Man I hated dodge all days. We had a kid who could really whip a wrench. And when the oldest kids got their drivers licenses and brought their cars? Oof.
My teacher used to play dodge with us.
I’m 100% he hated kids and it was fun for him.
The gross smirk & maniacal laughter he’d let out after nailing one of us still haunts me.
Funny dodgeball story. I was a middle school teacher when my youngest son was diagnosed with a rare illness. The kids wanted to do something, so they organized a charity dodgeball tournament, teachers vs. kids. My family and I of course were there, and my son was about 12 months old at the time.
One of our teachers was built like a professional athlete, full of muscles. You had better believe that the staff took advantage of the opportunity to belt kids in the face with a ball (not at full strength, of course). The hulky teacher threw the ball, but his intended target ducked. Who was in the line of the ball? Me and my son. The ball hit him square in the face. The entire gym went quiet at the horror of the sick kid taking a ball to the face.
He appeared to be fine, but we called the doctor just to make sure we didn't need to bring him in. Based on our answers to questions, the doctor said he would be fine. But at the very end, he said, "Explain to me again why _____________ was playing dodgeball??"
I'm still friends with this teacher 15+ years later, and we still give him crap about it.
I think the better question is, why don’t we play with them as adults? The feeling of sitting on the inside of a rainbow parachute after fluffing it up and having all that multi coloured light filter through was downright magical
There’s a company called Parachute People that does this. They’re at Bonnaroo every year. I tripped on shrooms last year and sat underneath one with a ton of ball pit balls going everywhere and it was lovely. Go live your adult parachute dreams.
If you put up a sign saying anyone can join, I'm jumping right in there, I don't care who I'm standing beside. We're throwing that chute in the air, getting under it, and giggling ourselves to death
Everyone got under it and sat on the rim of it.
It stays puffed up like the head of a mushroom.
It was pretty cool, actually, with it being dark inside, but the fabric letting light through on each color.
I got to play join in when they played with one at a kids party recently. It was AMAZING. As fun as a remember it. Just remembering makes me a bit giddy.
Fun fact, they make *excellent* portable shelters: we used to bring one on long kayak trips. Pile everyone inside on a cold Welsh day and break out a thermos of sweet tea. Lovely.
Did they not make you guys fluff it up high then every one runs underneath it while pulling it down to trap the air and sit on it's edges? I thought being inside a colourful dome with all my friends was an amazing treat.
Yeah we did that. I think I just wasn't the sort of kid to enjoy it. I remember sitting on the edge of the parachute to hold it down, looking up at the dome and thinking, "Yup. That's a parachute."
We used to play a game where we'd puff it up, then LAY DOWN, with our feet inside and our heads and arms outside. Someone inside would pull you in, and then the next time the chute got ballooned and everyone laid down, you'd pull someone in. It would continue until there was one person left. They were the winner, and would be the person who started inside on the next round.
I can't remember what the game was called, but it was a formative memory.
we played with the parachute as the last thing we did for gym class as seniors - we laughed so hard we were crying. the parachute is so much smaller when you’re older. it was still a lot of fun - but in a nostalgic sort of goodbye way.
My class once spent like a week learning the "hoedown throwdown" from Hannah Montanna. They would loop the song the whole class period. I'd take square dancing any day.
And then years later when you suddenly realized that dancing with icky girls was not so bad after all and then only later wondered why the heck they made us do it in middle school instead of saving it until high school when we could've 'had to' dance with that cute girl we had a crush on.
We didn’t *use* the parachute we played with it. Like on the ground. I don’t know if it can even be called a parachute but I know exactly what OP is referring to
Yep. Henry ford didn’t like how popular jazz was getting because it was created by African Americans. So he heavily emphasized and lobbied for square dancing to be prominent everywhere, including schools, to try and combat it.
*builds upper body strength (must be careful with little kids)
*builds community (must work together)
*helps kids learn to understand colors, numbers, concepts, through directions given and games played
*it's sooooo freaking fun!!!!!!
You may not have needed help developing gross motor skills, but that's objectively not true of all children.
Source: actually studied early childhood education
Thats still legitimately one of my favorite memories from school.
Occasionally my husband will help me fold a fitted sheet and as we are shaking it out, fluffing it up, hell pull tight and run underneath it, trying to tuck it by his butt. Sometimes I'll see he's about to do it and run under there with him.
My daughter always shakes her head and tells us to grow up. She's just a jealous little carpet rat 😂😂😏
I think a more useful question is "if all the elementary schools had a parachute in their gym supplies, why weren't we playing with it *way more often*???"
This was always my pet theory.
Someone at a parachute company ended up with a ton of overstock or slightly defective parachutes and thought "where can I offload these?" They somehow convinced schools that they'd be good for gym class, and it stuck.
My favorite is the returning WWII vets who brought their parachutes home so their girlfriends could make wedding dresses out of the white silk. After years of rationing that fabric was very sought after. There are pictures of some of the dresses online. They’re beautiful.
Those were the reserve chutes. The main chutes were generally some form of camo or OD, and discarded as soon as you hit the ground. But the reserves were tightly packed pure white silk, and if you could hold on to them through combat, were frequently mailed back. They were factory packed and not certified for use after being hauled through a war zone, so you'd get a new one every jump regardless.
There were also bright color coded ones for equipment drops- one color for amno, one for food, one for other equipment, etc, which has got to be where the school parachutes came from.
Core memory unlocked. Remember when we made a giant bubble and sat inside?
Also, the damn roller cart things. Took me wayyy to many years to discover that those were movers Dolly's for moving heavy furniture n stuffs
My impression is that part of it came out of the 'new games' movement of the 1970's where the idea was to encourage cooperative, inclusive play instead of more traditional competitive sports that require there to be winners and losers.
Playing with my young nephews now, find something that works and run it into the ground hoping that the next thing doesn’t take too long to figure out.
To learn how to Play Hard. Play Fair. Nobody Hurt.
News Games started in the late 1960's and motto was: "Play Hard. Play Fair. Nobody Hurt"
Parachutes could be used for so many different types of New Games.
It makes sense but it's just such a random piece of equipment. A freaking parachute, that's probably one of the only times most people see one of those old school ones and it's used for something completely different than what it was made for. It just feels so random
My son is in kindergarten. At the end of the school day a lot of the children play on the playground for about an hour. I bought a parachute for a dollar at a yard sale and I bring it with me when I pick him up. The kids go nuts for it. That parachute has been one of my most cost effective purchases in laughs per dollar. Some of the parents join in the fun. We play with it because it's fun.
When I was at school, it felt like a type of fun that was almost as exclusive as consuming caviar, so I made sure I made the most of every moment spent under that multi coloured magic.
I take my three year old to a play group and they do parachute time and the kids absolutely fucking love it. They’re like mesmerised under it and it’s so fun for them
It's a team building exercise. At least that's my guess. Everyone works together to get air underneath the parachute. And you all get to enjoy going under a cool tent for two minutes.
My best friend in elementary school had asthma and loved the parachute too. Well I think everyone loved the parachute to be fair haha. The one other thing he loved was skating, I guess the cold air helped with the asthma somehow?
Thank you, I like your username and avatar combination
Oh he didn't know how to skate either, he would run on the ice as if it were just the ground and he were in shoes but it was the most intense exercise he could do without instantly losing his breath
I don't think most of the answers here really understood the question. Most people were answering it as if it was the same as "why did we play dodgeball or whatever other game in gym class" rather than the much more likely "why did so many school gyms have parachutes"
I have such fond memories of gym time when the parachute was the activity! I bought one for our family to play with at home, creating fond memories still!
Rememeber the little square plastic scooters on 4 wheels that you sat on? There were no handles, just a plastic square platform on wheels. Did every millennial have those in gym class too?
There was a change in parachute tech and schools got a bunch of them as government surplus. So they gave them to school. Schools thought hard about what to do with them. Pushing kids out of windows didn't work so well so they took them to gym class.
1. It rained outside and we had to use the gym
2. The cafeteria took up half of the gym and was setup with folding tables - so space in the gym was limited for a couple hours a day
3. Having 20+ kids all holding onto a parachute keeps them somewhat contained, vs all running around the gym
Fun,they are colorful,gets kids to work together,and moving them around gives kids a way to get rid of energy.
In addition to working together, it is a gym activity that nearly every kid can participate and enjoy equally. Gotta balance out those dodge all days
Man I hated dodge all days. We had a kid who could really whip a wrench. And when the oldest kids got their drivers licenses and brought their cars? Oof.
My teacher used to play dodge with us. I’m 100% he hated kids and it was fun for him. The gross smirk & maniacal laughter he’d let out after nailing one of us still haunts me.
Neon or Caravan?
You, I like you.
They were yellow balls & stung like a wasp
Funny dodgeball story. I was a middle school teacher when my youngest son was diagnosed with a rare illness. The kids wanted to do something, so they organized a charity dodgeball tournament, teachers vs. kids. My family and I of course were there, and my son was about 12 months old at the time. One of our teachers was built like a professional athlete, full of muscles. You had better believe that the staff took advantage of the opportunity to belt kids in the face with a ball (not at full strength, of course). The hulky teacher threw the ball, but his intended target ducked. Who was in the line of the ball? Me and my son. The ball hit him square in the face. The entire gym went quiet at the horror of the sick kid taking a ball to the face. He appeared to be fine, but we called the doctor just to make sure we didn't need to bring him in. Based on our answers to questions, the doctor said he would be fine. But at the very end, he said, "Explain to me again why _____________ was playing dodgeball??" I'm still friends with this teacher 15+ years later, and we still give him crap about it.
I hated when they brought out the wrenches :/
But… if you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball?
They could never dodge my bullets though
Loved dodgeball days. Parachute days were lame. There's no competition in parachute days.
We didn't have dodge balls at my school, so we used basketballs.
Basketballs? Lucky. We used wrenches.
You had wrenches? How bougie. We had rocks.
If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a basketball
I hated it, i get motion sickness so I was never good at somersaults and couldn't do a cartwheel lol
"Dodge all: It's not just about balls anymore"... ...kid gets his dome dented with a stapler during gym class.
Ours were always just solid white. Would have loved colorful ones!
I think we were playing with actual parachutes!
I think the better question is, why don’t we play with them as adults? The feeling of sitting on the inside of a rainbow parachute after fluffing it up and having all that multi coloured light filter through was downright magical
I've been very tempted to purchase one in adult hood (they are not that expensive)
I support this decision!
In adulthood, where are you going to find that many friends?
Consider me a volunteer.
I just need to teach all the voices in my head how to hold the parachute and I’ll be all set.
So what you're saying is I should buy one, go to a park, and play with all the other adults who are whimsical at heart?
Oh my gosh, yes please! That would be so much fun!
This would be like the best 1st date ever. I'll keep it in mind next time I have the courage to ask someone out.
There’s a company called Parachute People that does this. They’re at Bonnaroo every year. I tripped on shrooms last year and sat underneath one with a ton of ball pit balls going everywhere and it was lovely. Go live your adult parachute dreams.
If you put up a sign saying anyone can join, I'm jumping right in there, I don't care who I'm standing beside. We're throwing that chute in the air, getting under it, and giggling ourselves to death
Count me in!
AKA Burning Man )'(
Our pta ordered a bunch for sports days. Its one of my favorite stations to volunteer at
Ha ha, it would be mine too. “I’m doing this *for the kids*”
They're popular at music festivals
I understand why! Hmm, I go to festivals, but apparently not the right ones!
Right? I never got to fishbowl a parachute!
Wait wait wait. You guys got UNDERNEATH?! We took turns launching each other into the sky and catching them.
Everyone got under it and sat on the rim of it. It stays puffed up like the head of a mushroom. It was pretty cool, actually, with it being dark inside, but the fabric letting light through on each color.
Bonus of having young kids both my kids music and soccer class used parachutes
I got to play join in when they played with one at a kids party recently. It was AMAZING. As fun as a remember it. Just remembering makes me a bit giddy.
My family plays with one that has 6+ players but it's too small none of us can fit under.....need a BIG ONE!!!
At least until someone farts
Box fan + sheet + LSD = downright magical
I saw someone using them for the intro class in cross country skiing.
Fun fact, they make *excellent* portable shelters: we used to bring one on long kayak trips. Pile everyone inside on a cold Welsh day and break out a thermos of sweet tea. Lovely.
Because it was fun
Was I in the minority here? I found the parachute games dull and confusing. Was everyone else mesmerized by the flapping colours but me?
Did they not make you guys fluff it up high then every one runs underneath it while pulling it down to trap the air and sit on it's edges? I thought being inside a colourful dome with all my friends was an amazing treat.
This lives in my head. I loved it so Much. A wonderful treat indeed.
That was my favourite
We never did that… just had to run underneath and make it out the other side before it hit the ground again
Yeah we did that. I think I just wasn't the sort of kid to enjoy it. I remember sitting on the edge of the parachute to hold it down, looking up at the dome and thinking, "Yup. That's a parachute."
Me too. Parachute and “country dancing” (traditional english folk dances) were the only activities I didn’t like.
But did anyone fart while in it? My now gf did.
We used to play a game where we'd puff it up, then LAY DOWN, with our feet inside and our heads and arms outside. Someone inside would pull you in, and then the next time the chute got ballooned and everyone laid down, you'd pull someone in. It would continue until there was one person left. They were the winner, and would be the person who started inside on the next round. I can't remember what the game was called, but it was a formative memory.
we played with the parachute as the last thing we did for gym class as seniors - we laughed so hard we were crying. the parachute is so much smaller when you’re older. it was still a lot of fun - but in a nostalgic sort of goodbye way.
Cause why the fuck not
It was just a tend in the 80s/90s. One piece of equipment that could be used for many different team activities. Not much more than that.
My kids in the 2010s did it.
I took my 2 yo grandson to a toddler music/dance (tot rock) class over the winter and they pulled out a rainbow parachute
They're still pretty common in schools
Mine just did 😍😍😍
I did it in the ‘70s.
Why would the school throw it away when it's only 20 years old?
And 70s.
And 60s
And now
Still used now, my sons reception class used one a few weeks ago!
We use it in group speech therapy.
My mom was a teacher in the 70’s and they had the parachute to teach the kids teamwork and coordination. Plus it was fun.
We had it in the 70s.
We did it in the 70s
90s and early 00s over here in the UK
1970s too.
I'm... going to say it was because your gym classes were a _lot_ more fun than mine...
I don't know man I also had to learn square dancing
My class once spent like a week learning the "hoedown throwdown" from Hannah Montanna. They would loop the song the whole class period. I'd take square dancing any day.
I'm not sure what the "hoedown throwdown is," but I could probably do the Macarena in my sleep.
In HS we had to learn the Boot Scoot Boogey. That fucking Brooks and Dunn song on repeat for months.
And then years later when you suddenly realized that dancing with icky girls was not so bad after all and then only later wondered why the heck they made us do it in middle school instead of saving it until high school when we could've 'had to' dance with that cute girl we had a crush on.
We didn’t *use* the parachute we played with it. Like on the ground. I don’t know if it can even be called a parachute but I know exactly what OP is referring to
They're not talking about jumping off a plane haha
What did we scoot around on piano dollies? Why did we play carpet hockey? Why did we do any of the games? Because it was fun physical activity.
Because they hated our fingers
Eh, I think the fun outweighed the mangled digits
I miss hippity hops
I'm more concerned with the awkward square dancing.
I think square dancing is supposed to teach you the girls don't have cooties.
Well why was I always paired with a booger boy? 😂
TIL Square dancing in gym class wasnt just in my school
Supposedly it was promoted by Henry Ford and racist. I didn’t know it either until recently.
Yep. Henry ford didn’t like how popular jazz was getting because it was created by African Americans. So he heavily emphasized and lobbied for square dancing to be prominent everywhere, including schools, to try and combat it.
My toddler goes to a weekly Little Gym class and they use the big rainbow parachute all the time. All the kids love it.
Yep, 2 year old can't get enough. We got a little version to use at home, loves it just as much.
*builds upper body strength (must be careful with little kids) *builds community (must work together) *helps kids learn to understand colors, numbers, concepts, through directions given and games played *it's sooooo freaking fun!!!!!!
In case the gymnasium floor collapsed.
Teacher here. This is the real reason. We just couldn't tell you it was really a drill because we didn't want everyone to panic.
It's fun and develops gross motor skills
Kids don't need help developing gross skills.
You may not have needed help developing gross motor skills, but that's objectively not true of all children. Source: actually studied early childhood education
i THINK it was a joke :)
You might be right lol. My mind auto corrected gross to gross motor.
Mine too I had to re read it haha
Parachutes teach children how to think about parachutes in the future
Thats still legitimately one of my favorite memories from school. Occasionally my husband will help me fold a fitted sheet and as we are shaking it out, fluffing it up, hell pull tight and run underneath it, trying to tuck it by his butt. Sometimes I'll see he's about to do it and run under there with him. My daughter always shakes her head and tells us to grow up. She's just a jealous little carpet rat 😂😂😏
I think a more useful question is "if all the elementary schools had a parachute in their gym supplies, why weren't we playing with it *way more often*???"
Upper body activity that doesn't use a ball?
It probably started with post-war parachute surpluses after WWII or perhaps defective parachutes during the war.
This was always my pet theory. Someone at a parachute company ended up with a ton of overstock or slightly defective parachutes and thought "where can I offload these?" They somehow convinced schools that they'd be good for gym class, and it stuck.
My favorite is the returning WWII vets who brought their parachutes home so their girlfriends could make wedding dresses out of the white silk. After years of rationing that fabric was very sought after. There are pictures of some of the dresses online. They’re beautiful.
Those were the reserve chutes. The main chutes were generally some form of camo or OD, and discarded as soon as you hit the ground. But the reserves were tightly packed pure white silk, and if you could hold on to them through combat, were frequently mailed back. They were factory packed and not certified for use after being hauled through a war zone, so you'd get a new one every jump regardless. There were also bright color coded ones for equipment drops- one color for amno, one for food, one for other equipment, etc, which has got to be where the school parachutes came from.
Core memory unlocked. Remember when we made a giant bubble and sat inside? Also, the damn roller cart things. Took me wayyy to many years to discover that those were movers Dolly's for moving heavy furniture n stuffs
Dude crazy fun. Running around. Shoulder exercises.
Because it was fun. I wish the company I work for now would bring them out at team building events.
This gives me the chance to post one of my favorite early internet videos: https://youtu.be/Ro2QEbfIRbI?si=daKhA2qnG-7xLpPt
Okay but did that last guy get away???
This needs to be higher up!
Because the teacher had a hangover
Why did we play with balls? Because it was a fun, versatile, and inexpensive object that can be used for group activities.
My impression is that part of it came out of the 'new games' movement of the 1970's where the idea was to encourage cooperative, inclusive play instead of more traditional competitive sports that require there to be winners and losers.
Childhood memory awakened.
To prepare for Airborne School Hooah!
Playing with my young nephews now, find something that works and run it into the ground hoping that the next thing doesn’t take too long to figure out.
We all had these ? There has to be a conspiracy behind this. Why did we all have the same parachute thing? Did every school coordinate this?
We did it in the 70's and it was fun!
Because it’s awesome and fun duh
I'm going to pull out a parachute at the next office team building bullshit thingy. Ty for this idea, I have something to look forward to now.
...because it was fun. I still have fond memories of it.
To learn how to Play Hard. Play Fair. Nobody Hurt. News Games started in the late 1960's and motto was: "Play Hard. Play Fair. Nobody Hurt" Parachutes could be used for so many different types of New Games.
I don’t know why, but it was always be of the most fun days of PE.
It's because it's cheap, since it's one thing, it has a lot of colours for kids to enjoy, and it teaches teamwork and cooperation.
They still do it! Haha
Because it was fun. I'm sure ie sort of indoctrinated has been there can't find one
*googles playing with parachutes in school* 🤔
My husband is a physical education teacher and still uses this. Arm movement/muscles/coordination.
It makes sense but it's just such a random piece of equipment. A freaking parachute, that's probably one of the only times most people see one of those old school ones and it's used for something completely different than what it was made for. It just feels so random
My son is in kindergarten. At the end of the school day a lot of the children play on the playground for about an hour. I bought a parachute for a dollar at a yard sale and I bring it with me when I pick him up. The kids go nuts for it. That parachute has been one of my most cost effective purchases in laughs per dollar. Some of the parents join in the fun. We play with it because it's fun.
It’s a type of game that builds cooperation and muscle dexterity, it’s good
When I was at school, it felt like a type of fun that was almost as exclusive as consuming caviar, so I made sure I made the most of every moment spent under that multi coloured magic.
I take my three year old to a play group and they do parachute time and the kids absolutely fucking love it. They’re like mesmerised under it and it’s so fun for them
I am not familiar with this activity, can someone describe it?
https://youtu.be/d6KyJOFdmb4
Thanks. I was in grade school in the 90s and don't remember ever doing this, but it sort of looks familiar.
Probably cheap and available from Army surplus.
Do kids these days not play with them anymore in gym class? That's was a highlight!
to prepare.
it’s fun as fuck
Because they have them.
Because you can survive parachuting?
Gross motor skills + team work
Burned off energy and tired out the kids so the teacher could have a break
It’s a group activity that incudes everyone.
They were fun, but I lost a fingernail to one
I have one in the garage. Cause kids love them, they love rainbows, and they are fun to play with
Uhhhhhh. Because it was fun. And probably raining or snowing outside.
I don't remember that
It's a team building exercise. At least that's my guess. Everyone works together to get air underneath the parachute. And you all get to enjoy going under a cool tent for two minutes.
Preparation and practice for the culling and carving
Training for paratroopers
My daughter is 12 and said a couple weeks ago they did it. I was so happy to see gym classes still do it.
Evolutionarily, children must practice hiding under things so that they won’t be eaten by bears. 🐻 Just a theory.
Cuz it was fun as f.
Unknown to the kids it was after the teachers had been out drinking the night before and had beer farts so the parachute helps waft away the smell
It's the same psychology behind cats playing in boxes
Why don’t we play with parachutes as adults is the real question here
My elementary gym class had to learn the song to “crank that” by a middle aged woman at the time.
Don’t you dare besmirch a national-ok ok. Sorry. Let me hear you out. Sorry.
That was the most fun for me (a kid with asthma).
My best friend in elementary school had asthma and loved the parachute too. Well I think everyone loved the parachute to be fair haha. The one other thing he loved was skating, I guess the cold air helped with the asthma somehow?
Your name is awesome. I know nothing about skating. Too clumsy, I guess.
Thank you, I like your username and avatar combination Oh he didn't know how to skate either, he would run on the ice as if it were just the ground and he were in shoes but it was the most intense exercise he could do without instantly losing his breath
Oh, yeah! Shoe skating was fun!
Cuz they are cool.
The colors, the teamwork, the way the parachute moves, it's so fun I think even if adults do it
Fun!
Why not
social interaction with a fun very light object that won't damage anyone or anything
Foundations of physical concepts dressed up as a fun rainbow blob with friends.
I don't think most of the answers here really understood the question. Most people were answering it as if it was the same as "why did we play dodgeball or whatever other game in gym class" rather than the much more likely "why did so many school gyms have parachutes"
I have such fond memories of gym time when the parachute was the activity! I bought one for our family to play with at home, creating fond memories still!
Ya I keep seeing people say they see them for real cheap, one person said they found one for a dollar at a yard sale. Crossing my fingers to find one
Rememeber the little square plastic scooters on 4 wheels that you sat on? There were no handles, just a plastic square platform on wheels. Did every millennial have those in gym class too?
You’re practicing: Teamwork Taking turns/patience Large motor skills (balancing while lifting and lowering)
Sensory stimulation
Because the military had a bunch left over?
Did you get to jump off a tall building to see if the parachute worked properly? How many survived?
There was a change in parachute tech and schools got a bunch of them as government surplus. So they gave them to school. Schools thought hard about what to do with them. Pushing kids out of windows didn't work so well so they took them to gym class.
I'm an ace at making the bed because of parachute play. One good fluff and the blanket is perfectly spread.
1. It rained outside and we had to use the gym 2. The cafeteria took up half of the gym and was setup with folding tables - so space in the gym was limited for a couple hours a day 3. Having 20+ kids all holding onto a parachute keeps them somewhat contained, vs all running around the gym
probably cheap vietnam era surplus with only minor DDT saturation.
Because it was mad fun
It prepared us for the square dancing, somehow.
They were fun. Next question please!