Preschool Games With Balloons for Circle Time
Here we have a preschool circle time activity using balloons as a theme, which can be used with the children in your daycare center for a fun, fresh learning idea. Most children really love balloons, so right off the start you are speaking to the preschoolers about something that they already like and will be focused on learning about.
Your circle time doesn’t have to be boring and the same everyday. There are many creative ways to teach the children using kids songs, games and different themes and activities that children love.
Circle time activities can be theme based like the one listed below, using balloons as a theme, helping children to learn new things and in turn keeping it fun and interesting for the preschoolers or young ones.
You can find all these activity ideas, circle time activities, songs and more on this learning website for teaching kids by using the navigation links on the left under their specific educational categories.
Using circle activities, circle time songs & pre kindergarten learning ideas can be fun and beneficial for your toddlers, preschoolers and children. Just think outside the box and try some exciting new ideas.
Balloon Theme Circle Time Activity for Kids:
This circle time activity should be implemented with children or preschoolers at least 3 years of age and up.
Any children or preschoolers who are still in the stage of exploring sensory orally need to be supervised with great caution while using balloons or any small objects that could pose a choking threat.
*Balloons are serious choking hazards for young children and preschoolers etc. so please use caution when implementing the learning activities mentioned in the preschool circle time Idea and preschool games with balloons and be sure to supervise all children.
It is a good idea to go over the safety issues with preschoolers and young children so they understand the risks of playing safe as well.
Opening Circle with a Fun Introduction Song:
(sung to – Farmer in the Dell)
A fun, opening song when starting your circle time, will get the children to focus and listen to what is happening.
Children love songs and this will help to prepare the children for circle. Try the fun song below with your children and try to incorporate the simple actions to keep it interesting and to get the children involved right from the start.
Hello to everyone, ( wave to children)
and how are you today?
We come to our circle time,
to laugh and sing and play.
And when you’re up you’re up, (hold hands in the air)
and when your down your down, ( place hands on floor)
and when your only half way up, (hold hands about chest level)
your neither up nor down. (throw your hands up and down quickly with words)
So roll your hands so slowly, (make fists with hands and roll about chest level like your punching a bag)
and roll your hands so fast, ( same action as above except fast)
give your hands a clap clap clap and fold them in your lap tap tap. (follow directions in this line)
Preschool Games with Balloons for Circle Time:
Talk to the preschool children about balloons and balloon safety.
Ask open ended questions such as:
- “Where have you seen balloons before?”
- “What different shapes and colours of balloons can you remember?”
- “Why or where do we use balloons?”
Have a bag of different shaped balloons with you.
- Blow up a balloon and talk about the shape and color of it.
- Ask, “What do you think will happen if I let it go?” ( let balloon go).
- Blow up a different balloon and talk about the shape and colour of it.
- Ask “What do you think will happen if I pull the bottom blow hole tight and slowly let the air out?” (Make high pitch noise with balloon).
- Then blow up a third balloon and talk about the shape and colour.
- Ask, “What do you think will happen if I hold the balloon and let the air come out by itself without touching the blow hole?” (Let the air out so it makes a low airy sound).
After the above, you can have the preschool children stand up and sing a fun balloon song:
The Balloon Song:
(Tune- Here We Go ‘Round The MullBerry Bush)
I’m a balloon can’t you see,
can’t you see, can’t you see,
I’m a balloon can’t you see,
so please do not pop me. (float/dance around like balloons)
I can fly and dance around,
dance around, dance around,
I can fly and dance around (stop dancing and say) “OH NO! YOU POPPED ME!”
Have the preschool children pretend the air is going out of them and fly around like the balloons they seen at circle time that lost their air. Doing this works great as a creative movement activity for the children to move and express themselves.
Now have all of the preschool children sit down in a circle again and hold hands. You can now sing a song for the ‘end of your circle’ time.
More Balloon Songs for Kids
End of Circle Song
(Tune-Skip to my Lou)
Shake hands with friends ’cause it’s time to go,
Shake hands with friends ’cause it’s time to go,
Shake hands with friends ’cause it’s time to go…..
We’ll see you again next time.
More Learning Activities Using Balloons:
Preschool Art Ideas using Balloons:
- You could have the children decorate already blown-up (inflated) balloons at the art table.
- Balloons can be decorated with glue and sparkles, beads, cut up paper, tissue paper or other colourful shiny items.
- Have children use items of their choice as well for their balloon decorations. A list of Art-Shelf ideas can be found in our online E-Book available on our site.
- Once dried, the children’s balloon creations can be hung around the room. Or you can paper mache newspaper strips over the balloons and have children decorate them once dried.
- You then pop the balloons inside the paper mache and pull out. Their balloon creations will never deflate.
You could also have the preschoolers decorate the balloons or paper mache with funny, silly faces.
Preschool Math with Balloons:
- Keep a record and count how many days it takes for the balloons to deflate.
- Count how many balloons you are waiting to deflate.
- Or you could count how many puffs of air it takes to blow up a balloon. Any activities that include counting and simple math.
Science Experiment using Balloons:
- Blow up a few different shapes of balloons.
- Place balloons side by side on top of a shelf but still visible to the children.
- If needed, tape or sticky tack to surface to prevent the balloons from falling or being blown around.
Record how long it takes for the balloons to start to deflate.
Does one balloon deflate faster than another? You can document your observations on a chart.
Have children draw pictures of what they see happen as the balloons deflate each day or every other day.
More Science Ideas with Balloons:
Or another idea would be to let all of the air out of a balloon (quickly releasing it) so that it flies through the air. You can talk about how the air acts like propulsion, similar to jets that fly through the air etc.
You could then get books relating to these topics for teaching kids about how jet engines work etc.
Children’s Sensory Activity:
Once the balloons are deflated, place them in a sensory bin with other balloons.
The other balloons can be filled with air, water, rice, popcorn kernels, oatmeal, etc. These are ‘balloon feely bags‘ which are great ideas for sensory and science.
You do not need to fill the balloons with much material. Just be sure to tie the ends of the balloons in a knot so that they do not leak.
Kids Using Their Senses:
- Let the preschool/kindergarten children FEEL the difference in the balloons that are each filled with a different substance.
- HEAR the sounds they make as they squish them and shake them.
- SEE the difference in size, shape and colour
- SMELL the balloons.
(4 out of 5 senses are used for this preschool sensory activity)