Circus & Magic

Circus education

In addition to a lot of fun, the circus with its various performances also offers a lot of potential to promote and train children's skills and abilities.

5 basic skills that can be promoted through the circus

1. social skills, such as making agreements, cooperating with others, dealing with criticism, having trust in others, etc.
2. emotional competences, such as appropriate self-assessment, dealing with difficulties and obstacles, dealing with excitement and fears, discovering one's own strengths and weaknesses, success and non-success, strengthening self-confidence etc.
3. Learning skills, such as discipline, concentration, perseverance, working independently, etc.
4. Physical competences, such as motor skills, endurance, mobility, strength, coordination, body control, catching, throwing etc.
5. cognitive skills, such as creativity, broadening horizons, training the brain through complex activities like juggling etc.

Juggling

Juggling is one of the most versatile and well-known circus activities. It refers to the ability to throw any number of objects into the air and catch them again and again. Even children in kindergarten can learn their first exercises with juggling scarves. There are no limits to what they can achieve. Whether with balls, clubs, scarves, diabolo, sticks, whether with three or many more objects - juggling offers an enormous wealth of development possibilities!

Various studies have found out how regular juggling with ball, cloth or club can affect our bodies.

3 benefits of juggling

1. Increased concentration through juggling: When juggling, the brain is well supplied with blood and oxygen.
2. Formation of new brain cells: Juggling requires both hemispheres of the brain to work together, thus forming new connections between the two halves.
3. Release of the happiness hormone dopamine and thus inhibition of stress hormones.

Diabolo - one of the oldest juggling props

Diabolo means "I throw over" and is one of the oldest juggling props. Even the "ancient Chinese" had fun with this game and even today the game of diabolo enjoys great popularity.

The diabolo is placed on a rope, which is moved with the help of two handsticks. This causes the diabolo to rotate. Once this has been achieved and can be held securely, the diabolo can be thrown into the air and caught on the rope again. Furthermore, there are lots of tricks, such as "riding a lift", that can be learned. The diabolo can be played alone, in pairs or in groups.

Diabolo, ball, cloth, club and hula hoop in Waldorfshop

Professionals juggle skillfully with balls, clubs, scarves and rings. But you can also do a lot with a hula hoop. Besides the classical use of the hula hoop, it can also be used as a hoop for animal training, for example.

In our online shop you will find various articles for circus games and juggling.

Juggling balls

We offer two sets of juggling balls: one set of 3 bean bags made of tear-proof imitation leather, filled with millet, in red, blue and yellow, including practical juggling instructions, and one set of 3 four-coloured bean bags filled with millet, made of smooth leather, in a practical tin with screw cap, also with juggling instructions.

Our juggling bags made of woven cotton are also particularly suitable for beginners. Thanks to their shape, they do not roll away like normal juggling balls and are therefore perfect for first exercises.

Juggling cloths

In Waldorfshop we offer different sets of juggling cloths. They differ in colour - water and fire - and are therefore especially beautiful for performances. The sets contain 6 cloths each. The chiffon cloths made of nylon fly slowly and are therefore especially suitable for juggling beginners, group juggling and dance theatre.

Rings, juggling plates, clubs, poi, hula hoop, flower sticks and more.

You can find them online in our toy category as well as in the categories games & sports and motor skills & movement games:

• Juggling rings for beginners and for professional jugglers.
• juggling plate with wooden stick and instructions, ideal for beginners and advanced jugglers
• a short juggling club for children for an easy introduction to club juggling
• a set of flowerstick, handsticks, strap and shoulder bag
• 1 pair of poi with hand straps with short tails and light, soft bodies for easy and safe swinging
• Hula Hoop made of sturdy beech wood for playful training and to promote rhythm skills, agility, coordination, timing, endurance and concentration.
• Diabolo with freewheel made of environmentally friendly polypropylene for spectacular throwing and catching techniques
• a Diabolo Beach Set with wooden sticks, available in five colours
• Rola Bola, a colourfully painted board made of birch multiplex to promote balance