I now have a new challenge in putting together our activities...I have a 5 year old who has done these themes already, and is now doing kindergarten work (but still LOVES the weekly themes and activities) and a 2.5 year old who is ready to start, but obviously needs a simpler format than my older one. So, I welcome any advice you have as you go through these themes with multiple ages! I'll do my best to clarify what/when I am doing different activities for each age. I do read pretty much all of the books to both ages, though.
Ok, on to the 2014 Winter Olympics! I have compiled a pretty good-sized list of Olympic projects and Olympic activities to carry you through the 2 weeks of the Olympic games. I did not get my hands on any books...as you can imagine, if you come late to the party at the library they are all gone! But, I'm not too worried about it. I think they are plenty engaged by talking about each sport and then watching a little of it in action. I've pretty much taken up all of the space left on the DVR recording each day's events, and we just watch a few snippets of each event in the evening. (Don't worry...I'm not advocating 4 hours of TV time each day!) As for the book situation, we are actually working on another theme for the next two weeks, which I'll post about soon. So that is keeping us very busy with read alouds.
Here's a list of some activity and project ideas for you and your kids as you enjoy this year's Winter Olympics!
- Medal Tracker-Make a poster to keep track of how many medals the USA wins. You can also keep track of other countries that you have interest in. This is a great way to teach tallying, counting and eventually, addition! This whole two weeks is also a wonderful lesson in Geography! Once you start talking about the Olympics, you'll be surprised how often you will hear the names of different countries pop out of your children's mouths.
The pictures of the Medals and Olympic Rings can be found at Activity Village
- Map-Hang up a world map. Print out miniature flags for as many countries as you would like and cut them out. Then, help your child as much or as little as they need to tape each flag onto the corresponding country. Again, awesome geography lesson, and so much fun for their curious, expanding minds!
- Mini Book-Make this Olympics Mini Book with your kids. Simply download, print, assemble and then read it together and illustrate. This Mini Book can be used on its own, or as part of a Lap Book.
- Lap Book-Make an Olympics Lap Book. I am definitely no pro at Lap Books. This is only our second attempt (I'm hesitant to share pictures, because it is still a work in progress, and I'm just so non-artistic that it's a little embarassing. But...my kids don't know any better and they are loving putting it together!) So give it a try and see what you come up with. There's no wrong way to put it together. Not sure what a Lap Book is? see my note below to get you started*. Here's what we have so far (mostly assembled, not all colored yet)
Everything for the Lap Book (except for the Mini Book, which is here) came from Activity Village. If you poke around under the "Winter Olympics" tab you will find all kinds of worksheets, activities, flags, event-specific sheets, medals, the olive leaf wreath and so much more. You can really tailor this to what interests your child.
- Homemade Medals-Make salt dough medals and paint them. If you've got awesome craft supplies, go for gold, silver and bronze. We will just be painting our medals yellow, gray and brown. Close enough! When you make the medal out of the dough, don't forget to make a hole for a ribbon or string to go through before you bake. See my salt dough recipe here.
- Olympic Events-Of course, if you are going to the trouble of making medals, you have to compete for them! Get creative (and of course be careful), but let them skate on the kitchen floor in their socks, make a bobseld out of pillows on the floor (NOT down the steps!), go sledding outside, play hockey...use your imagination! And you can't forget the medals ceremony!
- Watch!-Watch the Olympics together. Don't let them watch hours of coverage, PLEASE! But watch a little of each event and discover what interests your child. Talk about unlocking their world... to see so many people from so many countries performing amazing athletic feats that your child has likely never seen before.
*So what is a Lap Book? It is often used in homeschooling, but is perfectly suited for anyone looking to really dive into a theme and get hands on. It is a built in set of activities, learning tools and a keepsake all rolled into one. You take one or two file folders and fill them with small activities, booklets and games to help your child learn about a subject. They can range from a simple file folder with its original fold, to multiple folders glued together with special folds. You can glue the activities on the pages and use construction paper to create small pockets to hold items such as mini books. Here is a link to a great tutorial by Erica from Confessions of A Homeschooler. Or, if you just do a quick search you will find a TON of resources. Remember....you are likely not making this for an older child with tons of information...keep it simple and small so that your child will ENJOY the process! As you can see in my pictures, I didn't even use the right kind of folder this time, and it's a little messy because I tore out some built in pockets...but it's about the process, not the format! I guarantee your child will think it's great regardless of what it looks like!
