20 Best Circus Activities for Preschoolers

The circus has always been a source of wonder and excitement for people of all ages.

Circus-themed activities can offer a world of fun and learning for young children.

We have curated a list of amazing circus activities for preschoolers that are sure to bring joy, laughter, and valuable learning experiences to your little ones.

Clown Face Painting:

Clown face painting is a delightful activity that allows preschoolers to explore their creativity while transforming into silly and colorful characters. Set up a face painting station with child-safe paints, brushes, sponges, and mirrors.

Balloon Animal Creations:

Balloon animal creations are a classic circus activity that never fails to entertain preschoolers. Provide the little ones with long, thin balloons and teach them how to twist and shape them into different animal forms. Start with simple shapes like dogs or giraffes, and gradually introduce more complex designs like elephants or monkeys.

Circus Train Parade:

Organize a lively circus train parade to let preschoolers embrace the spirit of the circus. Have the children dress up as different circus characters such as clowns, acrobats, or animals. Provide them with colorful props like hats, scarves, and masks to enhance the experience.

Tightrope Walking:

Create a mini tightrope walking experience for preschoolers to develop their balance and coordination skills. Set up a low balance beam or a line of tape on the ground, representing the tightrope. Demonstrate to the children how to walk across the line while maintaining their balance. Encourage them to take turns and practice their tightrope walking skills.

Ring Toss:

Ring toss is a classic circus game that preschoolers can enjoy while refining their hand-eye coordination and aiming skills. Set up a series of pegs or bottles with different point values and provide the children with plastic rings or rope loops. Demonstrate how to throw the rings and try to land them around the pegs or bottles.

Circus Obstacle Course:

Set up a circus-themed obstacle course using colorful cones, hula hoops, tunnels, and small stepping stones. Create a course where preschoolers can jump over hoops, crawl through tunnels, and navigate their way around the obstacles.

Juggling with Scarves:

Introduce preschoolers to the art of juggling with a playful twist using lightweight scarves. Give each child a few colorful scarves and teach them the basics of tossing and catching. Start with one scarf and gradually add more as they become more comfortable.

Animal Hula Hoop Show:

Invite preschoolers to participate in an animal hula hoop show. Assign each child an animal and provide them with appropriately sized hula hoops. Encourage them to jump through the hoops, imitating the movements of their assigned animals. Add music and let the children take turns showcasing their hula hoop skills and animal-inspired performances.

Circus Sensory Play:

Create a sensory play station inspired by the circus. Fill a large container with colored rice, small plastic animals, juggling balls, and circus-themed props like mini top hats or feather boas. Encourage the preschoolers to explore the sensory materials with their hands, scoop and pour rice, and engage in imaginative play with the circus props.

Human Pyramid Building:

Teach preschoolers the excitement of building human pyramids, similar to those performed by circus acrobats. Divide the children into small groups and guide them in creating stable human pyramids. Start with simple two-person formations and gradually progress to more complex three or four-person pyramids.

Clown Relay Race:

Organize a clown-themed relay race where preschoolers can participate in a fun and energetic competition. Divide the children into teams and assign each team a starting point and a finish line. Provide them with oversized clown shoes, hats, and oversized clothing items. The children must take turns racing from the starting point to the finish line, wearing clown accessories.

Circus Train Freeze Dance:

Create a lively game of circus train freeze dance. Set up a designated dance area and play circus-themed music. Instruct the preschoolers to dance and move around like different circus performers such as clowns, acrobats, or animals. At random intervals, pause the music and call out a circus-themed command (e.g., “freeze like a statue” or “jump like a kangaroo”). The children must freeze in their current pose until the music starts again. This activity encourages creativity, listening skills, and coordination.

Ribbon Twirling:

Introduce preschoolers to the art of ribbon twirling using long, colorful ribbons attached to sticks. Demonstrate how to gracefully move and twirl the ribbons in the air. Encourage the children to explore different movements and patterns with their ribbons, creating waves, circles, and loops.

Circus Animal Yoga:

Combine the circus theme with yoga poses in a fun and engaging way. Assign different animal poses to the preschoolers, such as a downward dog (dog), cobra pose (snake), or butterfly pose (butterfly). Guide them through a series of animal-inspired yoga poses, incorporating storytelling and imagination.

Circus-themed Sensory Bin:

Create a circus-themed sensory bin using materials like colorful shredded paper, toy circus animals, plastic clowns, and miniature circus tents. Fill a large container with these items and provide preschoolers with scoops, cups, and small containers to explore and play with the materials.

Circus-themed Storytime:

Host a circus-themed story time session where you read books about circuses, clowns, or circus animals. Choose age-appropriate picture books with colorful illustrations and engaging stories. Encourage the preschoolers to participate by asking questions, discussing the characters and plot, and even acting out parts of the story.

Circus Costume Parade:

Invite preschoolers to dress up in their favorite circus-themed costumes and organize a lively costume parade. Provide a variety of costume accessories such as hats, capes, masks, and tutus for the children to choose from. Let them strut their stuff and showcase their imaginative outfits while walking in a procession.

Circus Animal Puzzles:

Introduce preschoolers to puzzles featuring circus animals. Provide age-appropriate jigsaw puzzles with colorful circus animal illustrations.

DIY Circus Tent:

Guide the children in cutting and folding the paper to form a tent shape. They can then decorate the tents with markers or colored paper to resemble circus tents.

Circus-themed Bean Bag Toss:

Set up a circus-themed bean bag toss game using colorful buckets or targets. Decorate the buckets with circus-themed stickers or drawings. Line them up at different distances and assign point values to each bucket.