Why Circus Skills?
What are the benefits?
Circus Skills are FUN! They provide opportunities for play, and as Winnicott put it, “It is in playing, and perhaps only in playing, that the child is free to be creative.” (1982). But remember, it is important for adults to play too!
So Circus Skills promote creativity, and the importance of creativity within all areas of education, work and play, is becoming more and more widely recognised. Creativity is essential within any organisation, in order to develop a flexible and adaptive approach within ever changing environments and economic conditions.
Teambulding- Mastering many of the skills involves working in groups, helping each other and taking it in turns with equipment, thus promoting communication, cooperation, articulation and negotiation skills. All of these are of course important in everyday life and it is important that children are given every opportunity for these to develop from an early age. Frequently within workshops, participants are keen to teach others what they have learnt. Juggling can be a social activity which helps to develop trust and understanding.
In the workplace such skills lead to motivated staff, higher staff retention, improved customer relations, and increased performance- and greater profitability!
Confidence and self- esteem are vital to mental health. They can be developed at the same time as patience and perseverance. Dropping the juggling props is inevitable at some stage, but eventually everyone gets there. The sense of achievement is massive, and there is always something new to learn. Self-esteem is hugely increased when children are able to show others what they have learned.
It makes your brain bigger! - It has been found that learning to juggle actually increases the size of certain areas of the brain. In particular the mid-temporal area and the left posterior intraparietal sulcus, which both process visual motion information.
Introducing active study (e.g. Circus Skills) in between between periods of academic study can lead to increased motivation, productivity, academic performance and improved behaviour.
Juggling involves great concentration, it utilises and coordinates the left and right sides of the brain, which leads to increased learning capabilities.
Imagination, Problem Solving and Creativity – In order to achieve a new trick, problem solving is vital. Each trick can be deconstructed into its different parts, each part mastered and then all put back together again to do the whole trick! Once you have begun juggling, the possibilities are endless. You can invent new tricks, find new ways of doing old ones, and create the most amazing patterns.
Stress Relief- Circus skills help you relax. They require you to focus, to put aside day-to-day problems and get on with the task in hand. Complex tasks such as juggling lead to increased theta activity in the brain, (Laukka et al, 1994) which is related to a state known as “relaxed concentration”. This is a state of mind whereby “the individual is sufficiently relaxed for accelerated learning to occur. The mind achieves a restful alertness, wherein concentration is at its best.” (Davis, 1994)
Exercise - Circus skills are not only great fun, but a brilliant way to exercise and keep fit. Bending down to pick up equipment, throws, catches, pedalling, being constantly on the move all help to keep you active. Circus skills increase flexibility and range of motion through stretching; they increase strength, building and toning muscle and at same time they can provide a great cardio-vascular work out.
Fine and Gross Motor Skills- Circus skills improve motor skills, along with the development of hand-eye co-ordination, ambidexterity and balance, reflexes, rhythm and timing.
How do the workshops fit in with the National Curriculum?
The QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) is currently exploring and implementing methods to ensure that 85% of 5-16 yr olds engage in at least two hours of PESS (Physical Education and School Sports) each week, within and beyond the curriculum. The circus arts provide a unique opportunity to fulfil these requirements, and do something a little bit different, at the same time as being brilliant fun and linking in with other subject areas.
Participation in the Circus Arts covers many objectives within the units in the Programme of Study for Physical Education, as set out in the National Curriculum:
Unit 4- Improve the way they coordinate and control their bodies and a range of equipment
Unit 15- Perform skills and actions more accurately and consistently
Unit 17- Use their bodies and a variety of equipment
with greater control and coordination
Remember, repeat and link combinations of actions
Unit 22- Explore, improvise and combine movement ideas fluently and effectively
Unit 32- Choose, combine and perform skills more fluently, consistently and with greater accuracy and quality
Unit 33- Select, combine and perform skills, actions and balances, including some that are inverted
Participation in my Circus Workshops covers many of the objectives within
the Programme of Study for Citizenship
Unit 01- Taking part - developing skills of communication and participation
- Working together and developing our communication skills
- Developing skills of discussion, negotiation and cooperation in a group
- Recognising that there can be conflicting views and a need to compromise when making a decision
- Taking part in making a decision on a class or school issue
- Collaborating with others in a group to solve a problem or make a decision
- Listening and responding to others
Unit 09: Respect for property
Frequently in workshops, I combine Circus with Visual Arts, thus not only
meeting objectives within PE and Citizenship but also Art and
Design. All of my workshops involving Art meet the following
objectives of Unit 1B- Investigating materials.
- Investigate the possibilities of a range of materials and processes
- Ask and answer questions about the starting points for their work, and develop their ideas
- Review what they and others have done and say what they think and feel about it
The other units that the workshops cover, vary according to the individual
workshop, e.g.
Unit 1C- What is sculpture?
- Learn about the materials and processes used in making sculpture
- Try out tools and techniques and apply these to materials and processes
Whilst everything written above is important, the focus is ALWAYS on having fun. Meeting with the requirements of the National Curriculum is just a fortunate by-product of having this fun!
Davis, Mark E , (1994) Method and recording for producing sounds and messages to achieve Alpha and Theta brainwave states and positive emotional states in humans http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5352181.html
Seppo J. Laukka , Timo Jtirvilehtoa, Yuri I. Alexandrovb, Juhani Lindqvist, (1994) Frontal midline theta related to learning in a simulated driving task, Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Oulu, Finland; Institute of Psychology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. Russia
Winnicott D.W, 1982, Playing and Reality, London, Routledge
http://www.jugglingworld.biz
http://www.icanjuggle.com/academic.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3417045.stm
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/
http://www.qca.org.uk