A circus theme can be enjoyable and teach colors. Sing songs about the circus and clowns. Read "Dumbo" or "Circus Parade." Make the room express the theme. Start off with a color craft. Have children paint with red, blue and yellow paint on paper balls. Hang them up on a wall. Put a seal cutout at the bottom of the wall. Make clown hats and feet. Have children make cotton candy by gluing cotton balls to a piece of colored paper. Gluing helps develop motor skills. Let children cut out decorations for the room. Do a different craft every day to transform the room. In the dramatic play area, include clown costumes and ringmaster costumes. In the block area, set out a train.
The month of July works well with a beach theme. Set up the dramatic play area like a beach. Have flip-flops, goggles and towels for dress-up. For crafts, have children pour different-colored sand in bottles. Make shell collages, paper fins, sea life bottles and an ocean mural. Read books associated with ocean life like "The Magic School Bus On the Ocean Floor" and "Commotion in the Ocean." Sing songs like "Down by the Bay" and "Slippery Fish." At the end of the week or month, take the kids outside to play in a sprinkler.
Spend a week talking about the five senses. Give each sense its own day. Play hearing games and talk about ears for hearing. For sight, play I Spy and have the children draw eyeballs. Give children samples of something sweet, salty, sour and bitter on taste day. For touch, fill a sensory table with cooked spaghetti, grapes and beans. Read touch-and-feel books. Sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." Have items appealing to the five senses in the discovery area. Throughout the day, ask children what they hear, see or smell.