PHOTOS: Mark DeLay Makes Working Out Fun During Circus Week

District 63 schools weren’t the only ones in town to get a taste of the circus last week. (The Kelly Miller Circus .) 

Students at had some three-ring fun of their own in gym class during Circus Week.

The kids juggled scarves, rode scooters outfitted with elephant trunks and tumbled through hoops, all while practicing their fine motor skills and learning to make working out fun.

“I want them to understand that lifelong fitness is so important,” said Jessica Czerniuk, who coordinated Circus Week while substituting for a PE teacher who is on paternity leave. “If we teach them to find fun ways to exercise, then maybe they’ll play outside instead of watching TV or playing video games.”

And it seems to be working — the activities are so much fun that Czerniuk said the kids are sad if time runs out in class before they get to all of the activities.

“They like dressing up and doing something they don’t normally get to do,” she said. 

Click through the photo gallery above for scenes from Circus Week.