The Circus Came to the OC! - Teacher Sheri

Ladies and gentlemen, step right up and see what we were up to this week! We had a lot of fun with our circus theme and it really got us in a festive mood for our upcoming ice cream social.

The main attraction this week was cloud dough! A mixture of baby oil and flour, this dough is just perfect for making into ice cream cones with sprinkles, of course. There was lots of ice cream making and pretend eating this week!

A circus wouldn't be complete without popcorn and our texture table was filled with cotton ball "popcorn", popcorn bags, and paper "butter."

Moving right over to the light table, the children found delight in squishing the water beads and liquid watercolor inside the bags. These sensory color bags are a fun way to explore color and texture. All the water beads were squished into a jam-like consistency by the end of the week. ;)

There were plentiful building opportunities at the table with clowns and rings that could be stacked and built to the sides or up high.

Our circus tent was filled most days with kids and everything you could imagine dragged in there with them - plastic food, dress up clothes, toys. This is imaginative play at its best!

All week, the kids stayed busy at Creation Station....

...and played inside....

...and outside!

On Monday, the kids carefully watercolor painted their observational sunflower drawings. They are unique and beautiful and bring a splash of happy color to our wall.

Our other parent led activity was equally interesting. Locked cages with plastic animals inside needed to be unlocked by finding the matching key (with dots to count) to the lock (with the actual number on it). This was a wonderful exercise in identifying numbers, one to one counting, and fine motor skill building.

The kids blew paint bubbles on Wednesday and made some awesome bubble prints! They blew through a straw into a cup filled with paint, water, and dishwashing liquid. Once the frothy bubbles rose above the edge of the cup, the kids placed a piece of paper over the bubbles and made a print.

At our other activity table, the kids were invited to play a game called Glee Ring Circus. They used a clown stick to pick up different colored rings and it was a fun way to work on patterning.

On Friday, we set up a circus obstacle course outside, featuring a balance beam, scooters, tunnel, hopscotch, and ball hoppers. It was a beautiful sunny day to get outside and move their bodies.

Inside, the kids designed their own paper plate clowns with puff balls, buttons, raffia, and big red mouths. They each had their own take on a silly face!

We continue sharing Summer Memory journals and the children really enjoy getting their opportunity to do this.

We read some fun books this week, including Goodnight Gorilla, with the lights off! Also, Put Me in the Zoo was a favorite, which involved the kids each getting to put a dot on the dog. They enjoyed re-enacting this one on the flannel board!

We also did music, movement, and animal yoga.

We absolutely loved this week with your sweet children and we look forward to next week doing a little more circus and some activities involving elephants and tigers!

Warmly, 

Sheri and Lisa