Olympics

Are We There Yet: Our Virtual Trip to the United Kingdom

In our house, we love to travel and learn about different cultures and countries. From taking an actual trip to visiting an ethnic restaurant or listening to music from another part of the world, the kids are almost always game.

 

One of our favourite shows to watch together is "Are We There Yet? World Adventure" on Kids' CBC. "Are We There Yet" features real life kids who travel around the world and share their adventures through travel logs, journal writing, and on-location narrating. The hosts' participate in a variety of activities in each country they visit, from exploring historic sites to sampling the local cuisine and participating in sports that are popular in the region.

 

Inspired by the show, this summer we decided to begin a virtual trip around the world. We will pick a country, find its location on the globe, prepare recipes from the area, and learn about its culture through crafts, games, stories, and music. As the host of this year's Summer Olympic Games, the United Kingdom seemed like a natural place to start.

 

Over the past few weeks, we have been enjoying books such as "Katie Goes to London" by James Mayhew, "This is London" by Miroslav Sasek, and of course, "A Bear Called Paddington", by Michael Bond. We have listened to the music of famous British composers Georges Handel (who was born in Germany but later moved to London and became a British citizen), and Gustav Holtz, and drummed along to "The Best of Scottish Pipes & Drums".

 

 

Two nights ago, we had a United Kingdom theme night. Before dinner, we played football ("soccer") and a few rounds of "London Bridge is Falling Down" in the garden ("backyard"). Next, we headed inside to enjoy the Cornish Pasties we had prepared earlier in the day:

 

 

 

After dinner, it was time to have fun with our Flags of the United Kingdom puzzle and playset again:

 

 

We ended our night off with chocolate flapjacks for dessert:

 

 

 

We are looking forward to learning more about the United Kingdom as we watch the Olympics over the next few weeks.  We are also looking forward to watching more episodes of "Are We There Yet" so that we can decide where to go next on our virtual trip.

Posted by momstown Teach on 07/26/2012 - 19:44
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Montessori Inspired UK Flag Activity Set

One of the wonderful things about the Olympic Games is that kids have the opportunity to see flags from around the world. We have had some wonderful discussions about what a flag is, and the significance of the colours and symbols used in the flag.  As part of our virtual trip to the United Kingdom, we have been focused on the flag of the United Kingdom this past week.

 

We learned is that the iconic "Union Jack" that we most often associate with the United Kingdom, was created by combining the traditional flags of England, Scotland, and Ireland, three of the four countries (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland), that together make up the United Kingdom.

 

I had initially intended to create a Montessori inspired Union Jack playset that the kids could use to recognize the UK flag.  However, when we learned the history and origins of the flag, I decided to create a set that would allow us to create the Union Jack, as well as the three flags that inspired it:

 

 

It was simple to make, requiring only scissors, a ruler, and white, blue and red felt.  Using the white background and thick red pieces, we were able to create St. George's Cross, the traditional flag of England:

 

 

Next, we used the white background and the two thin red strips to create St. Patrick's cross, the flag historically associated with Ireland:

 

 

The blue background and two long white pieces combined to form St. Andrew's Cross, the flag of Scotland:

 

 

The blue background, with all of the other pieces arrayed on it in the same configurations as they appear on the other flags, creates the flag of the United Kingdom:

 

 

As my two year old nephew discovered, the pieces of the flag are also great for sorting by colour, shape, and size, and for arranging to create a variety of unique flags.

 

We enjoyed this flag activity and learned so much from it that I know we will be creating many more flag sets as we continue to explore different places on our "Are We There Yet" inspired virtual visits to countries around the world.

Posted by momstown Teach on 07/26/2012 - 14:13
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How your kids can build their own Olympic stadium

Olympic collage

My five-year-old has created an Olympic stadium in the front hall! Read on to find out how he did it...

Posted by Teacher Mom on 07/22/2012 - 21:17
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"O" is for Olympics

Sometimes the best ideas for are the simplest.  A few days ago, my nephew C., who is two, noticed an advertisement featuring the Olympic Rings.  He is beginning to recognize letters of the alphabet, and he commented that there were letter "O's" in the picture. 

 

As I began to explain that the picture was of the Olympic Rings, and not of the letter "O", I realized that he was right as well.  The circles in the Olympics Rings do look like letter "O's".  Moreover, many words associated with the Olympic Games begin with the letter "O", including "Olympics", "Opening Ceremonies", "Outdoor" events, "Outstanding" performances, "Ore" used to the make the medals, "Overseas", where many Olympic Games take place, and the "Oceans" that divide the five continents represented by the Rings.

 

"Opportunity" also begins with the letter "O", and I was not about to pass this one up.  We dug out our craft supplies, and created our own "O is for Olympics" alphabet craft. 

 

First, we traced circles onto blue, yellow, black, green, and red construction paper.  While we were working, we talked about other objects that were circles, and worked on identifying each of the colours.  C. is a little young to cut out the circles himself, but it would be an excellent scissor skills activity for older kids.  Once I had cut all of the "O"s out, C. practised counting them to make sure there were five.

 

 

Next, it was time to arrange the "O's" on our paper.  This turned out to be a great lesson on patterns.  After a few experiments, we got it right. I cut a slit in each "O", and C. and I worked together to link the rings and glue them down.  The linking activity was alot like threading beads: great fine motor practice for little fingers:

 

 

Once we were finished, we picked our five favourite "O" words relateted to the Olympics - one for each ring - and wrote them out underneath the rings:

 

 

Once again, the Olympics provided a wonderful teachable moment. We worked on colours, shapes, letters, counting, and fine motor skills, all while having fun.  I am looking forward to many more Olympic opportunities to learn over the next few weeks.

Posted by momstown Teach on 07/15/2012 - 23:53
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Easy Olympic Torch Craft

The Olympic Games provide many wonderful teaching moments and opportunities to connect with your kids.  With the 2012 Summer Olympics in London just a few weeks away, have been trying to incorporate as many Olympic related projects as possible into our day to day activities.

 

Today, we discussed the Olympic torch. We learned that several months before the Games begin, the Olympic flame is ignited at the site of the ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece. Using a parabolic (curved) mirror, the fire is kindled by the light of the sun. The Olympic torch is lit from this flame, and then the torch is carried in a relay to the city hosting the Games. We located Greece on a globe, and then located London, England, so we could see how far the torch had traveled. We then logged onto the website for the London, 2012 Olympics, and explored the interactive map showing the route of the torch through the United Kingdom.

 

Inspired by the torch bearers and by the achievements of the Olympic athletes themselves, we decided to host a torch relay of our own. First, we made our Olympic torch:

 

1) Cut a piece of brown construction paper into a square:

 

 

2) Roll your square of paper into a cone shape.  Glue or tape along the seam:

 

 

3. Gather pieces of red, yellow, and orange tissue paper.  Scrunch each piece of tissue paper in the centre.  Tear the top to give it the ragged look of a flame.  Glue (or simply stuff) tissue paper pieces into the torch:

 

 

4) Host your own torch relay.  Have the kids stagger themselves throughout your yard, house, or a nearby park, and then practice running and handing off the torch to one another.

 

There you have it: lessons in geography, history, science, arts and crafts, and physical activity all packed into one day of Olympic fun.  You could even incorporate math by having kids calculate the distance the torch has travelled, or calculate the differences in the speed of each runner in your home relay. 

 

How has your family been preparing for the Olympics? Make sure you add your crafts and activities to our Olympic link-up!

Posted by momstown Teach on 07/13/2012 - 23:07
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25 Ways to make the Olympics a Teachable Experience

olympics teachable moments

 

Countdown is on for the Olympics and it’s a fabulous excuse to both celebrate sport and fit in some great learning! Fantastic teachable moments are tucked into most elements of the Olympics. With so much culture, competition, language, emotion and activity the opportunities to learn things is at an all-time-high.


Don’t miss the chance to follow the Olympics AND help your child broaden their mind. Here are our favourite ideas, for all ages, to enjoy and learn from the world’s greatest.

Geography


1.    Pull out a map or globe and find all the participating countries (there are 204, this could be a good rainy day project!)

2.    Pick 10 countries and identify their flags and watch for them during the Opening ceremonies.

3.    Create a flag for the countries your family will be cheering for.

4.    Pick 5 top Canadian athletes to learn about and find their Canadian hometowns on a map of Canada.

 

Sport


5.    New Sports: Some sports profiled will be new to your kids – are they familiar with Hurdles, Triathlon or Archery? Great time to learn about new games and rules as you watch and play together.

6.    THEIR Sport: Watch the sports they play and let the inspiration begin. Have a soccer player or karate kid? Their jaw will drop in amazement. Many athletes have found the power to continue in competition based on the inspiration of the games - open that door wide.

7.    What sport is popular in other parts of the world? Fencing is popular elsewhere in the world, why not here? Why is Soccer called Football in the UK?

8.    History of sport – what were the first sports in the Olympics? What was the most recently added? Has our country always been in the summer games? Did we ever miss one? What countries have hosted the Summer games? What year did Canada host?

9.    Host a Mini-Olympics in the backyard. Set up a pretend for races, cartwheels for gymnastics and laps in the pool. Invite neighbourhood kids to your local field for a soccer match or track and field races.


Science


10.    Watching humans achieve incredible feats is a fabulous science lesson. How DOES that athlete move his legs so fast? How does the gymnast flip like that? Pull out a basic anatomy book to talk about the extraordinary body and how its muscles work.

11.    Nutrition and Fuel – what do their bodies need to energise themselves for such high level sport? Discuss healthy choices and how a protein packed breakfast is a better food choice than junk. Try eating like an athlete during the Olympics.

12.    Science makes athletes faster – point out the diving caps and slick uniforms the athletes wear in order to be as aerodynamic as possible. Every half second counts and science makes them faster.


Literacy


13.    Great Olympic themed books to  borrow at the library are:
         G is for Gold Medal
         When Granny Won Olympic Gold
         Panda Goes to the Olympics: Animalympics
         Hour of the Olympics: Book 16 (Magic Tree House)


14.    Read the daily standings together – even if you don’t get the newspaper at home, this is a great chance to pick it up together and read it daily.

15.    Make an Olympic Scrapbook. Use newspaper clippings to add to the news. These great Olympic printables make journaling and colouring even more fun.


Math

16.    Watch the times of the races and have your child do the math between finishers. Discuss the point of difference and what that means in a race placement.

17.    Olympic Math: Add up the # of countries (204) and the # of athletes (10,000) and divide to figure out the average team size.

18.    Look for the numbers in the news stories like: # of athletes, Olympic village has # number of beds, Canada has sent 277 athletes versus China with #..... Talking about numbers always leads to more numercy dicussion and more math!

19.    Countdown the number of day until the Olympics and also during the Olympics.


Creative Arts


20.    See how many ways you can create the 5 Ring Olympic Logo – trace round plates and bowls, and colour or paint them in

21.    Make your own medals and have a podium presentation to Gold, Silver & Bronze. Salt Dough is a super way to create permanent medals.

22.    Create a series of flags or banners representing many participating countries.


Life


23.    Learn one word, like Peace, in all languages spoken at the games (thanks Name Your Tune Candace for that idea).

24.    Winning and Losing – great open discussion on this topic and how all athlete comes to the games to WIN but just being there is a privilege.

25.    Perseverance, Persistence and Passion. Talk with your kids about the dedication it takes to become a world champion and the daily effort these athletes.


Most importantly, be open to learning something yourself about the Olympics. If you aim to open the world to your children and teach them, you will always learn more too.


Happy Olympics!


Posted by momstown mama on 07/13/2012 - 19:01
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