London Olympics Ideas

The Olympics are almost here! Here is a nice list of ideas for activities surrounding the London Olympics.

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/summer_olympics.htm

And here are a few from us:

http://learningdevelopmentactivities.blogspot.com/search/label/olympics

Circles and O's

This is a simple activity you can do to learn about several different things. You can talk about colors, the shape circle, or the letter O. I also thought you could turn this into an Olympic rings on the flag activity. Brayden did this (pictured) at preshool.

AGE RANGE

Toddler and up. You might find this appropriate for some pre-toddlers, also.

SUPPLIES

• Paper
• Paint
• Paper Cup
• Plate to put paint on

PREP

• Gather supplies
• Prep work area (tablecloth or whatever you use to protect your work space)
• Prep child (aprons or whatever you do to protect clothing)
• Pour paint onto plates (one color per plate)

ACTIVITY

• Have your child dip the paper cup into the end (open end down)
• Have your child stamp the paper with the cup

EXTENSIONS
You could do this with a variety of items, including cookie cutters.

Olympic Ring Coloring Page

This activity is good for working on your child's fine motor skills. It also is a good activity for following directions.

AGE RANGE

Preschooler and older. Your child needs to be old enough to follow instructions and possibly old enough to color in lines. Brayden did this well at 4.5, but it is definitely beyond 2.5 year old Kaitlyn.

PREP

1. 
   
   I Googled "olympic ring coloring page" and found this coloring page. 
2. 
   
   I copied the picture and pasted it into Word.
3. 
   
   I added a title for my own benefit. I like titles.
4. 
   
   I printed the page off.

ACTIVITY

• 
  
  Start by talking about what the Olympic rings symbolize. For information on this, see this page on Wikipedia.
• 
  
  The colors of the rings are specific. We got out each color for each ring. I then highlighted the word of each color for each ring in the respective color. So I highlighted the word "yellow" with a yellow crayon.
• 
  
  Have your child color the rings appropriately.

Flag

With the Olympics going on, I wanted to do some Olympic inspired activity. First, we talked about the Olympics. We talked about the many different countries from around the world that participate in the Olympics, then looked at flags from around the world.

Once we had done that, I told Brayden and Kaitlyn that they were going to create their own flags. Pictured are their creations (Kaitlyn--2.5--left and Brayden--4.5--right). This photo was taken while still wet, so we don't have the lamination or stick on yet.

Skills Taught

This activity taps into your child's creative side. You can use it as an opportunity to talk about the history of the Olympic games and/or your country's flag.

Age Range

Old enough to do art projects of any sort.

Supplies

• 
  
  Art supplies. I broke out the art box and told them they could use anything they wanted to create their flag: paint, crayons, markers, glitter, stickers, do-a-dots, etc. You could also use this as a shape activity and do something along the lines outlined here.
• 
  
  Paper
• 
  
  Contact paper to "laminate" (optional)
• 
  
  Stick to hold flag on (optional)

Activity

• 
  
  Talk about flags and that they represent things. You can talk about country flags, state flags, etc.
• 
  
  Have your child create his personal flag.
• 
  
  Allow dry
• 
  
  Cover with contact paper if desired
• 
  
  Attach a stick so your child can carry his flag

I plan to do some Olympic games as a family during the Olympic games and will have my children bring their flags to each event :)