Let the Games Begin
Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at 10:05AM
I am so excited about the Olympics this coming weekend. I always look forward to the watching the spectacle of the opening ceremonies. Do you remember the dramatics of snowboarder Johnny Lyall racing down slope and bursting through the ice-covered Olympic rings at the opening of the 2010 games in Vancouver?
This year, my kids are getting old enough share in my passion for the Olympic games. As a mother and a teacher, I find that there are so many wonderful opportunities throughout the games, not only for entertainment, but also for teaching – geography, culture, sport, environmental, history, fitness, science technology and art.
Friends and neighbours will join us to watch the opening ceremonies on Friday evening. Throughout the week, the kids and I are going to prepare by making some colourful decorations and Olympic themed food. Since my kids are fairly young, I am going to keep the preparation quite simple.
For decorations we are making a simple paper chain from construction paper in the Olympic colours and creating Olympic ring placemats using plastic cups. While preparing these crafts I will teach my kids that the five interlaced rings (blue, yellow, black, green and red) represent the original five continents of the world, united by games. Jackson has a map of the world in his room, so I will take the time to point out each continent. Looking at the size of the continents and understanding the vast populations represented by the games is a great way to teach the spirit of the games.
I have not finalized the menu for the evening, but I do have a few ideas. I can prepare healthy snacks of cheese and crackers, fresh fruit, veggies, whole grain breads and cold cuts. To decorate the platters, I will print off some flags of the different countries and tape them to toothpicks.
I could also prepare fish and chips or bangers and mash
as a salute to London, the host county. I also love the ideas of these Olympic torches made by filling ice cream cones with popcorn. Either way, it should be easy to represent the Olympic rings or to use the colours in food. I am thinking lifesavers, mini pizzas, cupcakes and round bowls to start.
London 2012 has its own YouTube channel which is great for kids. It is filled with educational and entertaining short clips on everything from venues to mascots. It gives a wonderful behind the scenes view of the preparation, planning and preparation that go into the Olympic games.
To make the evening even more fun for the kids, I am going to print off some of these fun Opening Ceremony bingo cards.
On our weekly trip to the library this week, we are hunting for the following books. They are also available at scholastic online or through Chapters.
by Mary Pope Osborne
Ancient Greece and the Olympics
by Mary Pope Osborne Natalie Pope Boyce
by Kathleen Krull
The Encyclopedia of the Summer Olympics
by David Fischer
by Andrew Donkin DK Publishing
The Canadian Olympic team features some wonderful stories of dedicated young people. Their personalities, stories and perseverance enthuse and inspire my children. We have visited the Team Canada website to watch videos and to look at many athlete profiles. Along with the profiles, kids can explore athletes by sport, sport descriptions, the event calendar and photos. The Canadian team motto this year is “Give Your Everything.” After looking at some of the athlete profiles, I asked the kids what they though this meant. Of course, Jackson though it meant he would have to liquidate his toy closet. With a little more talk the kids soon understood the hard work required to be an elite athlete.
We have created a board to keep track of the medal standings throughout the games. I simply printed out the flags of the countries that we would like to follow and glued them along the left side of a piece of printer paper. We will use bingo dabbers or stickers to mark the progress of each country.
Lastly I have purchased an Olympic t-shirt for each member of my family. They make beautiful keepsakes of the event and serve as a reminder of the fun days we spent learning about the Olympics and watching the games together.
Please feel free to comment with links, ideas or comments. I value your feedback.
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