Olympic Theme

Introducing the theme:

Teach the children a bit about the Olympic Games:

Many people from many countries get together to play games and celebrate friendship, unity and sports every four years. There are Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The games take place in a different country. The first Olympic games originated in Greece, a beautiful country in Europe - show this on a map or globe.

ART


OLYMPIC FLAG
Have the children design a flag to use during your opening ceremonies.

Olympic Flags:

Print a copy of the flag that looks similar to the official Olympic flag. Make sure to display one that has been colored in, cut and glue to a drinking straw. Explain that this is a very special flag - the Olympic Flag:

1. It has five interlocking colored rings (circles) on a white background.

2. The rings represent the five major land areas of the world - show this land areas on a map or globe.

3. The rings are interlocked to show friendship among the nations.

*Count the rings (circles) together and identify the color of each ring.

*Have the children stand-up and have them interlock their arms and form a circle, so that they can experience in a sensory way how the rings interlock and unify them. Demonstrate how the rings also resemble a letter O the first letter in the word Olympic.

*Make sure that children have crayons or markers with these colors.

*Display the flag so children can see the sequence of colors. Give instructions to start coloring the first ring and so forth. For younger children it helps to color the words printed on the activity page slightly and they use this as guide to color the rings correctly.

*Have children practice scissor cutting skills and indicate to cut out the flag along the gray dotted lines.

*The flag can be taped or glued to a drinking straw or leave as is. Get ready to sing and march with their Olympic flag with the songs below.

Olympic Flags #2

Show your children some pictures of flags from countries around the world. Encourage them to tell you about the colors and designs they see in the flags. Set out construction paper in a variety of colors. Let your children create their own flags on the construction paper with crayons, markers, stickers, and other decorative materials. Tape each child's flag to a cardboard tube.

Olympic Torches

TORCH
Materials:Paper towel tube,silver foil, orange/yellow paper
Directions: Cover the tube with foil. Add constrution paper flames to the top.

To celebrate the opening of their Olympic Games, have your children make "torches" by wrapping cardboard tubes with aluminum foil. Help them put strips of yellow and orange tissue paper in their tubes for "flames."

Medals


GOLD MEDALS
Materials: Gold paint, small paper plates, red/ white/ and blue streamers Directions: Have the children paint the paper plates gold (or you can ahead of time) Add a pieceof streamer to go around the childs neck. Glue to the back of the plate. On the front you can write".............went for the Gold".

Hold your own backyard/preschool olympics. Include games such as the 3-legged race, the discus (frisbee), the broom handle toss (instead of a javelin), the broad jump, and the obstacle course.

Make your own olympic medals by spray painting the lids of frozen juice cans and glueing them to a ribbon.

Let your children help you make award medals to hand out at the end of the games. Cut large circles out of cardboard. Let your children cover the circles with gold foil (available at craft stores) to make 'medals." Tape the medals to lengths of crepe paper. Set them aside.

MUSIC and MOVEMENT

After the Torch Lighting, have your children join hands and sing the Friendship Flame Song. There is a verse for each set of "games":

Friendship Flame Song
Sung to: The mulberry bush"
Here we go round the friendship flame,

The friendship flame, the friendship flame.

Here we go round the friendship flame;

Lets get ready for games.

We will have fun and run some races,

For track races:

Run some races, run some races.
We will have fun and run some races

At our Olympics today.

For running events:

We will have fun and throw and jump,
Throw and jump, throw and jump.
We will have fun and throw and jump
At our Olympics today.

For Dancing Games:

We will have fun and balance and dance,
Balance and dance, balance and dance.
We will have fun and balance and dance
At our Olympics today.

For water games:

We will have fun and play water games,
Play water games, play water games.
We will have fun and play water games
At our Olympics today.

For the Obstacle course:

We will have fun at the obstacle course
Obstacle course, obstacle course.
We will have fun at the obstacle course
At our Olympics today.

Games

Track Races

Plan several races for your children, such as a partner race, a running backward race, or a crawling race . Make the races "no-loose". Hand out Olympic Badges to all the competitors.


Olympic March
Invite your children to hold their Olympic Flags. Have them line up in pairs with their flags gently waving back and forth. Let each pair of children take a turn leading the rest of the children in a march around the Olympic Torch (see Day One).

Throwing Games
Hold up a large, plastic hoop and let your children take turns throwing soft sponge-type balls or beanbags through it. Or place the hoop on the ground and have your children try to throw beanbags into the middle of it. Try hanging a bell from a clothesline or tree branch. Let your children toss beanbags at the bell to make
it ring. Give Olympic Badges to all the competitors.

Jumping Games
Place a large plastic hoop on the ground. Invite your children tojump into and out of the hoop. Have a jumping race across a designated area. Use chalk to draw a line above the children's heads on a fence or wall. Challenge your children to try to jump up and touch the mark. Give each child who jumps an Olympic Badge.

Dancing Rings

Collect lids from large plastic containers. Cut out thecenter of each lid, leaving a one inch rim all the way around. Give a rim to each of your children. Set out lengths of crepe paper in a variety of colors. Help your children tape the ends of the crepe paper to their plastic rims to make Dancing Rings.


Dancing Games
Have your children hold their Dancing Rings from the Art activity above. Play some rhythmic dancing music. Encourage your children to dance around, twirling and twisting their Dancing Rings. Invite them to discover how to make their rings move in a circle, up high, all around, and flutter across the ground.

Balancing Games
Plan several balancing games for your children. For example, you could let them try walking on a balance beam placed on the floor, balance beanbags on their heads and walk a short distance, or stand on one foot. Again, make the games "no-lose" so that anyone who participates is a winner and receives an Olympic Badge.

WaterGames
Play water games with your children today. Depending on the abilities of your children, you may wish to do some or all of the following:

  • Use spray bottles for squirting specific objects.
  • Jump over a sprinkler.
  • Have a relay race, moving water from one bucket to another using only a spoon.

After the children have dried off, hand out Olympic Badges to theparticipants.

Obstacle Course
Plan a simple obstacle course for your children. If you wish, include some of the following activities:

  • Ride tricycles from one place to another.
  • Climb over or under an object.
  • Fill a wagon with blocks, pull it to a specified spot, and unloadit.
  • Roll or kick a ball from one place to another.
  • Crawl from one spot to another.
  • Go down a slide.

Have Olympic Badges waiting at the end for all the competitors.

Indoor Olympics:

  1. Javelin=Use straws
  2. Shot Put=Use a cotton ball.
  3. Discus=Use a paper plate.
  4. Low Low Hurdles=Pile up a few books and have runners sprint back and forth 10 times,
    jumping the hurdle each time while some one times them.
  5. High Jump=Use a pile of books.
  6. Standing Long Jump =use a yardstick to measure distance jumped. Other events may be added
    to the program. Establish a rotation system and have each player
    participate in some or all of the events. This could be used as a
    week long activity.You could challenge another class to a dual indoor
    track meet.

Outdoor Olympics

  1. Shotput=Each team member tosses a water filled balloon. Take the measure
    where the balloon lands or breaks. Total distance and record.
  2. 25 yard dash=Mark off 25 yards(or whatever distance you wish) . All teams will do
    a crawling relay. The first member of each team crawls to a
    designated point then crawls back to the team. The next member does
    the same, and so on until all team members finish.Record the times
    for each team.
  3. Low Hurdles=Make a simple obstacle course of "low hurdles"- a card table.three
    foot high rope between two trees,pole on two chairs. Teams take turns
    going under the low hurdles, one team member on the course at a time.
    Record times.
  4. Closing Ceremony=After competion, total the scores. Play patriotic music and announce
    gold, silver and bronze finishers. Award all participants medals-a
    foil covered chocolate coin gluded to a cardboard circle nd hung on a
    ribbon (or the art idea I give after this). Award small American
    flags and flag stickers .
  5. The Olympic Feast=Salute the countries that participate in your Olympics by plannning
    an ethnic feast. Have each family prepare a dish of their ancestors'
    country. Have some families bring salad and bread, ask others to
    bring main dishes and a third to supply desserts. Ask the cooks to
    supply the recipes, and after the party put together a souvenir
    booklet of the Olympic feast specialties to hand out.
  6. Day is Done=End the day with a Sing Along. Try to see how many songs from or
    about other lands you can sing. "Frere Jacques", "Waltzing
    Matilda", "La Cuccaracha", and "Edelweiss" are a few ideas, look in
    the library for the words.

Food
INTERNATIONAL SNACK
Ham and Melon
This snack is eaten as an appetizer in Italy. Cut a cantaloupe in half, cut off the rind, and remove the seeds. Cut each half into 8 thin wedges. Wrap a slice of ham around each melon wedge and serve.
Makes 8 servings.

Mango Lassi
Chilled yogurt drinks, called lassis, are a favorite drink in India.
In a blender process 2 ripe mangoes (peeled and seeded ), 2 cups
plain yogurt, and 4 ice cubes. Add milk and honey to taste. Makes 6
servings.

Tortillas
Made with either corn or wheat flour, these flat rounds are a staple of the Mexican diet. Combine 2 cups masa harina (corn flour) and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Gradually add 1 ½ cups warm water and mix with your hands until mixture forms soft dough. Form into 15 equal balls. Flatten each ball into a thin 6-inch circle. Fry tortillas in a dry pan over medium-high heat for about three minutes, turning once. Serve warm. Makes 15 tortillas.

Vermicelli With Fruit and Nuts This traditional Kenyan dish shows the influence of European settlers who introduced noodles and other foods many years ago. Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add 3 cups vermicelli (broken into 1-inch pieces) and saute (until lightly browned. Pour in 3 cups hot water. stir in 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup raisins, 1/3~ cup chopped dates, 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, and 1teaspoon ground cardamom. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Vanilla Milk Shake
This frosty beverage is an American classic. Combine 2 cups vanilla ice cream, ¾ cup milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a blender. Process until smooth. Makes 6 servings.

CLOSING CEREMONIES
At the end of the final day of your Olympic celebration, plan a special Closing Ceremony.

  • Sing the first verse of the Friendship Flame Song one more time.
  • Pass out the medals your children made on Day Four.
  • Hold up the Olympic Rings Mural from Day Five as your children march around the Olympic Torch one last time.
  • Pass out the children's torches and flags for them to take home.
  • Play the Olympic themes music and have a parade
  • Make flags
  • Get 5 hula hoops to make the rings Make USA flags
  • Set up a mini olympics:sponge toss, ring toss, etc
  • Make other country flags
  • Give everyone a medal for participation
  • Have pictures of olympic events from the paper or magazines