Welcome to our “Circus Week” – an at home camp filled with days of relaxed learning and fun activities all themed to the oh-so-fun circuses and carnivals! After all, what better way to get them to keep learning than to pick a theme they already think is fun!
For this day, we turned our attention to the art of Tightrope Walking or Funambulism! We dove a bit deeper into the history of tightrope walking, famous tightrope walkers, and how to keep balance on a tightrope!. Read on to check out a fun filled day of learning, reading, crafts, and activities all on tightrope walking!
A TYPICAL DAY
All kids are different and you can definitely vary your day with whatever works for you 🙂 Our relaxed & learning fun day kicks off with an introduction to the day’s theme. Then, we move onto videos and themed activities (reading, writing – or story telling – time, crafts, food crafts/snacks, and games or experiments). Feel free to pick and choose whatever works for you 🙂
INTRO
How many of us have watched our little one try to balance on a beam or a line? If so, then they may have practiced the art of funambulism or tightrope walking! But if they haven’t or aren’t familiar with the art of tightrope walking or balancing acts, these sites are great introductions with interesting facts, images, and related content! They’re perfect for providing a brief intro for your little ones (or to gather up some knowledge as well!)!
- History of Tightrope Walking by medievalists.net
- An Abridged History of Funambulists by Atlas Obscura
WHAT TO WATCH
We find that mixing in a short video themed to our day is a great way to add some learning fun! We try to pick informative videos OR mix in a cartoon favorite (where they don’t even realize they’re learning). Below are some of the videos we picked from for the day:
- A, B, Circus! | Episode 4 | History of Balancing Acts by Cirque du Soleil (6m)
- A, B, Circus! | Episode 5 | History of Aerial Acrobatics by Cirque du Soleil (6m)
FOOD CRAFTS / SNACKS
What’s more fun than taking a break and having a simple snack??? Including the snack in your theme of the day! We find that our kiddos are more than happy to eat the snacks they create especially when they can arrange them into fun shapes and scenes!
Now, we’re all told we should never play with our food. BUT, this yummy experiment is a bit too hard to pass up 🙂 Merging our STEM Activity with our Snack of the Day, we tried balancing some marshmallows! (And then enjoyed the tasty treat regardless of our balancing outcomes!
For some helpful guidance, Scientific American has a great post on instructions as well as the science behind the balancing act: Bringing Science Home Circus Balance
READING
It’s no secret that reading is an important part of learning, which is why we pick out a handful of books that are fun and filled with some learning tidbits. For our older ones, we have them fill out some worksheets (or let them create some of their own comics) to describe what they read and/or learned! These are a few we picked from for the day:
- King of the Tightrope: When the Great Blondin Ruled Niagara by Donna Janell Bowman
- Can You Walk the Tightrope? by Wonderopolis
WRITING & WRITING PROMPTS
Just like reading, writing is a great way to keep kids learning by both encouraging their creativity and thought process as well as helping them practice their motor skills and penmanship.
If you’ve got a little one, have them trace words related to the theme: CIRCUS, CARNIVAL, FUNFAIR, TIGHTROPE, FUNAMBULISM
If you’ve got older children, have them write a sentence or two up to a page or two (depending on their age). Encourage them to be creative AND give reasons for why they made certain choices. This was our writing prompt of the day (and we offered up some examples as well) but definitely pick something your kiddo might be interested in writing about!
- If you were a famous tightrope walker, what famous landmarks or areas would you tightrope across?
- Have you seen anyone do tightropes (TV or movies count)? Which one were you most awestruck by?
CREATE & CRAFT
If you’ve got a crafty little one, a simple craft is a great way to keep them interested in the topic. While their creative juices are flowing, you can also chat about what they’ve learned so far or ask them what else they’re excited about learning! Below are some of the crafts we looked at:
- Keep Trying! Create a “Tightrope” to Talk About Practice by PBS Kids for Parents. This one is really more of an activity to help younger kids understand that some things take practice. It might be too easy for older kids. You can also mix it up by using different mediums to create the tight rope: sidewalk chalk (if outdoors), streamers, tape, etc..
- Printable Circus Craft Tightrope Tiger by Learn Create Love
- Tightrope Diorama – craft and paper. OR give them a few craft supplies and let their imaginations soar!
STEM & STEAM ACTIVITIES
While crafting and writing get their creativity and imagination flowing, we also like to add in an activity that gets them thinking along the lines of science, technology, engineering, or math! These engaging activities or experiments are a great way to keep them learning!
- Marshmallow Balancing – Bringing Science Home Circus Balance by Scientific American
- Circus Physics from Learn from Home Page by Ringling. This is an article in the STEAM section on the physics of the high wire. This is a great activity for older ones!
THANK YOU!!!
Thank you for checking out our at home learning fun article! If you enjoyed this post, please let us know what you think in the comments below and/or follow us on Pinterest
Also, if you haven’t already, check out some of our other Circus Week days, Circus and Carnival Ideas, as well as our DIY At Home Camps!
Happy Learning!
