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 oh-so-cool Carousels! We dove a bit deeper into the history of carousels (did you know that their origins trace back to training games for warriors?), learned about how they work, and created a few miniature carousels of our own! Read on to check out a fun filled day of learning, reading, crafts, and activities all on carousels!!
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
Have your little ones ever been on a carousel – or at least seen them in person or on TV? If so, then they’re already familiar with what a carousel is. Maybe they’re even excited to learn more about them! If they haven’t or aren’t familiar with this incredible invention, 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!)!
- https://kids.kiddle.co/Carousel by Kiddle
- http://www.historyofcarousels.com/ by History of Carousels. Note: this is actually an entire site devoted to carousels! There’s so much information here – click around!
- The Dizzy History of Carousels Begins With Knights by Smithsonian Magazine
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:
- How does a Fairground Carousel work? by Maddie’s Do You Know (2m)
- Carousel and Wax Crayons by Maddie’s Do You Know (14m)
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!
We found this super cute Carousel Treat Recipe Idea from Oriental Trading. We did mix it up slightly and use a cupcake instead but the animal cracker and mini umbrella were a must! If you’re feeling adventurous or have a larger group to feed, you could decorate a small circular cake with the frosted animal cookies too!
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:
- Up and Down on the Merry-Go-Round by Bill Martin Jr.
- A Kids’ Book of Carousels by Linda Bartash-Dawley, Richie Dawley
- A Carousel and Merry-Go-Round Bookshelf on Aaron Shepherd’s Home Page This site is actually a collection of useful information on books. The carousel link is a link to a list of books all on carousels and merry go rounds.
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, CAROUSEL, HORSES
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!
- Have you ever been on a carousel? Describe your experience – did you like it? Was it fun?
- Carousels very often have horses to ride on – if you could create a carousel, what animals or creatures would you have for people to ride on?
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: (Note the wooden puzzle build kits are really cute but younger ones may need some help assembling. You do have to make sure the pieces are pushed in all the way or else everything won’t fit together).
- DIY Miniature Paper Carousel by Autodesk Instructables
- 3D Paint Create Puzzle (Carousel – 43pcs)
- 3D Wooden Puzzle – Assembly Merry-Go-Round
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!
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!
