Size Options:

• 5-foot Play Parachute: at 60″ in diameter with eight handles, this is the perfect size for smaller groups or classes.
• 2.5-foot Play Parachute: at 30″ in diameter with four handles, this size is ideal for one-on-one sessions or small groups of 3-4 people.

The smaller and more manageable size allows you to have all of the benefits and fun of a parachute without being overstimulating. Another benefit of the smaller sizes is that you can practice and target specific skills for individuals more easily than you could with a large parachute and a large class, while still making it a fun group activity.

A few of the benefits of parachute play are:

• Gross motor skills
• Coordination and balance
• Teamwork
• Social interaction
• Listening and following directions
• Cognitive skills
• Rhythm

For some song and activity ideas to pair with the 5-foot play parachute, check out this blog post: Best Parachute Activities and Songs. 

Cleaning Your Play Parachute:

Bear Paw Creek’s parachutes can be machine-washed on a gentle cycle with cold or lukewarm water and mild detergent. Avoid using harsh chemicals like bleach or fabric softeners, as these may cause discoloration and damage over time.

Air-dry the parachute or use a low heat setting in the dryer to prevent damage; never iron. Our preferred method is air drying! Our parachutes come with a drawstring storage bag; the drawstring bag can also be machine-washed following the same instructions.

The post Play Parachutes: Available in 5-foot and 2.5-foot Sizes appeared first on Bear Paw Creek.

• Set of 6 scarves, no storage bag – 1 of each color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple  $21.00
• Add on set of 12 scarves, no storage bag – 2 of each color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple $42.00
• Set of 13 Scarves with Storage bag – Same as Add On Set of 12, and includes one white teacher/leader scarf  $48

Kits with Music

In May 2019, Bear Paw Creek acquired aeIDEAS line of scarves that have been around for over 30 years!

• 25″ Group Kit  – 2 of each color: Purple, Lavender, Royal Blue, Medium Blue, Kelly Green, Lime Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, Pink, White, and Black.  Instructional inserts and IDEAS Primary Music CD.  $89
• 25″ Individual Kit – 1 of each color above with insert and cd.  $46
• 36″ Group Kit – 2 of each color, insert, IDEAS Intermediate Music cd  $144
• 36″ Individual Rainbow Scarf Kit – 2 of each color: red, orange, yellow, kelly green, royal blue, and purple, instructional insert, IDEAS music cd.  $76
  
• 50″ Group Kit 2 of each color: black, white, pink, red, orange, yellow, kelly green, lime green, royal blue, medium blue, purple, and lavender with instructional insert and IDEAS Music III cd.  $190
• 50″ Individual Kit – 1 of each color above  $129

My Many Colored Days Kits

• The board book My Many Colored Days, by Dr. Seuss.
• IDEAS Music Color cd
• Group includes: 20 durable 25” square, washable nylon scarves – 2 of each of the following 11 colors: red, orange, yellow, kelly green, royal blue, purple, brown, pink,  grey, black. One for each hand, or enough for an early childhood class.   MSRP   $82.00
  
• Individual Kit: 10 – 25″ creative movement scarves of each color above.   MSRP  $44.00
  

Use the kit to reinforce:

Color Recognition.
Reading Books.
Identifying and Exploring Mood.
Creating Movement to Match Music.
Starting and Stopping–Motor Control.
Joyful Times Spent with Parents, Teachers, Caregivers, Books, Music, and Movement.

How?

Read the book to your child(ren).
Discuss how the gray tulle scarves look, feel and flow differently than the other scarves. How this color relates to the story – “(gray)…does not move.”
Explore the scarf colors. Move them through space. Make air pathways with them, then walk and turn with the scarves.
Read the story again, moving the matching scarf to the music for each page.
Switch colors and repeat this activity on many days.
Play the complete music pieces for longer movement experiences.
Play dress up, and dress up stuffed animals with scarves. Be sure to say the scarf color when it is chosen.

Now make up new ways to use the book, scarves, and music! Its all inside of you!

Individual Scarves are available also! Check out this page to buy one, two…or more!

9 foot canopy scarves can be found here. 

The post Creative Movement Scarf Kits appeared first on Bear Paw Creek.

The DiscoverDance Early Childhood Program was founded in 2017 by dance educator, Andrea Trench. The program offers studio owners and teachers conceptual based dynamic movement lesson plans, marketing materials, music playlists, and videos of class activities for ages 5 and under. Since launching, DiscoverDance can be found in dance studios in Costa Rica, Greece, Australia, Canada, and across the United States.

Hoop Ribbon Streamers in DiscoverDance colors!  You will receive a set of 6 hoop streamers with 24″ long ribbons on 4″ polycarbonate hoops in a drawstring bag.  $30

DiscoverDance Square Bean Bag Set includes 12 bean bags and a storage bag.  $28

Two of each color:  Fuchsia, Orange, Yellow, Lime Green, Turquoise, Purple

This DiscoverDance scarf set includes thirteen 24″x 24″ unhemmed chiffon scarf squares. It includes a mesh storage bag with one white teacher/leader scarf and two each of: Fuchsia, Orange, Yellow, Lime Green, Turquoise, Purple

$48

The DiscoverDance Balloon Ball is a fabric ball that has a slit in the bottom to place a 12″ balloon into it and blow it up!  These are great for packing along and also make playing with a balloon much safer.

$20

DiscoverDance Connect-a-Stretchy Band is 6 feet long. This allows for you to use this dynamic movement prop straight or buckle it together into a circle. Two of these buckled together equal one medium stretchy band.  These are also fantastic for those that facilitate different group sizes.  Two pack:  MSRP $60

Get the complete DiscoverDance and Bear Paw Creek Movement Prop Set Bundled Together.

Includes the following:

• 2 DD Connect-a-Stretchy Bands
• 12 DD Bean Bags
• DD Scarf Set of 13
• One DD Balloon Ball
• Set of 6 DD Hoop Rainbow Ribbon Streamers
• DD Conceptual Coloring Pages Pack

MSRP $160    Your Price: $130

The post DiscoverDance Movement Props appeared first on Bear Paw Creek.

MacSoup CD Included  – $58      Snowball Set- $50

No snow?  Too cold to play outside?  This set of  30 snow balls will get you moving and having fun in not time.  This set is machine washable in the included drawstring bag.  You also have the option of purchasing the wonderful “Dancing Feet” CD.  This has 18 songs on it. “The Freeze” song  is the inspiration behind the indoor snowball set. So you won’t only get “The Freeze” you will have 17 more to inspire creative movement at home or in your classroom.

It will inspire you to get moving and burn off some of that extra energy we get from “cabin fever” in the winter. Pair this set with books about snow, make paper snowflakes, and have an indoor snowball fight!

It is also great fun in the middle of hot summer. A fun activity is to spray the balls with water, stick them in the freezer for awhile, and you have a fantastic sensory play activity. I would recommend doing this one outdoors! In this blog post you can be inspired with a great circle time activity.  It includes a book to read, and of course music and movement! Add in some old fashioned paper snowflake making for small motor skills. Check out the fun a few of our kids and I had!

The post Indoor-Outdoor Snowball Movement Prop Set appeared first on Bear Paw Creek.

These hubs are designed to be used with Bear Paw Creek’s connect-a-stretchy band.  This is the newest addition to our stretchy band family for music games and learning.  It opens creative movement doors wide open with the various ways you can use the hub with the connect-a-stretchy band.  It is available in 6, 8, 10, and 12 buckles.

One inch strapping with alternating 1 inch buckles are sewn into a round leather disc with a grommet circle.

Hub 6- $18         Hub 8 – $22       Hub 10- $26     Hub 12 –  $30

Hub 8 pictured below with four connect-a-stretchy bands buckled into it. This makes a four armed prop.

You can connect a band to each buckle, making a 6, 8, 10 or 12 armed octopus, star or sun or turn them into a spoked wheel, a gear, flowers or clovers.

Remember, the Connect-a-Bands can be connected to create a medium (2), large (3),  XL (4), or more!

The post Connect-a-Band Hubs appeared first on Bear Paw Creek.

Our original Stretchy Bands for creative movement come in four different sizes and are a complete circle. The Connect-a-Stretchy Band only comes in one size. However, it features a buckle system that allows you to disconnect the band and use it in a straight line in addition to the circle.

With the buckle system, you can also connect additional Connect-a-Stretchy Bands together. Allowing you to create the size you need for your creative movement activities. This is ideal for those with varying class sizes or for those who like to use different-sized bands with different activities. Rather than purchasing all five Stretchy Band sizes, you can purchase individual Connect-a-Stretchy Bands and connect however many you need together.

Connect-a-Stretchy Band Variations:

• Original Connect-a-Stretchy Band: Has all six colors on one band; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
• White Connect-a-Stretchy Band: Created at the request of music teacher, Lena Leon. Not only does it provide another color option for you, but the white band will also “glow in the dark” when used with a black light, like these. 
• Primary Set of 6 Connect-a-Stretchy Bands: Rather than having the six primary colors all on one band, this set comes with six bands, each with its own individual color.
• Primary Set of 6 Connect-a-Stretchy Bands WITH Hub 12: The same set of six primary colors, plus our hub 12. If you’re interested in purchasing other hub sizes, you can check them out here.

Sizing Guide:

The sizing guide below gives the original Stretchy Band sizes along with the conversion chart for the Connect-a-Stretchy Bands. Determining how many you can fit around a band depends on the age/size of those you have in your creative movement class or session. When we say “people,” we are referring to tweens/teens and adults.

FAQ: Can I do the same creative movement activities with the Connect-a-Stretchy Bands that I can with the original Stretchy Bands?

Absolutely! Even the activities that have you use a Connect-a-Stretchy Band unbuckled and in a straight line can be adapted to use with the original Stretchy Band. The only activities unique to the Connect-a-Stretchy Band are those that incorporate our Hub Connector. Using a hub allows you to turn your Connect-a-Stretchy Bands into an octopus, sun, star, flower, or whatever your imagination comes up with. Learn more about our Hub connectors here. The main benefit of the Connect-a-Stretchy Band is its versatility in sizing; you never know when your class size might change.

A note about the storage bag!

Connect-a-Stretchy Bands will include a storage bag in a size appropriate to fit the total number of bands ordered. For example, a single band will come with a smaller bag to fit that individual band. If you order four bands, you will receive a bag large enough to fit all five bands. If you do order multiple bands and would like more than one bag for storage, please let us know in the order comments, and we will be happy to accommodate you.

Check out our resource guide to Stretchy Bands and Connect-a-Stretchy Bands. A combined 100+ song and activity ideas!

The post Connect-a-Stretchy Band appeared first on Bear Paw Creek.

Bear Paw Creek streamers have been one of our top best selling creative movement props since the beginning. Chiffon scarves or satin ribbons flow 24″ off of either a 4 1/2″ plastic hoop or fabric wrist scrunchie.  Our dynamic movement streamers are available in rainbow or primary colors.  The sets of 6 come in a drawstring storage bag.  6 for $30/$35  and the individual are $5.50/$6.50 each.

Pick your options above:

1.  Choose your handle: hoop or fabric wrist scrunchie
2. Pick either chiffon or ribbon  As my daughter said, “The ribbons make me want to jump up and down and go crazy, the others are more calming and flowing.”  Both are beautiful, but can create a different mood.
3. Choose a 6 pack or individual
4. Add to cart

The fabric wrist scrunchie streamer was another idea from my fabulous sister, she discovered this need in group participation for individuals that are not able to grasp items.  They are wonderful as you can put them on your wrist, elbows, arms, or even ankles to have your hand free for other movement activities.

From a conversation with Miss Carole of Macaroni Soup, we released the Teacher/Leader white scrunchie. This is to delineate the teacher/leader for group activities. Another discovery with the connect-a-band is to put the dynamic movement streamers over the band and initiate a new activity. Fine motor skills are involved with  stretching the fabric wrist scrunchie over the band, then turn around and work those large muscle groups.  The hoop streamers can slide around the stretchy band. Can you get it to stop on red or green?  Great for color recognition, match up colors, or how about teach complimentary colors.

Check out this blog post for more inspiration:  Margie La Bella Review and Music for Streamers

The post Streamers appeared first on Bear Paw Creek.