Circus

This is what I did at my circus preschool storytime.

OPENING SONG: Clap Your Hands from the Miss Anna's Music Class Volume II CD by Anna Stange

I asked if any of the kids had ever been to the circus.  Then I talked about the different things they might see at the circus.

BOOK: Circus by Lois Ehlert
(This is a colorful book.  I think the pictures were too abstract for the kids or maybe I should have shortened the portion I read to the kids.  Some of them got restless and it was a distraction for the rest of the kids.)

FLANNEL BOARD STORY: Clancy the Clown (from the storytime box)
(This was a really fun story.  The kids interacted by calling out the color and shape of the nose that was wrong.  I loved this and will use it again!)

Clancy was a clown in a circus.  Every day he put on a funny face that made the children clap and laugh.  Then he did somersaults and rode a pig.  Clancy blew a trumpet and that made the children clap and laugh too.

One day Clancy went to put on his funny face.  He put on his silly eyes (place eyes).  He put on his happy mouth (place mouth).  He put on his crazy hair (place hair).  But Clancy Clown couldn't find his funny nose.

"I know my nose", said Clancy.  "My nose is round and red.  Where is my funny nose?"

Clancy found a nose and put it on.  (put on a blue square nose) Something wasn't quite right.  Was this Clancy's nose? (let kids respond) Clancy said, "this is not my nose and he took it off." (The kids screamed NO.  Then I had them tell me why it wasn't his nose.  They called out the shape and color.)

Clancy found another nose and put it on. (put on a green triangle nose) Something wasn't right with this one either.  Was this Clancy's nose? (let the kids respond) Clancy said, "this is not my nose and he took it off." (the kids screamed NO. Then I had them tell me why this wasn't his nose. They called out the shape and color.  They really started to laugh at this point.  I was amazed by how much they know about shapes and they were able to explain why it wasn't the right nose.)

Clancy found another nose and put it on. (put on a big yellow circle)  Something didn't look right.  Was this Clancy's nose?  (children respond) Clancy said, "this is not my nose and he took it off".

Clancy found another nose and put it on. (put on a tiny purple circle).  Something wasn't right with this one either.  Was this Clancy's nose? (children respond) Clancy said, "this is not my nose and he took it off".

Clancy found another nose and put it on. (put on a yellow star).  Something didn't look right.  Was this Clancy's nose?  (children respond) Clancy said, "this is not my nose and he took it off."

Clancy put on another nose. (a large orance circle). It looked almost right but not quite. Was this Clancy's nose? (children respond) Clancy said, "this is not my nose and he took it off".

Then Clancy put on the last nose (put on the large red circle).  Was this Clancy's nose?  (they all scream YES.) Yes it was red and it was round like a circle. This was Clancy's funny clown nose.

Clancy Clown went out to turn somersaults and ride a pig and blow his trumpet so the children would clap and laugh.

ACTION SONG: The Dance Along Gong Song from Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem CD
(I talked to the kids about clowns at the circus. Then I explained that clowns make people laugh and we are going to pretend to be clowns. We will dance around and make silly faces and then every time we hear the "gong" sound in the song we will freeze. They seemed to really enjoy this. They danceed and giggled and wiggled and froze. I've noticed that kids love freezing during a song.)

BOOK: Little Monkey Says Goodnight by Ann Whitford Paul
(Cute book.  The kids quieted down and listened.  I just wish the pictures were brighter and easier to see.  Nice story that held their interest.)

ACTIVITY: Swing, Swing
(I got this idea from http://www.preschooleducation.com/szoo.shtml and I just changed the ending a little bit.  I asked the kids if they had ever played ring around the rosie.  They said yes so I told them to hold hands and helped them to get in a circle.  I explained we were going to be monkeys and swing are arms like a tail.  I had them practice and then we went through the fingerplay twice.  Then I experimented and had them move around in a circle.  It was hilarious.  That part got all messed up.  They didn't know what they were doing and the kids got all smooshed together and it was more like a pretzel.  They had fun though!)

Little monkeys swinging in the tree,
all hold hands and swing with me.
swing up high and swing down low,
swing in the tree, now don't let go!
swing, swing, like I do.
Swing like monkeys at the circus do.
(swing arms back and forth while holding hands in a circle)

BOOK: Last Night I Dreamed a Circus by Maya Gottfried
(Nice and short.  Unique illustrations.  The kids were fairly attentive.)

ACTIVITY: Circus Extravaganza
I played the song Animal Parade from the Wee Sing Animals, Animals, Animals CD by Pamela Conn Beall
(I had the kids sit on the storytime rug while I quickly ran around and set up the activities.  I put out the tunnel from baby/toddler storytime, I had allready put a line of masking tape down on the carpet, I threw a hula hoop on the ground, and had a cardboard animal with an open mouth and bean bags for them to throw inside.  Then I explained the activity.  They were circus performers and when I turned on the music they were going to walk on the tightrope, jump in and out of the hoop, crawl through the tunnel and throw the bean bags into the lions mouth.  I showed them how to do it and then turned on the music.  The kids had a blast doing this and they didn't want it to end.  I played the song through twice.  Finally I had to tell them it was over.  The only problem was that we ended up with a traffic jam at the lion's mouth and the tunnel, but they didn't seem to care.  One of the mom's helped me keep traffic moving and that made a big difference!)

TAKE HOME:  Circus Elephant coloring page.

MUSIC CDs:
Miss Anna's Music Class Volume II CD by Anna Stange (Clap Your Hands)
Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem CD (The Dance Along Gong Song)
Wee Sing Animals, Animals, Animals by Pamela Conn Beall CD (Animal Parade)