Old-fashioned circus fun

As a child, nothing provokes wonderment and excitement in quite the same way as a circus. Here are some circus ideas for the school holidays.

1. Visit the circus!

Trapeze artists flying through the air, clowns in colourful costumes riding on unicycles, acrobats turning themselves inside out… When it comes to school holiday activities, a trip to the circus is a good, old-fashioned favourite.

2. Attend a circus skills workshop

For some kids, watching other people perform circus skills isn’t enough. They want to be the star of their own show!

Circus workshops will suit “any kids that like to be active, like to play, like climbing, tumbling, and like something a little bit different,” according to circus coach Melanie Shuvert, from Circus Arts.

Doing the tricks provides kids with a chance to “face their fears,” Melanie says, which she says helps them to grow confidence.

“It makes people realise they can do a lot more than they thought they might have been able to.

She adds, “There’s a lot of team building. We do a lot of activities where they play together.”

And of course, what circus would be complete without a big performance. Melanie says that this is a highlight for children.

“They think it’s amazing. They feel like stars… Everybody needs to run away to the circus at some point!”

3. Create your own circus at home

Whether you have one child or five, they can put on their own circus performance at home! Kids are great at creating their own clown, magic and acrobatic performances. There’s the chance to create a stage and even produce tickets to hand out to family members.

Some kids might be interested to improve their skills for the big show. You can learn to juggle by watching instructional videos on the internet. Or you can follow these steps:

• Start with one ball. Throw it up to eye level and across, to catch it in the other hand. Throw the ball back again to the other hand.
• Move on to two balls – one in each hand. Throw the first ball, just as you did in the one-ball activity. When it reaches eye level, throw the other ball so it passes under the incoming ball. (Give it some height though). Catch each ball as it lands. Repeat this process, but alternate the hand that you start with each time.
• Move to three balls. Throw the first and second ball as you did earlier. Throw the third ball when the second ball reaches eye level. And so on.

For more information about visiting a circus or attending a circus class, click here http://www.schoolholidaydirectory.com.au/category/Circus