Distribute paper plates to each student along with yarn, a glue stick and pre-cut shapes, such as an oval, circle and triangles. Instruct the children to create a clown face on the paper plate using the pre-cut shapes. The circle could be the nose, the oval the mouth, and the triangles the eyes. Students can glue on the yarn as the hair. This activity will help reinforce shape identification for the preschoolers.
Cut out puffy cotton candy shapes and triangle shapes in a variety of colors. Scatter the shapes onto a large table and ask the students to match the cotton candy with the matching holder or handle. Give the students a glue stick to secure the two places together once they have selected their matching pieces. This activity helps students with their color identification skills.
Draw a large clown face on a piece of poster board and cut out the area where the clown mouth would be. Hang the poster board from the ceiling or prop it up against a table. Have each student take turns tossing as many bean bags through the hole as they can in 30 seconds. Have the students count out loud as the student successfully throws the beanbags. Write each student's name on the board with the number of bean bags they threw through the mouth next to their name.
Cut out a variety of circus animals, such as elephants, zebras, giraffes, elephants, birds, horses and snakes. Distribute a mix of animals to each student. Have the students divide the animals up by the groupings of their choice. For example, they could group the animals by color, size, how many legs they have or names. Go around the room and have each child explain why they grouped their animals the way they chose did. This activity reinforces grouping and matching skills as well as finding similarities and differences between items.