Once Upon A Book: Circus

 

Circus by Lois Ehlert 

Summary:  Simple text and brilliantly colored cut-paper illustrations take children into a big top of circus excitement starring leaping lizards, marching snakes, whistling parrots, and the tumbling Zucchini Brothers.

 

Circus Puppet Show: Jonah used our Portable Puppet Theater and finger puppets to perform his own circus show. I pulled some appropriate animals and people puppets from my favorite finger puppet sets (purchased at Ikea, but I found them on Amazon)

We had a Dancing Bear, Trapeze girl, Ringmaster/Lion Tamer, Lion, Juggling Monkey, Dumbo the Elephant, and a Clown dressed up like a Fireman (remember the scene from the Disney movie, Dumbo?)

 

 

Clown Craft: We made a clown using a paper plate and construction paper. I traced Jonah's hands for the clown hair. I cut simple shapes for the clown features. Jonah decorated the clown hat. If you have a red balloon, you could blow it up slightly, cut a slit in the plate, and place the balloon through the hole. We didn't have any balloons and we used what we had on hand instead.

 

 

 

Clown Noses: While we were making our craft, I cut a nose for Jonah to wear out of our paper  scraps. He loved it and wore it the rest of the morning! It really is the simple things that give them the most joy!

 

Other Activities: We used the Circus Early Learning Pack from Homeschool Creations for the bulk of our learning activities. (We've had a new baby join our family recently and the printable resources were mommy's sanity saver!)

 

 

Snack: Popcorn & a Movie! I remembered that I had a popcorn holder that looked like the ones at the circus and Jonah thought it was extra special. We watched Dumbo while we enjoyed our popcorn.

While I always have the grandest of plans for themes, our simple Circus activities reminded me that it isn't always the grand plans that are the most fun. Jonah loved the silly noses (Mommy wore one, too!) and snuggling on the couch while watching a movie the most. Here's to hoping you find some snuggle time and laughter with your little ones, too!

 

Once Upon a Book ~ If I Ran the Circus

If I Ran the Circus

by Dr. Seuss

Summary:  Be prepared for a very busy book, filled with rhyme and unfamiliar words – behind Sneelock’s Store in the big vacant lot.

Bible Verse:  But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. (1 Corinthians 14:40)

I think this book could be a beautiful snuggle up book, if YOU {the adult} are willing to practice and capture the cadence of this elaborate children’s book BEFORE you read it to your children.  If you prepare I think you will find your children sitting beside you, as if trapped by your voice and swiftly juggling their impressions as you turn the animated pages.   But if you do not make preparation . . . you just mind end up like me. 

Initially, not so happy that you purchased the book.  I’m just being honest.  That is what you have come to expect from me.

I first read it to Naomi.  Over lunch.

She was delighted until her food ran out. 

Later, I read it again.  I still need to read it a few more times, so that it flows like poetry . . . like all of the other Dr. Seuss books that I dearly love. 

Perhaps If I Ran the Circus reminds me a little too much of my own life.  Four children and a dog that might as well be a fifth child.  Our house is loud. 

There are stunts being performed daily . . . sometimes imaginary . . . sometimes dangerous.

And when I think about the circus . . . is it peaceful . . . quiet . . . relaxed and serene?

Let me yell with a clanging symbol, NOOOOOO!!!

So, let me give you a piece of advice.  Don’t box this book in.  This is a book that is meant to be acted upon.  Lived.  Shouted.

Here are my suggestions for you to make If I Ran the Circus multisensory for you and your littles:

• Make a tent out of blankets.  Gather all your animal figurines.  Create circles out of paper for the animals to perform on.  Be sure to use some Tupperware for stunts or for the elephant to stand on!

• Create and decorate megaphones.
• Blow up balloons.  Practice juggling, or keeping the balloon in on top of your finger while walking.

• Pretend you are one of the circus animals, like and elephant.  Sing this song,

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)

• Place a jump rope on the ground or draw a line with chalk, and have your child walk on top of it, as if an acrobat.  If you have an open area, have them hold a baton or broom to balance.
• Make popcorn!
• Find a swing set and play!  Pretend it is the circus!

 

• And lastly, find some cymbals.  Finish your circus with some loud clanging!

 

Just don’t come over to my house!  Just kidding.  Kind of.

Want to see what's coming next (and books we've done in the past)? Click here to see our Once Upon a Book webpage!

Mommy Made Printables ~ Circus

We are excited to share some Circus printables for you to use with your tots as you explore together!

Circus Early Learning Pack {from Homeschool Creations}

Circus Tot Pack {from Confessions of a Homescooler}

Do you have any free Circus printables YOU have created {and share}? If so, leave a link to your blog post in the comments below!

Circus Shapes ~ Once Upon a Book

Circus Shapes

by Stuart J. Murphy

Summary: Learn your shapes while reading about a fun circus performance!

Bible Verse: “Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” Psalm 32:11

We had lots of circus fun this week chock full of lots of fun learning activities!

Do-A-Dot Pages: As always the boys loved using the do-a-dot pages. We used a magnetic cookie sheet and our homemade magnetic puff ball magnets along with the Circus Themed Do-A-Dot Pages from DLTK

Sorting: We used the People/Animals & Food sorting activity from the Homeschool Creations Circus Preschool Pack. I added a little spin to it by using our Education Cubes. I printed two copies of the cards. One set was used to sort and the other set was glued to the blank insert cards in our Education Cubes. The took turns rolling the cube, finding the matching person/animal/food, and then placing it in the correct group.

Tracing: The boys traced the Big Top Tracing Page from KidSparz with a marker. Afterwards the colored it in with crayons.

Puzzle: The boys LOVED putting together the Circus Math Puzzle from Homeschool Creations.

Counting: The boys practiced their counting a number recognition using another printable from the Circus Preschool Pack. I wrote a number and helped the boys identify it. They they had to make the monkey juggle the corresponding number of puff ball magnets.

Coloring: I printed the Clown Coloring Pages from DLTK for the boys!

Big Top Craft: The boys loved making our big top circus tent craft! The got a bit of practice patterning as they colored the tent alternating red and white.

Position Words: We used our circus tent along with the cards from our sorting activity above to work on positional words. For example, I told the boys to find a person and put him inside the tent. Find a food item and put it in front of the tent. Find an animal and put it beside the tent, etc.

Pre-writing: I placed the circus pre-writing page from the Circus Preschool Pack in a page protector. My boys took turns using a dry erase marker to practice their pre-writing skills.

Pattern Blocks: The boys enjoyed using their pattern blocks along with the pattern cards which included a clown pattern!

Shapes: The boys located and traced the shapes from the circus shapes page from the Circus Preschool Pack.

Matching: We pulled out our Bambino LUK and played a circus matching game for some independent learning time! (You can read my review about it here.)

 

Painting: I found a cute little circus themed painting set from Michaels. The boys loved it! They used q-tips (cotton swabs), water, and the dry paint on the page to paint their circus picture.

Want to see what's coming next (and books we've done in the past)? Click here to see our Once Upon a Book webpage!

Once Upon A Book ~ Curious George at the Circus

 

 Curious George’s First Words at the Circus By H.A. Rey

Book Summary: This is a cute little book about Curious George and all of the animals and things he encounters on his trip to the circus!

Bible Verse: “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” 1 Timothy 4:4

Pre-Math Skills:

Silhouette Match Up: This game is easy and fun! Simply cut out the colorful clowns and then let your toddler match them to the “shadows”.

Clown Counting:  For the Clown Counting activity, I only gave her numbers 1-5 to add on to the board. She counted the clowns and then I would point to the correct number for her. Until she took away my pointer that is…

Elephant Ball Game: The idea of this game is to match the correct colored ball to the elephant based on his ruffled scarf. The Teeny Tot did great and was able to complete this game sans mom.

Number Order Puzzle: Since the whole number recognition isn’t there quite yet for most toddlers, I helped her with this game. I actually had the pieces in order for her, then she grabbed each one and we counted and she placed it. She was very proud of herself for completing the puzzle!

Pattern Activity: You may have to help your toddler with the pattern activity as it’s a more difficult skill. I talked her through each line and she grabbed the correct piece as I was talking.

 

Letter Recognition

Magnet Activity: The Teeny Tot loves the magnet activity! She does a great job at matching up one magnet per circle, and has started to count her magnets as she places each one.

Popcorn Letter Match: For this game, I cut out the matching popcorn pieces then told her which letter to grab. I instructed the Teeny Tot to match it to the same letter on the game board. She knew the letter O and P, the rest I had to tell her what they were but she was able to match them to the appropriate one on the game board.

 

Fine Motor Skills

Pre-Writing Skills: The Teeny Tot loves anything having to do dry-erase markers, so this one is a favorite. She rotates between tracing the item, I can tell she’s trying to stay on the line, and actually trying to ‘color’ in the line.

 

Do-A-Dot Color Page: Her next absolute favorite things are the Do-A-Dot markers! She loves those things. I do try to be careful with them though because if she gets too excited and really stamps hard the ink will kind of ‘squirt’ out all over my nice white table. And we can’t have that now can we… ;o)

Lacing Activity: For this activity, simply rough cut around the whole image, then hole punch about every 1”. Use a long string, or shoelace to lace through the holes.

Scissor Skills: Scissor skills are a great skill to work on. They work dexterity, but also hand-eye coordination at the same time! Just keep practicing with this one, making sure that your toddler is holding their scissors correctly and eventually they’ll get it!

Letter C Do-A-Dot: And just for fun, we brought out the Letter C Do-A-Dot page for her. Like I said she loves these markers, so was totally fine using them again.

Here’s a peek at the pack so you can see all of the activities included:

--> Click here to download the full Circus Tot Pack <--

Want to see what's coming next (and books we've done in the past)? Click here to see our Once Upon a Book webpage!