Exercises on the Circus

Create an act: Have the children create an act from the list they have made or try to think up a new act. They can draw a picture of it, discuss it or write about it.

Circus act mime game: Divide the children into teams. One member of each team mimes a circus act. The first team to say the act wins a point. Which team can get the most points?

Circus food: Part of the fun of going to the circus is eating. What foods do the children associate with the circus? Which is their favourite? Talk about how these foods are made and if possible even try a few of them.

Arts and Crafts

Clown Make-up: If you look at a clown’s face you may notice that they are all individual.  This is a clown’s trademark and there is a very old tradition of clowns painting their face onto a blown egg to register their make-up.  The latest collection of these are painted onto china eggs and are on display at The Clown’s gallery in London.  Have the children paint their own blown egg (or hard boiled for smaller children), and decorate it with felt tips, wool, coloured paper etc.

Advertising the circus: Have the children discuss ways to advertise the circus, and other ways to attract audiences.  Design a circus poster and circus flyers advertising Happy’s Circus.

Geography

In this lesson, children will learn about, geography and what makes different cities special. Learn how physical, human, social, cultural and economic processes shape the features of places and identify elements that make Towns unique.  They will have an opportunity to bring mapping skills to life by locating circus destinations and major towns and cities.

Ask the children to pretend they are travelling with Happy’s Circus and choose a Town on the tour.

• Research what makes the Town unique—e.g., it’s cultural attractions, products, prominent architecture, landmarks, weather, etc. What would they like or dislike about the town.
• Have the children imagine they have a Circus and choose a park for it to stand.  Why would it be a good place? (Lots of people can see the circus, a busy park, easy to get vehicles on and off etc).
• Work out directions from one town to another.  How will Happy’s Circus get there? What roads will they have to take to come from the school before?  Which road would you take when you leave?
• Find all the Towns Happy’s Circus is visiting this year and plot them on a map.
• Try to work out how many miles Happy’s Circus will travel in a week, month or season.
• What things would you have to find in a new town?  (Laundrette, supermarket etc).

English   

Discussion: Have the children been to a circus before? 

What part of the circus do the children enjoy most?

Why do so many people enjoy the circus?

Talk about and make a list of acts they have seen at the circus and identify skills that are involved in each.

Where else can you see clowns perform?

Circus language: The circus has its own special language. Have the children use some of these words in their other circus activities.

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