Bring in the Clowns 

Have your children dress in bright clothing, mismatched shoes, bright socks, scarves, hats, dyed (spray can) hair, etc.

During the event, offer face painting, balloon animals (or helium balloons), and 2-3 carnival-type games.

Hints:

There are a LOT of videos on YouTube that teach how to make basic balloon animals. It's really not that hard!

Collaborate with your student director. Line up a few students to do the face painting and balloon animals for you.

Learn how to make ONE basic balloon animal and teach the children how to make their own.

If you're planning to make balloon animals at the event, twist a few beforehand and bring in a trash bag. You can twist a few at the event and pass out the rest. This will eliminate the stress of creating one for each anxious child.

Have the children select a partner and allow them to paint each other's faces. (This is a lot of fun and takes up some of your time.)

 

Face Painting

Face painting is always a great addition to a "Bring in the Clowns" event.

Gather some face paint, a few brushes, some water and paper towels and you are all set.

An alternative is to provide one cheap paintbrush for each child. Children will pick a team mate and each person will paint the others face. OR...have them put the brush in their mouth and try to paint their partners face without using their hands! See pics below!

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Games

Add a couple of games, such as bean bag toss or a ring toss.

You can add any of the activities you would normally add to a Fall Festival. Keep in mind, 2-3 games are sufficient.

Remember, summer is the time for easy, quick, fun, and COLORFUL activities. Don't wear yourself out. Many of the things children will remember are the smaller, less stressful activities.

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​Teachers, remember to dress up as well.

Give the children time to enjoy each activity, and give yourself permission to breathe and enjoy your time together.

Just because you planned a certain number of activities doesn't mean you have to do ALL of the activities. Observe your children...are they having fun? Then let the activity run! When you see them getting bored, switch it up!

It is always best to plan extra activities, knowing you may not do everything. Any leftover activities can always be used for a future event.

The perfect snack for the evening is cotton candy and/or popcorn. You can make your own cotton candy or purchase tubs at Dollar General. Each tub will make several small baggies of cotton candy to pass out. You can also pop fresh popcorn or pop ahead of time and place it into individual-sized baggies to pass out.

A great lesson/devotion would be:

"Samuel Anoints a King" - God does not look at the outward appearances; He looks at the heart!

1 Samuel - But the Lord told Samuel, “Don’t look at his appearance or how tall he is, because I have rejected him. God does not see as humans see. Humans look at outward appearances, but the Lord looks into the heart.”