Yesterday was probably one of my all time favorite days at school. We hosted our very own Kindergarten Olympics. Usually my team teacher and I are not the most organized, not to say we don’t know what’s going on, but often we get "crazy ideas" and then forget a few pieces in planning. It always comes together and turns out great. However, this time we planned everything very well. We hand picked parents and teachers to be team coaches, we had detailed notes for our coaches, we really studied and worked hard with our kiddos learning about their countries and the Winter Olympics, we had music and videos, we had photographers, we had fun events and we even had the whole school on board with supporting our kids. It was a tiring day, but all in all a great one. Here are some highlights from the day.
First, we made an Olympic ring snack. We took butter cookies, icing and sprinkles and turned them into the Olympic rings. Here is what the end result looked like (not the best lighting, but you get the idea):
Then at recess we had the kids train and warm up for the big events. We began the day with Opening Ceremonies. The kids had each made a flag that represented their country and we played the Olympic theme song while they paraded around the gym. They were so proud and excited. Then we moved on to the main events! We had eight events set up around the school.
1. Speed skating – We had the kids skate around the gym in their sock feet. They were so cute, and they all pretended to be Apollo Anton Ohno.
2. Ski jumping – They ran and jumped from a piece of tape to see who could go the farthest.
3. Hockey – They took turns shooting a hockey puck between cones.
4. Snowball toss – Not a real event, but we were running out of ideas. They tossed marshmallows into Olympic rings.
5. Bobsled – The coaches pulled kids around a course on a plastic sled.
6. Luge – By far the favorite event. We used an old plastic square scooter and let the kids race down the main hallway in our school. It is a ramp, so they had a lot of fun. Here is a picture of one of the coaches racing along. There were more wrecks with the adults than there were with the kids.
7. Wii Figure skating
8. Wii Snowboarding – Complete with a photo-op on a real snow board.
We completed the day with a medal ceremony where each child earned a bronze medal, silver medal and gold medal. It was a great day.
Here are some videos of the teachers having a little fun!
I think the teachers enjoyed themselves more than the kiddos! There were a few more videos of adults, but I did not post because I didn’t want to embarrass anyone! It was a great day with lots of laughs and giggles, and I think the kids learned a little too!