our annual back to school giveaway with a prize package FULL of music and movement resources! At Bear Paw Creek, we love to do giveaways. They are a fun way to give back to all of you and to show our appreciation for your continued support. We always look forward to our big annual back to school giveaway a this year we have asked several of our friends to join in. Not only are we giving away some of our best selling creative movement props, we also have some children's books, some awesome music, miniature items, and more that have been generously donated!

On top of that, we are also opening up this year's back to school giveaway to not only our USA followers, but to all of our international followers as well. Keep reading to get all the details on what's included in the giveaway and find out how to enter. This is a giveaway you are not going to want to miss!

Everything Included in the Back to School Giveaway

Our creative movement props would not be as successful or as beneficial as they are without combining them with music, books, manipluatives and more. We are so excited to be able to include some of our close friends and fellow businesses in this giveaway. We love each person listed below and want to say a big thank you to all of them for joining this years back to school giveaway.

One of the very first books given to me when I was a baby was a copy of I'm A Little Teapot, illustrated by Iza Trapani (which I still have!). My mom and I are big fans of her work and to say we were excited when she agreed to participate in our back to school giveaway is an understatement. Iza Trapani was born in Poland and immigrated to American at seven years old. Upon arriving to America, she was given a large collection of Mother Goose nursery rhymes. These nursery rhymes are what helped her learn to speak English and what inspired her to become an author and illustrator. Now, her first book The Itsy Bitsy Spider has sold over 2.5 million copies and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star has sold over 1.3 million copies. Her illustrations are beautiful and nursery rhymes always manage to keep children engaged. Iza has generously donated SIGNED COPIES of three of her books:

Old MacDonal Had a...Zoo?
Froggie Went A-Courtin'
Baa Baa Black Sheep

Nancy Kopman is an Early Childhood Educator, recording artist, performer and music curriculum builder. Her "Music With a Purpose" is used by educators, therapists, caregivers and families worldwide. Nancy's songs and classes (both in-person and online) focus on movement, connection and learning together while having fun. We have loved connecting with Nancy this year and are very excited for you to have the chance to win her music! Her songs fit so well with many of our music and movement props. You can also check out her Patreon community here. Nancy is generously donating a six pack of CD's from her music collection:

"I Am A Tree" album
"Senses" album
"Shadow" album
"The Seasons" album
"Wonderful You" album
"I Know I'll Grow...." album

Music for Kiddos was created by Stephanie Leavell MT-BC and is dedicated to providing high-quality children's music resources for music therapists, music educators, and parents. Not only does Stephanie write truly amazing music, she also has continuing education courses, a podcast, and offers an online resource membership community. On top of all that, she hosts an online conference each year created exclusively for music therapists and music educators who work with kids. Stephanie has generously donated these items to our back to school giveaway:

The Shy Little Monster book
A signed physical copy of her newest album, "Bloom"
Movement Songs for Kiddos: Digital Album, Online Courses + Workbook

Rachelle is a Speech-Language Pathologist and started Speech Tree Co in December of 2018. She had the idea to make mini object kits targeting speech and language goals while working as a pediatric SLP. After using the mini items with her students, she quickly realized just how much more engaging the mini toys were than traditional articulation flashcards. As longtime fans of anything miniature, we are beyond excited to connect with Rachelle and share her resources with all of you. You can enter for the chance to win two themed units from Speech Tree Co:

Oceans Unit
Sports Unit

We have been following Rhythm and Strings Music Therapy since fall of 2022 when Marie released her singable book, Where Do You Sleep? She has been marketing the book in such a fun way using different miniature items, you can check it out by visiting their Instagram or Facebook page. Marie is a Neurologic music therapist in Southern Maine, is a children's book author, and provides resources with a rhythm. She is adding several items to the giveaway including:

A copy of Where Do You Sleep?
Bookmark (featuring an animal from the book!)
Animal Stickers

DiscoverDance is a dance community dedicated to learning, creating, and educating the early years. In 2018, DiscoverDance partnered with Bear Paw Creek to create the DiscoverDance Music and Movement Prop Collection. Incorporating creative movement props with the DiscoverDance conceptual explorations enhances the early childhood learning experience. Andrea Trench from DiscoverDance is donating:

44 DiscoverBALLET Coloring Pages: Skills include both boy and girl images

Patina Jackson is a board certified music therapist and is the creator and owner of Music Therapy Joy. She offers many amazing resources from engaging songs with high-quality, visual aids, to forms for data, planning, organization and evaluations. She is donating a bundle includes recordings for 10 songs that support social emotional learning for kids and teens! PLUS a 98-page PDF packed with chord sheets, intervention ideas, worksheets, printable visuals, and slide presentation links (for classroom screens, tablets, virtual sessions and more)! On top of all that, Patina has also been releasing some wonderful music! You can check out her Spotify here. Enter for your chance to win the:

Friends and Feelings Bundle

This year for Bear Paw Creek's contribution, we are giving away a little bit of everything! Scarves, Stretchy Bands, and our newest movement prop, the Small Play Parachute. We are also adding Maryann "Mar" Harman's new book to the giveaway along with Miss Carole's CD's. Be sure to check out both of their websites and social media pages. Here is everything you could win from us:

Click Here to Enter our BIG Annual Back to School Giveaway - Worth Over $900! Share on X

How To Enter for Your Chance to Win the Giveaway

After sharing that list of all of the amazing music and movement resources included in this years back to school giveaway you're probably thinking, "How do I enter ASAP!?".

All you have to do is head on over to either Instagram or Facebook, like the post, then comment and tag some friends. Tip: If you enter on both Facebook and Instagram, you'll have even more chances to win.

We understand that some of you may not be on social media and want to make sure you still have a chance to enter. If you are not on social media, go ahead and click here! Enter your email to make sure you are subscribed to our mailing list and you will be entered in as well.

Again, we want to say a huge thank you to all of our good friends for donating their products and resources to this giveaway. We are so excited to kick off the school year in this fun way. Be sure to stay tuned as we will be announcing our back to school sale information soon!

Madison Stephens

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Music and Movement Month 2023 Recap

Madison Stephens — Mon, 01 May 2023 11:00:43 +0000

Music and Movement Month 2023 Recap

It's hard to believe that April is already over and that our Music and Movement Month celebration has come to an end. We had so much fun highlighting music and movement activities, resources, movement props, and more over the last month with Sandra from Sing Play Create. And, if you know us at Bear Paw Creek, you know that we LOVE giveaways. Getting to pull one together with Sandra worth over $150.00 to celebrate and give someone the opportunity to incorporate music and movement into their lives was wonderful.

With over 500 entries and hundreds more bonus entries, your response to the giveaway was fantastic! A big thank you to everyone that entered and participated in the giveaway.

Sandra has so many amazing music and movement activities on her website and TPT store. On top of that, she created several more over the last month just for our celebration! Just in case you missed them, you can find all of the resources linked below.

8 Scarf and Ribbon Movement Activities

The first of several movement activities shared by Sandra was, 8 Scarf and Ribbon Activities. Not only are there eight activities, but she also gives you the details on how to do them. Plus, there are two songs for scarves and ribbons you can use too! Below you will find the time stamps for the YouTube video which clearly demonstrates each activity.

INTRO: 00:00-2:10
2:10-SECTION 1: Scarf and Ribbon Warm Up Activity
6:55-SECTION 2: Scarf Activity Song
11:05-SECTION 3: Teach High and Low
14:12-SECTION 4: Loud and Soft
18:10-SECTION 5: Expression and Social Activity
24:34-SECTION 6: Tempo Game
30:15-SECTION 7: Vocal Explorations
32:37-SECTION 8: Teach Form (Vivaldi's Spring Concerto)

10 Bean Bag Activities for Music and Movement

Bean Bag activities are just what you need if you’re looking to keep engagement high. In this blog post, Sandra shares interactive games and activities that have students singing, playing, and moving using our Bean Bags. Games are a great way to teach children because often, children don't even know they are learning, they're just busy having fun!

1:01 Easy Warm UP Bean Bag Game
2:00 Grizzly Bear Bean Bag Game
5:08 Introduce and Teach How to Play with Bean Bags “Hello Song” Freebie
5:57 Upper Elementary Bean Bag Games for Music Class Learning and Assessment
7:19 Old Mac Donald Bean Bag Game
10:10 The Farmer in the Dell Bean Bag Game
12:19 Snail Snail Kodaly Song Bean Bag Game
14:35 Doggie, Doggie Where’s Your Bone Bean Bag Game
16:30 Vocal Warmups with Bean Bags
18:10 Movement Activities with Bean Bags
19:50 Songs with Bean Bags
21:00 Head Shoulders Knees and Toes
21:54 There’s a Chocolate Chip Cookie on My Head Sing Along
24:00 Bean Bag Activities for Transitions, Games, Anytime!

Best Parachute Movement Actvities for Music Class

Did you know that parachute songs, games, and movement activities can teach musical and movement concepts? And that they give students opportunities to explore through creativity and improvisation? And yes, they make a great movement break for fitness. They also help with SEL (Social Emotional Learning), social skills, beat, and form activities as well as singing.

In this blog post, Sandra shared some fun parachute activities that you can use in music class, circle time, music therapy session, or during at-home play. Click here to check out the blog post and learn about all of the different parachute activities, plus get a creative movement song made specifically for play parachutes! You can also watch the YouTube video HERE.

Check out our Small Play Parachute featured in the video here.

Fun Balloon Ball Music and Movement Activities

Balloon Balls are a great movement prop to add to your home, classroom, or clinic. This is a great music therapy tool for little ones to learn how to catch and throw as it is so light weight. With the lightness and softness of this ball, it’s great to kick around without worrying about somebody getting hurt. Sandra shared several different Balloon Ball movement activities including steady beat activities, rhythm games, and songs!

To read the full blog post, click here. And, to check out the YouTube video demonstrating the activities, click here!

You can also check out her other blog post: 10 Ways to Use Balls in the Music Classroom

Check out all of the fun Balloon Ball variations from us at Bear Paw Creek here! You can choose from a variety of patterns and designs. From the classic rainbow, to a pumpkin, apple, galaxy theme, floral, and more.

Thank You for Celebrating Music and Movement Month!

We absolutely loved celebrating Music and Movement Month and are so thankful to all of your for participating! Seeing videos and pictures of you incorporating Music and Movement with your students made it extra special.

Our hope is that over the last month, you were able to learn more about Music and Movement and the benefits it brings for people of all ages and that you will continue to incorporate it into your life and the lives of your children and students. Not only is it a great way to learn and teach important skills, it's also so much fun. We are also hoping to make this an annual event, so stay tuned for Music and Movement Month 2024!

Check out all of the amazing resources, movement props, teaching tips, and more shared during Music and Movement Month 2023! Share on X

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Bear Paw Creek (@bearpawcreek) • Instagram photos and videos

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Sing Play Create (@singplaycreate) • Instagram photos and videos

Madison Stephens

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Best Parachute Activities and Songs

Madison Stephens — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 10:30:39 +0000

Best Parachute Activities and Songs

In 2022, we added a new product to our creative movement prop line, the Small Play Parachute for Kids. Since then, it has quickly grown in popularity and we have loved seeing everyone's excitement over it. Seeing as it has been several months since we introduced the parachute, I thought it was about time to share some parachute activities and song ideas that you can use to make parachute play, even more, fun and educational.

Keep reading to learn about the benefits of parachute play and get parachute activity ideas to use in your next session, circle time, or during at-home play.

Plus, I'm going to share a list of songs to use with the parachute from a new resource that I am beyond excited to tell you about!

The Benefits of Parachute Play for Kids

We all know that children learn very well through play, imitation, and exploration — music and movement combine these using a range of different senses. Music and movement activities improve coordination, gross and fine motor skills, cognitive development, strengthen imagination, and so much more. To learn more about the benefits of music and movement activities, you can check out one of our other blog posts here.

Music and movement activities are even better when paired with creative movement props. Props are used as an aid to reinforce or support movements, concepts, skills, imagination, and creativity in the music space. What happens when you incorporate parachute activities into your music and movement time? What unique benefits does the parachute offer?

Teaches children to listen and follow instructions well
Encourages cooperation and teamwork
Reinforces turn-taking, sharing, and promotes social interaction
Promotes communication and language skills
Helps develop a sense of rhythm
Introduces physical activity as fun
Assists in developing hand-eye coordination, balance, and mobility
Teaches problem-solving

Our small play parachute is 30" wide with four handles, making it perfect for one-on-one use, for three children and an adult, or four children with an adult supervising. And, you still get all of the same benefits with the smaller version as you do with the full-size one. Having the smaller parachute also allows you the option of one-on-one time with a child that the large parachute cannot give.

If a child has certain skills that need improving or issues that need to be further addressed, but can't be done in a group setting, the small parachute allows you to work with the child one-on-one while still getting the amazing benefits of parachute play.

Benefits of Parachute Play for Kids & the Best Parachute Activities and Songs - www.BearPawCreek.com Share on X

Here is a great video shared by DiscoverDance Education on Instagram that showcases the size of the parachute and one of the ways it can be used. In the video, it is being used by an adult and early teen.

"In 2018, DiscoverDance and Bear Paw Creek teamed up to create the DiscoverDance Prop Collection. Over the years, DiscoverDance has had the honor of testing and incorporating all of their props into the DiscoverDance program.

Their latest creation is the small play parachute for kids. It is perfect for toddler hands, small classes, or caregiver and tot pairings. It’s easier to maneuver due to its size and weight, and it’s quieter for those children who are sensitive to the loud noises a large parachute produces."

-Andrea Trench, DiscoverDance

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A post shared by DiscoverDance | Early Childhood Dance Education (@discoverdance_education)

Parachute Activities

There are so many different parachute activities out there as well as music to go with them. Here are just a few of our favorites that would work well with the Small Play Parachute!

1.) Popcorn: Put soft or very light balls on top of the parachute, like these. Everyone involved should stand and hold a handle. Shake the parachute and quickly move it up and down, the balls will look like popcorn popping! To add a fun challenge for older kids, place an even amount of two colors of balls on the parachute. For example, you could use six red balls and six blue balls. If you have four kids around the parachute, then divide into two teams. If you are working with just two individuals, each person is on their own team. The red team wants to shake the parachute while keeping their red balls on and getting the blue ones off. Blue team tries the opposite.

2.) Don't Drop the Balloon Ball: This is similar to the Popcorn parachute activity and the well known game "The Floor is Lava", but is a little bit easier for younger children. Take one of our Balloon Balls (they come in several fun patterns) and place it in the center of the parachute. Slowly begin to move the parachute up and down, side to side, try to get the Balloon Ball to spin around, but don't let it hit the floor! The goal is to keep it on the parachute while moving it around. This helps reinforce the skill of concentration, communication, and teamwork while you work together to keep the ball from touching the ground.

3.) Catapult: This could also be done with the Balloon Ball or, you could even try using a bunch of the small soft balls linked above. Place the ball in the middle of the parachute then everyone goes, '1, 2, 3, LIFT!" The idea is to throw the ball as high as you can in the air. If you're indoors, can you hit the ceiling? For more of a challenge, add some weight. You can throw some of our Bean Bags on the parachute and try to get those to catapult as high as possible. It won't be as easy as the Balloon Ball or soft balls!

4.) Merry-Go-Round: Have everyone turn sideways and hold a handle. They walk around in a circle to create a "merry-go-round". Change it up and have them skip, hop, or march around in a circle. Play around with the music, you can pause it, cueing the participants to switch directions. This would be a great activity to incorporate with music that varies in tempo. When the music goes fast, try to make the merry-go-round go as fast as possible! When it goes slow, try to walk in slow motion.

Keep reading for a list of songs that will go perfectly with these parachute activities.

Songs to Use With the Parachute

Have you ever heard of Children's Music with Nancy Kopman? I hadn't until a few months ago! Nancy Kopman is an Early Childhood Educator, recording artist, performer and music curriculum builder. Her "Music With a Purpose" is used by educators, therapists, caregivers and families worldwide. Nancy's songs and classes (both in-person and online) focus on movement, connection and learning together while having fun. She currently has six albums available for purchase, both as downloadable and physical CDs. You can check them out here.

Several weeks ago I reached out to her asking about her blog post, Parachute Games and Songs for Young Children. This led to a conversation about different ways we could collaborate with each other, since her music fits so well with our creative movement props. We now have several projects in the works and are beyond excited about this new partnership! Be sure to to follow Nancy on her social media pages and also check out her Patreon community. You can also find her music on Spotify.

Nancy sent me a list of her favorite songs to use with the parachute that I will list below, they would also work very well with our Stretchy Bands!

"Shake, Shake, Shake", from "Senses" (written specifically for the parachute)
"Walk Around", from "The Seasons" (see the song in action with a large parachute here)
"Bicycle", from "The Seasons"
"Breath In, Breathe Out", "from "Wonderful You" (nice slow movements with a parachute as you breathe in and out)
"Horses", from "Senses"
"Popcorn", from "I Am A Tree"
"In and Out", from "I Am A Tree"

I hope all of the parachute activities and songs shared will be fun additions to your music class, circle time, music therapy sessions, or during at home play. Music and movement, especially when paired with creative movement props, is such a fun way of teaching children very important skills and we are honored to play a part in that!

Madison Stephens

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