Songs

 

1. Circus Show (tune: "are you sleeping”)

Elephants walking, elephants walking

See the clowns, funny clowns

Ponies with their riders, dogs doing tricks,

See the show, circus show

2. Circus Song (tune: "I've Been Working on the Railroad) 

I am walking through the circus (walk in place)

Happy as can be (smile real big)

I am walking through the circus (walk in place)

Just to see, what I can see (make binoculars with hands)

I can see the clown laughing (ha, ha, ha)

I can see the elephant, too (make trunk motion)

I can see the lion sleeping (yawn)

Look out (make binoculars with hands)... because he sees you too

3. The Circus

The trumpets blow, the bugles play,

The circus is coming to town today!

With a big elephant and a jolly old clown,

A really live circus is coming to town!

With lions and tigers and monkeys, too,

It's hard to believe that it's really true!

Oh, the animals roar, and they chatter and scream;

It seems like a wonderful magical dream.

4. Circus Elephant

A circus elephant I went to see (Hold hand over eyes like binoculars)

He had four legs and was bigger than me. (Hold up four fingers and then point to self)

He had two ears big and round (Show two fingers and make a circle with hands)

And one long nose that made a sound errrrr (Make elephant trunk with arm)

5. Lets All Go to the Circus Today

Sung to: (Mary Had A Little Lamb)

Let's all go to the circus today,

The circus today, the circus today,

Let's all go to the circus today

And watch the animals play.

See the lions jump through the hoops..At the circus today

See the big seals spinning balls..At the circus today

See the little dogs jump and twirl...At the circus today

 

 

 

 

Crafts

 

1. Circus Train

We made a circus train to decorate our classroom wall. Each child made one train car, then the cars were joined to form a long train. Begin by getting clean, *unused* Styrofoam meat trays from your grocer. Most will donate these. Next, have each child cut a wild animal picture from a magazine and glue it onto the tray. Cut small slits along the top and bottom of the tray, and provide the children with pieces of yarn. These can be stretch from top to bottom on the tray and will stay in place when the ends are tucked into the slits. These are your cage "bars". Add construction paper wheels to each train car and combine with a paper engine and caboose for a great wall display! On our train, I also added several passenger cars with photos of the children in clown make-up pasted into the windows!

2. Clowns

Cut out a circle and add features of a clown face. You may put on a red nose, silly mouth etc. Get creative. For the hair, have the children dip their hands in orange paint. Place their hands on both sides of the clowns head for hair.

3. Circus Elephant Masks

Use a paper plate for the mask. Cut out the eyes and a circle in the middle for the trunk which will be a toilet paper roll.  Have the children color or paint the plate and toilet paper roll grey.  Use a red piece of string for the mouth.  Attach a Popsicle stick to the side to hold onto your mask.

4. Clown Hat and Bowtie

Children decorate a half circle with bingo markers.  Fold into a cone and add a string so that it stays on the child's head.  Decorate a 12"x18" piece of construction paper with bingo markers.  Accordion fold, staple in the middle, and open up to form a bow.  Secure a pipe cleaner around the center of the bow. Attach a string to the pipe cleaner and put loosely around child.

5. Circus Banners

Like the triangular ones you can buy at the circus. Children can decorate with stickers, sequins, glitter, etc.

6. Circus Balloons

Cut out three circle shapes from construction paper. I let the children just decorate with odds and ends stickers I have left over. Attach a piece of yarn to the end.

7. Lion

Use various sized circle shapes to create a lion.  Use black, beige and brown construction paper.  (DLTK)

8. Big Top Tent

Print the template.  Cut out. Cut a slit in the middle and fold back the sides to make the tent entrance. Glue on to a larger piece of paper. Have the children decorate the tent however they wish. Add stickers for the animals. They can also draw a sun, clouds, etc. You can also cut a yellow triangle and add the child’s name and they can each glue it to their tent.

9. Circus Animal Parade

Need: Animal Crackers, cardboard, and paint

Directions: Glue animal crackers on cardboard and paint.

 

Circle Activities

 

1. One Elephant Went Out to Play

What to Do: Put the tightrope (rope) down in the center of the circle. Have the elephant (child) to stand on the rope. Children sing the following song: One elephant went out to play on a tightrope string one day. He had such enormous fun; He called for another elephant to come. (First line of the song and the next three lines increasing the number of elephants until each child has a turn. Then sing the following verse) 5 (Or the number of children) elephants went out to play on a tightrope string one day they had such enormous fun, but the tightrope broke and they all fell down!

2. Ring of Fire

I hang red streamers from the hoop. Let the children be lions and tigers jumping through the ring of fire. They really seem to like it.

3. Carl the Clown

My name, boys and girls, is Carl the Clown

I wear my hats all over town.

Each one has its own color name,

Which you can learn if you play my game.

On, here's a hat, and it is red

It fits so nicely on my head.

Now when I wear my hat of yellow,

I'm told I'm quite a dandy fellow.

I hope you like my hat of blue.

I'll put it on now, just for you.

My purple hat is just as good.

I'd wear it always if I could.

I wear a white hat on a sunny day.

It looks quite nice, my friends all say.

I put on my green hat to visit the park,

But I take it off when it gets dark.

And when it's dark, I put on brown

This hat is for a sleepy clown.

(Make a clown face and have the different colored hats to put on as said.)

4. Under the big top

Under the Big Top, what will I see?

Look there's Dog smiling at me.

Behind the Dog, what will I see?

Look there's a bear dancing for me.

Behind the bear, what will I see?

Look a wild Tiger is roaring at me.

Behind the Tiger, what will I see?

A little seal doing tricks for me.

Use stuffed animals to go with the story.

5. Five Big Elephants

Five big elephants - oh, what a sight,

Swinging their trunks from left to right!

Four are followers, and one is the king.

They all walk around in the circus ring.

(To pantomime, the children crouch over and clasp their hands, then move arms

left and right as they walk. Choose four children to be elephants who follow

one chosen to be king. The 'elephants' walk around the room several times as

the rhyme is recited.)

6. Circus Acts: 

Ringmaster - introduces the acts.

Prancing Horses - high stepping around the ring. 

Horses - put a doll on their backs and they have to keep inside a masking tape track - how do they have to move to keep the doll in place.

Circus Elephants - walking in line (tails to trunks), moving very slowly.

Tightrope Walkers - arms out at side as they balance along a masking tape line on floor - Acrobats - forward and backward rolls, cartwheels, split etc.

Clowns - do clown like actions: running, jumping, falling, and tripping over pretend objects.

Lions and Tigers - jumping or stepping through hoops, prowling around the cage.

7. Circus Words

Name circus words to the children and show them pictures of each word. (Ringmaster, elephants, clowns, popcorn, horses, tightrope, circus tent, lions, tigers, dogs, tricks)

8.  Juggling

Have the children juggle with one ball. (throw up and catch) If they master that; see if they can do two.

9. Circus Animal Day

Invite each child to bring in a stuffed animal.

 

Stories

 

1. Morris and Boris at the Circus by B. Wiseman

Morris and Boris go to the circus as spectators and end up being part of the action.

2. Oliver by Syd Hoff

Oliver the elephant looks elsewhere for employment after learning that the circus already has enough elephants.

3 .Circus Numbers by Rodney Peppe'

The performers in the circus ring increase in number from one to ten.

4. Circus by Lois Ehlert

Leaping lizards, marching snakes, a bear on the high wire, and others perform in a somewhat unusual circus.

5. Henrietta Saves the Show by Coby Hol

A little pony who lives on a farm is called on in an emergency to perform in the circus.

6. Disney babies at the big circus: a book about opposites by Walt Disney Company When the Disney babies visit the circus, they see several opposites in action, including "little" and "big," "over" and "under," and "up" and "down."

7. Babar’s Little Circus Star by Laurent De Brunhoff

Step right up! Don’t be late! The circus is in town.  Here come the clowns.  Here comes the hippo.  And here is Isabelle.  What is Barbar’s little girl doing in the circus? Find out in this funny story.

8. Clifford at the circus by Norman Bridwell

The circus was in town but needed help to continue the show.  See how Clifford helps out the circus show and saves the show at the end.

9. Little monkey says good night by Ann Whitford Paul

When Little Monkey says good night to the performers in the big top tent, he creates a circus act of his own.

10. Star of the circus by Michael & Mary Beth Sampson

Each circus animal is pushed off the stage by a bigger animal until they learn that they all are stars in the circus.

 

General Activities

 

1. Circus Day

We had a circus day, and painted the children's faces, they made cone shaped hats, by wrapping a large piece of decorated paper into a cone and fastening with staples or tape. Then we made clown noses out of egg carton cups, painted red, and held on with sewing elastic thread. We then made popcorn for snack. It was great fun!

2. Balloon Fun

Blow up some balloons and let the children play with them.

3. Dressing Up

Provide big shoes, large shirts and overalls, red noses, wigs.

4. Create a Big Top

Use a colorful piece of cardboard to create a 6” wide and 8” long cylinder, tape strips of crepe paper to the inside, and hang it from the ceiling to create an “Under the Big Top” atmosphere in a corner of your classroom.

5. Ticket Booth

Outside the circus tent, create a ticket booth by using a table with a sign that says “Circus Tickets.” In the circus ticket desk have tickets and play money with a cash register so children can take turns being the “sellers” and the “buyers.”

6. Circus Caretakers

Invite the children to use the stuffed animals and pretend that they are circus caretakers. At the animal care station there can be combs, brushes, and pretend animal treats that animal trainers use to reward their performing partners.

8. Circus Performing Skills

Have the children practice tight rope walking by taping a piece of tape to the floor, give soft balls for juggling and have Hoola hoops for jumping through themselves or their stuffed animals.