Archives for February 2010

2010 Indoor Winter Olympics

Group Flags

Our children raved about our family’s 2008 Summer Olympics so much that before the 2010 Winter Olympics even began, they were asking what we were going to do to celebrate and compete at home.  I have to admit that the winter sports were much more challenging to try to recreate in order to have some fun learning experiences for the kids.  I searched online, combined ideas from various sites, and finally came up with a plan.   So, without further adieu, come follow our Olympians as they compete at the 2010 Indoor Winter Olympics!

Opening Ceremonies
Our Opening Ceremonies were not grand by any means, but it built excitement that would lead up to the Olympic events for the day.

  • We located Vancouver, British Columbia on our globe (as well as the other countries for which we had flags).
  • Each child represented their chosen country. We attached mini flags to our shirts and to our winter hats to indicate which country we represented.
  • We reviewed and discussed Colossians 3:23–24.
  • The children made Olympic Rings from tissue paper.
    Tissue Paper FlagToddler Flag
  • To get more familiar with the winter sports involved in the Olympics, we viewed photos of real events and watched a few short video clips from the official Olympic site.
  • Next, they played Winter Olympics Bingo.
    Bingo1Bingo2

Our Olympic Events

Figure Skating
The Olympians ‘skated’ in their sock feet, attempting to spin and twirl on one foot, jumping and landing on one foot, and of course, performing the free skate.

Ice Cube Bobsled Race
Bobsled

Yes, we had to bundle up…After all, it’s cold on the track!

Olympic Ring Toss
The Olympians attempted to throw diving rings onto a full bottle of pop.

Curling
Curling

Cross Country Skiing
Ski

Luge
Luge

Snowball Throwing
Snowball Throw1
Snowball Throw3
Should he have been disqualified for stepping over the line?

Sight Word Ice Hockey
Sight Word Hockey
This was a cute idea from Making Learning Fun.  You could also do addition or subtraction facts!

Additional Activities
For added fun, we brought some snow inside to discover ways to melt it.  Each child received an ice cube as well and tried to be the first one to make it disappear.  They tried adding salt to it, pouring warm water over it, rubbing it between their hands, and even tapping it.

The kids also did a Roll and count activity, Olympic word searches (1) (2), and watched as their ‘ice’ hockey player and figure skater glided across the counter.

Roll and Count

Closing Ceremony
Instead of simply passing out gold medals to all of the Olympians, I had them work extra hard to earn their gold.  To their surprise, they were given bowls filled with ice treasures!  The Olympians, at first, experienced a bit of a dilemma, but then they began to enjoy the challenge as they dug, picked, scraped, brushed, pounded, and poured hot water over the ice in order to get to their medals!

Medal Ice Treasures1 Medal Ice Treasures2 Medal Ice Treasures4 Medal Ice Treasures3

At the very end of the day, we even enjoyed a surprise Olympic sized cookie!  Congratulations to all of our Olympians.  They showed great sportsmanship and cheered each other on.

Closing Ceremony Cookie Olympic Table

Closing Ceremonies
What a fun, but exhausting day, celebrating the winter Olympics –INDOORS!

A Non-Complaining Spirit

Oh, how I wish that could be said of me!

Instead, God is allowing me to see this much needed trait through the sweet, sweet spirit  of our oldest child.  She has been experiencing quite a few off and on headaches since June, with an almost constant headache for the past two months.  Has she complained and moaned about how bad her head hurts?  No.  She continues with her schoolwork and play, rarely mentioning her pain.  However, if we ask her how dd1_smileher head is feeling, she says, “It hurts.”  “How long has it been hurting?”  “All day,” she says and then returns to what she was doing.  We just recently had an MRI done and it was discovered that she has “Severe Left Sphenoid Sinusitis” infection.  She is now on antibiotics and they are hopeful that by the end of the third week, her headaches will subside.  I am pleased to say that she has handled herself so well as she has had to visit doctors, have blood work taken, and then had the MRI done.

I truly think she is well on her way to hiding Philippians 2:14 into her heart and mind.   ”Do everything without complaining and arguing.”

Maybe I could learn a few things from this sweet child that God has blessed us with.  Thank You, Lord.

Joyful Singing

Who says young children can’t begin to hide God’s Word in their hearts and minds?  Moments like these bring great joy to my heart as I hear and see my little ones joyfully singing God’s Word!

Joyful SingingOur just turned two year old has been bringing the Joyful Hearts Tune binder to her siblings and I multiple times throughout the day.  There have been instances when I have been washing dishes and she’ll come up to me, hold out the binder, and ask with a spark in her eyes, “Sing mommy?”  How can I resist a moment to sit down and share in singing God’s Word with my littlest one?  I can’t!

Thank you, Lord, for the sweet, sweet, sound of children’s voices.

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