Stationary Elementary Music Parachute Activities

I've been inspired by my self-contained elementary music classes to incorporate more seated/ stationary movement activities this year and one of my new favorite ways to do that has been with a parachute! I bought a parachute for my classroom a couple of years ago and was always too intimidated to actually pull it out, but these seated activities have turned me into a believer. Here are my favorite parachute songs that students can do sitting down, including activities appropriate for a wide range of ages from preschool up through middle school.

Besides being easier to manage, stationary parachute activities are also perfect for students with mobility difficulties, small classroom spaces, and to use when students have less physical energy like after recess or PE class, so these are really versatile for a lot of situations.

PK-2nd grade: Shake, Shake, Shake

This song by Nancy Kopman is specifically written for use with a parachute, so it's a great first activity to try with the parachute! The words make it pretty obvious what to do with the parachute, and there are some little surprising pauses in the music that students have to listen for to stay with the song which makes it more exciting! My younger students love this one and it was a great introduction to using the parachute and some basic moves that everyone can pick up quickly.

PK-3rd grade: The Rain Falls Down

I used this song by Stephanie Leavell when I was first starting to use my parachute in class and it worked great! This song is a great way to help everyone get used to using the parachute correctly and it's also just a lovely activity for calming everyone down while reinforcing beat, long notes, and phrasing. I use the same simple, repetitive movement pattern through the entire song: bring the parachute down for 4 beats, up for 4 beats, then sway back and forth (with arms up) every 2 beats for 8 beats, then repeat. I have everyone do the half note sway in the introduction so that we start with the parachute up to begin with the first downward move when the first verse begins.

1st-6th grade: Azizam (Persian version) 

This was one of the most popular songs from my Music In Our Schools Month multilingual song bracket this year (I made a last-minute swap with another song when I found it online) so I decided to use it as a movement activity to introduce form as well! For the chorus we shake the parachute near the floor to create "waves", and for the verses we sway back and forth on the beat while holding the parachute near our laps. It sounds simple but it was a great way to reinforce the A and B contrasting sections and practice some new moves with the parachute- swaying in a circle and getting everyone going back and forth in the same direction is tricky at first, but cool once they get the hang of it! And of course I love that this version of Ed Sheeran's song features more of the Farsi language and Iranian musicians!

I was so much less intimidated by the idea of using a parachute once I realized how much we could do seated in a circle instead of standing/ walking around! If you're just getting started using a parachute in elementary music class, I highly recommend starting with everyone seated first and then you can always add in locomotor movement later. 

Movement props are such a fun way to mix things up while reinforcing musical concepts! You can see my favorite activities for the stretchy band in this post, and some of my favorite scarf songs for each of the 4 seasons in this post for more movement prop ideas! Do you have other favorite seated parachute activities for elementary music lessons? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!

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Scarf Songs for Every Season

I love using a simple movement prop to spark students' imagination when they are responding to music, and there is no simpler movement prop than scarves! I also love incorporating seasonal material when it fits well with the concepts we're working on, especially with my youngest students, so I've found some wonderful scarf songs for all four seasons that have been a hit with my early childhood and Kindergarten classes over the years. 

The nice thing about each of these is that the scarf movements for each one are pretty self-explanatory if you listen to the lyrics. One of the hardest things about teaching younger grades is how much material you need in each lesson to match their short attention spans! So I admit when I find new songs I often play the recording in class and just follow along with my scarf with the students until I learn it, then I'll switch to singing it myself (and eventually having the students sing with me of course). 

1. Fall: Blowing in the Wind

Technically this song is about the wind so I suppose you could use it in winter or spring as well, but for some reason I always find it fits so nicely with my other fall leaf songs. This is definitely my top favorite scarf song of all time!

2. Winter: Winter Scarf Song

My students love this one because of all the snow references! I am always amazed at how much students will ask to sing this song over and over again.

3. Spring: A Little Seed

The thing I love best about this song is that you can do it together as a class, but you can also use it to sing to each child individually and have them reveal their scarf "flower" at the end of the song to put it back in the container as a way to make the cleanup process go a little more smoothly.

4. Summer: Popcorn Kernels

I think I associate popcorn with summer because that's the only time I have time to watch movies? In any case I like to throw this one in at the end after we've done a longer movement activity with the scarves before we put them away.

I hope this gives you some fresh material to use with your younger students any time of year! What are your other favorite seasonal scarf songs to use with your students? I'd love to hear your favorites in the comments.

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Dance Playlist 2026

I love finding upbeat, school-appropriate, modern songs to use in my music classes for dance parties, slideshows, field day, and general merriment, and these last few years it has felt especially important to share with all the stress and negativity we're all dealing with. Here are my new picks for this year- be sure to check out my posts from previous years to find more awesome music my students and I love linked at the end of this post! I just keep a running list and add to it every year. The old ones don't seem to get old but it's fun to add some fresh material each spring :)

This year, along with some iconic movie songs and a few other random songs I've found along the way, I'm also add some songs from the 2026 MIOSM song bracket because my students loved them during the month of March and have been excited to hear them again! Don't miss the playlist at the end of the post that includes these songs plus all of my picks from previous years put together. Now that we're on year 11 there is a lot of great material all in one place!

To make it easier to find all my dance party playlist songs in one place, I've put together a YouTube playlist with all of the songs from all of my previous year's lists including this one! Here's the link to the playlist.

If you've missed my playlists from previous years you can see those posts below! Happy dancing :)

Dance Playlist 2025

Dance Playlist 2024

Dance Playlist 2023

Dance Playlist 2022

Dance Playlist 2021

Dance Playlist 2020

Dance Playlist 2019

Dance Playlist 2018

Dance Playlist 2017

Dance Playlist 2016

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End of the School Year Elementary Music Lessons

In some ways the end of the school year is the toughest time to lesson plan. Special events make class schedules inconsistent and unpredictable, time is running out to make sure students have learned everything they were supposed to in that grade level, student attention is difficult to maintain, and with our own concerts and programs to prepare our brains are fried as music teachers as well! Whether you need something to make it through the last 30 minutes without anyone getting hurt, lesson activities that effectively solidify and review important concepts at the end of the school year, or longer units to keep students engaged with all the chaos that the end of the school year brings, you'll find my most effective lesson plans for the end of the school year compiled here for every situation.

Review games for every grade for practically any skill or concept:

Units to help contextualize and review concepts with any grade while keeping students engaged:

My top individual lesson ideas for any grade level for the end of the school year:

Upper elementary rhythm/ expressive vocabulary review:

Multiple lower elementary/ early childhood activities to practice form/ rhythm:

Upbeat, school-appropriate (without censoring) music to use in class or school events:

Lessons to use with any grade that require little to no prep and little effort to run:

One-off lessons to use when your schedule is whacky:

Practical tips for having a "music party" or free choice day without it dissolving into chaos:

Simple ways to add a summer theme to your lessons for any grade level:

I hope this helps take some of the pressure off of lesson planning to finish the school year strong! Save these ideas somewhere so the next time you find yourself with no idea what to teach you can easily pull these out. I promise they are classroom-tested and student-approved, and have always impressed administrators with how much students are still engaged and learning down to the last minute! If you want all the plans and materials for a full year of engaging, effective lessons, here is my full curriculum set.

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