Preschoolers Learn About the Circus
February 18, 2010
During these cold wintery months, many of us do not get as much exercise as we need to maintain a healthy balance in our lives. For preschool children the lack of large motor exercise can make classroom time and group circle time activities difficult. The circus unit gives us opportunities to jump, hop, walk on balance beams, turn somersaults, ride tricycles, and other large motor activities, all within the context of indoor play. It gives the preschoolers an opportunity to learn a little about what a performer’s life style might be and a chance to increase their vocabulary. Using a combination of books and Safari Montage video clips, we learn about acrobats, trapeze artists, clowns, strong men, bareback horse riders, and many other circus performers. As the children learn about these different circus acts we provide the props to allow them to recreate the acts in pretend play.
The preschool culminating activity for this unit is a performance for their fifth grade reading buddies. This gives them a chance to take their pretend play one step further with a safe audience full of people they have been getting to know all year. Our performance is mostly improvisation letting student’s perform what they feel comfortable with. The children did a wonderful job of stepping up to the plate to deliver a fun performance for their very wonderful and attentive fifth grade audience.
