Olympic Games at Home
My family and I have enjoyed watching some of the Winter Olympics in the evenings. Our favorites are the speed skating, skiing, and the snowboarding events. I love watching the athleticism, the patriotism, and the sportsmanship of the competitors.
Two years ago, my family went snow skiing in Colorado. I did not ski as I was 8 months pregnant with Andrew, but I loved watching my children experience the snow. My husband, Clayton, Kyla, and Jake absolutely loved skiing on the mountain. They have also gone ice skating. None of us are very good at skiing or skating, which makes us appreciate the abilities of the winter athletes even more.
Our family is only one of many in our area who home school. When our kids were younger and smaller, schooling did not take very much of our time. We spent a lot of time together at the park playing and visiting. We went on field trips together. We took advantage of our close vicinity to the George Bush Presidential Library and attended many events held there. We call ourselves the Homeschoolers-on-the-Brazos. Unfortunately, we do less and less as a group because our children are growing up and going in different directions.
Our family at the opening ceremony. In white shirts, Clayton, Lara, Kyla, Lane, and Jake
One of our most memorable events was holding an Olympic Games. It began with an opening ceremony. Each family was asked to choose a mascot for your family and make a flag to carry in the opening parade.
I am not one to sew very much. Little did I know, most of the families were filled with the Olympic spirit and went all out. One family had t-shirts printed with their name atop a family crest reminiscent of medieval knights. Of course, they also had a matching flag.
Other families sewed and painted their own flags and shirts. They really put thought, time, and effort into the task. Like I said before, I did not grasp the importance of the family flag and mascot. I purchased red t-shirt paint, 5 plain white t-shirts, and one piece of pre-cut yellow felt.
Since I love the sun and sunshine, I decided that we would be the suns. That’s easy. I gave each child, at the time I only had three, a t-shirt. I told them to paint a sun on the front of their shirt anyway they wanted. They had fun doing it. It did not look very good, but there were three suns on three shirts. I painted my husband’s shirt and mine, too. Then I wrote each person’s name on the back of the shirt. I also painted a sun on the yellow felt and taped it to a wooden dowel. Our flag was made. I had fulfilled the assignment.
Anyway, my flag paled in comparison to the other flags. I remember looking at them and thinking, “They have flags. They made real flags. Oh, they really meant make a flag.” I digress.
The opening ceremony was complete with music, parade, and a torch lighting ceremony. Then we played games. They were not your usual Olympic games. We did not swim or ski, but we did have water games. We played kickball. We had races. We roped a plastic calf head on a bale of hay. We had a great time playing family against family. The young playing alongside the old. It was a lot of fun.
Get together with a group of friends and plan a day of Olympic-sized fun. Celebrate the athleticism, patriotism, and sportsmanship of each family. Do a unit study on Greece and the origin of the Olympics. The possibilities are endless. Hosting the Olympic Games at home is a great way to participate in the spirit of the games.
What a great idea. something for all ages involved.
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