Preschool: Carnival

What better way to celebrate the end of our preschool year, than with a week full of carnival themed learning? I hope your kids enjoy these summery carnival themed activities as much as Madelynn did!

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Here were our plans for our carnival theme:

And here are the details for each activity:

Carnival of the Animals:

We started off the week listening to the music from Camille Saint-Saëns’s and moving like the animals in Carnival of the Animals by Jack Prelutsky. This book has a poem for each animal accompanied by a classical musical movement. After reading each poem we listened to the song and Madelynn pretended to be each animal in the circus.

Carnival Predictions:

Our next story was Little Elliot Big Fun By Mike Curato. Before reading, we practiced making predictions.

I asked “After looking at the cover, what do you think this story will be about?”  Madelynn: “The elephant is going to the fair.” Then I asked: “What will the elephant do in the story?” Madelynn: “He’s going to go on the rides.”

Carnival Comprehension:

Next we read Olivia and the School Carnival By Tina Gallo. After reading, we talked about the things the children made for the carnival.  Then I asked Madelynn what she would like to make for the school carnival and had her draw it on the response page. Madelynn said she would make a piggy race.

Carnival Comprehension:

  Our last read aloud was Daniel Goes to the Carnival By Angela C. Santomero. After reading, we talked about what it means to be afraid, and why Daniel was feeling afraid. Then I asked Madelynn if she has ever been afraid of something and had her draw it on the response page. She said she was afraid of ants.

Tracking Print:

Our last book was this letter C for Carnival alphabet reader. Madelynn identified the picture then pointed to each word as she read. Since we switched to the more difficult version she is working on learning new sight words each week. Afterwards she colored all of the pictures in.

Color by Sound Ice Cream:

This week we focused on ending sounds so we started with this color by code activity. Madelynn looked small pictures in the larger picture, and identified the ending sound. Then she followed the directions to make each spot the correct color.

Carnival Sound Stamping:

Next, for more letter practice we used our dot stampers. We started out stamping inside the letter to make a C. Then Madelynn had to find the upper and lowercase c’s in the carnival booth, stamp them and make the “C” sound each time. Then she stamped the other letters different colors and tried to make the sounds for each one.

Pop the Middle Sound:

  To practice identifying tricky vowel sounds, I set up this carnival themed water balloon toss game.  First I drew 5 large circles with sidewalk chalk and labeled each with a vowel. Then I filled a bucket with water balloons.  Madelynn chose a CVC word card, identified the middle sound, then tossed a water balloon into the correct circle.

Carnival Name Craft:

For this week’s name craft we created a bunch of name balloons.  First, Madelynn cut the balloon pieces out. Then she wrote the letters in her name on each balloon. After she finished writing, she glued the balloons in order to spell her name. Then she cut and added yarn strings under each balloon to make a bouquet.

Carnival Journal Writing:

  For our journal this week Madelynn chose to draw her favorite carnival ride. She said “I like the fun house.” So I drew lines for each word, then we worked on writing the sounds together.

Carnival Number Writing Tray:

Our first math activity this week was a carnival themed number writing tray.  To make this fun sensory activity I filled our shallow tray with sprinkles. Madelynn used ice cream number cards as a model and chose which ones she wanted to practice.  Then she used a sugar cone and/or her finger to write numbers in the pretty themed tray.

Ducky Grab and Color Graph:

Our math focus this week was graphing and analyzing data. For our first activity I used permanent marker to color dots on the bottom of small rubber ducks.  Then I placed all of the ducks in a small bin of water. Madelynn chose a duck and recorded on the graph. She continued grabbing ducks until all the  duck colors were graphed.

Bucket Toss Graphing:

Our next carnival game was this bucket toss game.  I filled a bin with small ping pong balls. Then, Madelynn tossed the balls one at a time into the buckets. When she finished tossing, she counted the number of balls in each bucket and graphed them on the recording sheet.

Scoop and Graph Popcorn:

Our last activity was a yummy rainbow popcorn graph.  Madelynn used a small cup to grab a scoop of rainbow colored popcorn.  Then she sorted the colored pieces onto the rainbow popcorn graph.  Finally she recorded the number of each color, then used the graph to answer the questions. And of course ate her delicious snack when she finished.

*You can also dye your own popcorn following these instructions.

Popcorn Number Sense Mats:

We used these mats to practice numbers 11-20 this week. First, Madelynn identified the large number. Then she made it with play dough and counted the popcorn in the ten frame. Next, she used a dry erase marker to practice writing the number, and finally counted out pieces of popcorn to fill the bucket with the correct amount.

Popcorn Sensory Bin:

In this sensory bin: Popcorn, plastic popcorn boxes, pretend salt shakers, fine motor tools, scoops, cups

Popcorn Stamping Craft:

Our first craft this week turned out super cute.  First I printed popcorn box pieces on colored cardstock. Madelynn cut and glue the pieces together.  Next she scrunched up a small piece of tissue paper to use as a stamper.  I filled a tray with yellow and white paint and she stamp the tissue in both colors to stamp delicious buttery popcorn on top of the box.

Balloon Inflator:

For our science experiment this week we made our very own balloon inflator. First Madelynn poured about ½ cup vinegar into an empty plastic water bottle. Next, I helped her stretch a balloon out a bit and insert the funnel. She filled balloon about halfway with baking soda. I carefully stretched the balloon around the neck of the bottle without letting the baking soda fall into the bottle. Then Madelynn lifted the balloon up and shook the baking soda into the bottle. Finally she watched in awe as the balloon inflated!

Cotton Candy Puffy Paint:

Our second craft this week was yummy puffy cotton candy paint. Madelynn helped me mix a small batch of puffy paint with equal parts shaving cream and white glue in a bowl. I divided it into 2 bowls and dyed one pink and one blue with food coloring. I also rolled a small piece of white cardstock to form a cone and glued it to the bottom of a sheet of paper for the cotton candy cone. Madelynn used the puffy paint to paint swirls of cotton candy on top of the cone.

Duck Race Sensory Bin:

In this sensory bin: water, cut pool noodle, small rubber ducks, squirt guns

For our last carnival themed game, I cut a pool noodle the length of the bin and placed it inside to divide the bin into 2 “lanes.” Then we placed one rubber duck in each lane.  We each used a squirt gun to squirt the duck and race to the other side of the bin. Madelynn also had fun just spraying and splashing with the ducks in the bin even without racing.

Want all of this week’s Carnival activities for preschool?  You can grab them here:
On my site : Carnival Plans & Printables On TpT: Carnival Plans & Printables

Or you can grab our entire year of themes and plans:
On my site here: Preschool Bundle On TpT here: Preschool Bundle

Then check out the rest of our 45+ themes on the Preschool Curriculum Main Page.