Circus Class

[Erik K]

Hey haven't posted her in awhile but I thought it would be a good
group to gather some ideas and suggestions from. I have been offered a
job teaching a circus class one day a week at a local after school
program. It would be for two hours a day and the demographic would be
8-10 year old inner city kids. I'm pretty experienced at teaching
juggling but would also like some other simple ideas of things that
would be cheap to buy the equipment and appropriate for that age
group. I will probably do spinning plates and devilsticks. Any other
good ideas or suggestions, Maybe Diabolo?

Thanks,

Erik

[dblthnk84]

You can make a rola-bola with PVC pipe and some lumber fairly cheaply.
Juggling balls out of tennis balls and dirt/rice. Balloon skins if you
want them to look nice.
Hat manipulation with ball caps?
Simple gymnastics, such as handstands and rolls.

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[TK]

I have not had much luck with the rola-bola with that age group. Oddly
enough, I have much better luck teaching unicycling* to that age. Stilt
walking and hand balancing are very teachable to that age group,
http://www.wejuggle2.com/circusskills.php has several links to making
equipment and teaching the skills that you may find helpful. If you see
something unclear/wrong, please let me know.

*I realize unicycles are not in the budget - I am just continuously
amazed that kids that age can learn to unicycle and not be able to learn
the rola-bola. Adults are the exact opposite. Adults generally learn
the rola-bola in 10-15 minutes (well enough to juggle on). I suspect
the weight/height differential is the main factor.

--
TK
http://www.wejuggle2.com/
Age is mind over matter.
If you don't mind it don't matter. ~ Satchel Page

[Mats1]

Juggling scarves are cheap and an extra prop to keep up interest and are
easier to juggle (1 up 2 up juggling most kids can get really quickly).
You can make your own hula hoops using stuff from a local hardware store,
or else, supermarkets tend to sell them reasonably cheaply (about
�2.30-�2.50 here), although they tend not to stock them in winter.

Devilsticks are very expensive and difficult. Flowersticks are much easier
and would be better for kids, although they are still quite expensive.

Poi are fairly cheap and often kids enjoy doing them, they are also
relatively easy to pick up. You have to watch out for kids hitting each
other with them though and expect damage to happen quickly (poi losing
their tails).

Diabolos go down quite well, with those who get it. Some people can pick
it up quickly and really enjoy it once they are starting to reliably (or
even unreliably) throw and catch. These are fairly expensive (although you
can still get them for just a few pounds and make your own handsticks),
but you don't need so many as not as many will do this skill.

Hope this helps.

[mechter]

I have actually had quite the opposite experience with the juggling class
that I run when it comes to the rola-bola. If you get a child who keeps
practicing on the rola-bola, they can usually pick it up easier than an
adult who is two times their height. While they may not have the best
control over balance, they can pretty much maintain themselves on it. I
made my rola-bola and used a PVC pipe for the "rola". Since I did not have
any good grip-tape, I took an inner tube from a car wheel and cut three
strips that fit around the pipe for some grip. The smaller the PVC pipe
diameter, the easier it is to get on.

I also teach unicycling at my class, and have been riding for about five
years now. Children also seem to pick this up a lot easier than adults,
partly from being nearly fearless when it comes to trying new things. I
start them off by the wall, tell them to keep all their weight on the
saddle, and to move forward in half-revolutions. Eventually they progress
to full-revolutions, and then start to move away from the wall. Besides
keeping as much weight on the saddle as possible, one of the best tips for
learning to unicycle is to flail your arms as needed for balance. Don't
hold the saddle, but let your arms help to keep you riding. Eventually
this won't be necessary, but for learning it is amazing how much it can
help.

I'm planning on introducing some basic acroblance to my older students in
the next session that I am running. Many of them I have known for several
years, and I have recently begun learning some fun acro myself. There are
a lot of easy poses to try, and many more difficult ones, but it is always
good to try something besides juggling every once in a while.

Hope some of this helps!

[Bekah.Smith]

Wow, that's very strange. I've had a lot of luck teaching rola bola to
kids of all ages and in a variety of settings. They usually have success
with it faster than juggling, so I use it as a way to mitigate
frustrations. And my rola bola is definitely way too big for kids!

Back to the original topic. One thing that I always try to bring when I
teach juggling is a handful of peacock feathers. Balancing the feathers
is easy to teach, they're cheap (sometimes zoos will donate them), and
kids are just fascinated by the feathers anyhow, so they love to learn it.

- beKAH!

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