The Summer Olympics are a great way of teaching children about sportsmanship, teamwork and trying your best. As the Summer Olympics wrap up this weekend, we think back to our "Summer Olympics at summer camp" week and some of the favorite activities that were part of our games!
Making the Rings
Before our camp opening ceremonies, each class worked on making the Olympic rings to hang around the school. There are SO many ways to make the rings. Here we used paper plates and paint:
My favorite version is the one with painted handprints:
Making the Torches
These were simple to make, but the kids loved each having their own torch to hold while walking into our opening ceremonies!
Opening Ceremonies
With torches in hand, children marched into our big room by class (toddlers, preschoolers, school-agers). They then had to say the our version of the Olympic oath:
Children were then broken out into multi-age groups to form their Olympic teams. Each team had an animal name, and the children wore animal print scarves to show their team "colors"!
The Games
It was fun having the multi-age teams do daily challenges together. There were relay races, variations on games such as flyswatter tennis and even cup stacking!
The games were fun ... and also gave the children opportunities to develop social skills (cooperating with others) and practice small and large motor exercises. We'll miss the summer games ... and look forward to having a winter Olympic themed week in 2 years!
