Circus Theme

There are online circus activities on this page (balloon and clowns).

Circus Day is May 19th

Art History
Alice Neel: Circus Coloring Page @ EnchantedLearning
Alice Neel Painting - The Circus

Balloon
Books

Balloon Craft
Make a big circle.  Have the child decorate his/her balloon using crayons, markers, etc.

Balloons for the wall or bulletin board
For the home or classroom, make a lot of balloons.  I used an oatmeal container and traced around it and added a little tiny circle on the bottom of the balloon.  I hole punched that part and tied a piece of yarn on it.  I then wrote the word for different colors in English and Spanish in each balloon.  On the top of a creme color balloon, I wrote  The COLORS a line and Los COLORES.  I did the same for each color of balloon: Purple - Morado, Sky Blue - Celeste, White - Blanco, Black - Negro,  Green - Verde, Pink - Rosada, Gray - Gris, Yellow - Amarillo, Red - Rojo, Orange,  Anaranjado, Brown - Marrón, Blue - Azul.

GAMES
To accompany these balloons, I created this game.

Balloon Game
Take a dozen sized egg carton and glue a small circle for each color.  Have the child toss into the egg carton a pom-pom, coin, etc. into it.  Have the child say the color in English and/or Spanish that it lands in.

Blowing Up a Balloon
Have the children hold their two hands in a circle in front of their mouths.  Have them pretend they are blowing air out of their mouths as if they are blowing up a balloon.  At the same time, have the children spread out their hands, making the circle bigger and bigger.  When you say, “Pop,” all the children release hands and fall down, or the balloon can lose its air instead of popping.  Have the children continue holding their hands and make the circle smaller and smaller.  Have the children make hissing sound as the air goes out of the balloon.

Balloon-pingpong Relay
Balloon Battle
Balloon Hot Potato

See online activities.

Balloon Car Builder Download Game @ ZOOM

Printables
All God's Children - Coloring Book (balloons)
Balloon Name Tags (or patterns) @ Land Far Away
Balloon Shapes (with a clown) @ Bry-Back Manor
Square, oval, triangle, and circle shaped balloons.
FreeWorksheets.com - Counting Balloons

Clown
Clown Craft
Before hand: Take a floppy paper dinner sized paper plate and cut the edge part to leave a circle (or trace an oatmeal container). Make a hat in a shape of a triangle that is about 3 x4 1/2 inches (depending on the size of the cut paper plate).  For the pants pattern: fold a 12x9 inch piece of construction paper in half lengthwise, cut off 1 1/2 inches (a total of 3 inches off the paper), and cut of the rest to make it rounded for the bottom of the pants.  For the shirt pattern: fold the 12x9 inch piece of construction paper in half the short way, cut it from the middle of the top of the paper to 3/4 inch from the edge.  Make enough for the number of children you have for the head, hat, shirt, and pants of the clown.  Glue the shirt over the pants.

Fold two pieces of construction paper lengthwise (have the child choose his/her colors). Have the child (or yourself) trace the child's hand & part of the wrist and foot (shoe off) onto the folded papers.  Cut out the hands and feet.  Staple the head over the top of the shirt.  Staple or glue the hands on the side and the feet onto the bottom of the clown.  Have the child make a face and decorate the clothes of the clown.