Our most popular program
Circus Day at School
The students are the stars in a colorful circus performance. Creativity, teamwork and fun for the whole school.
The students are the stars
The main ingredients of this program are creativity, teamwork and fun. Students are encouraged to come up with their own creative ways of utilizing traditional circus props, and they play an integral role in creating and choreographing the acts for the final performance.
A school community builder
- Students collaborate with students who aren't their regular classmates, and adults other than their regular teachers.
- Teachers interact with new students and a large group of parent volunteers.
- Volunteers meet their children's friends, parents and teachers.
- New friendships and the pride of creating something together last far beyond the project day.
Custom educational messages
If desired, educational messages can be incorporated at all stations. Select from our standard themes (nutrition, bullying, manners, etc.), mix and match, or provide your own.
How the day works
1. Leading up to the show
The school assigns an advance person to coordinate volunteer recruitment and supply us with student lists, schedules and school maps. Each circuit accommodates 100–120 students and needs 22 adult volunteers. We split students into multi-age groups, and many schools build circus themes into the curriculum in the weeks before.
2. The evening before
All adults attend an entertaining instruction meeting: an overview of the day, detailed instructions, a demonstration of the skills and hands-on time with the equipment.
3. Morning — the circuit
Students spend the morning rotating through ten circus-skill stations in small multi-age groups, with about 10 minutes of hands-on instruction at each. Every group has an adult leader; every station an adult station boss overseeing instruction and safety.
4. Afternoon — building acts
After lunch each student picks one skill to perform. In groups of about 12 they rehearse and write a 3-minute act, get costumed and made up. Kindergartners become the stars of the animal acts. We print a souvenir show program with photos from the day listing every act and performer.
5. The performance
The hour-long show — a 1, 2 or 3-ring circus depending on school size — is presented by student ringmasters, usually in the schoolyard. Family and friends are welcome, and they'll be talking about it for a long time.
Requirements
About 2 adults per 10 students (teachers plus parent volunteers), attending the orientation the evening before. We provide two or more instructors, all show and stage equipment, sound system, costumes and make-up.