Tag Archives: Summer Olympics

Camp Au Pair – Paris Summer Olympics

Next week’s Camp Au Pair theme is Paris Summer Olympics. The 2024 Summer Olympics are taking place in Paris, France, July 26-August 11.

Crafts, recipes, activities, and games related to the Summer Olympics can be found here on the Camp Au Pair Summer Olympics pinboard.

Culture Sharing – The Olympics bring so many opportunities for learning about other countries. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

  • Show your kids photos of your country’s Olympic team and tell them about any athletes you are aware of.
  • Host an international playdate with au pairs with kids of similar ages (with host parent’s permission), so you can each teach the kids a little about each of your countries.
  • Help your kids look up countries they see competing in the games on a map or globe.
  • Print out a blank world map and help your kids mark the countries they see represented in the Olympics.
  • If you are French or have any au pair friends from France, talk with your kids about what Paris is like and things children their age like to do in France.

Videos – On YouTube you can find many videos for kids about the Olympics.

Books – Stop by your local library and look for books about the Olympics.

Some good ones include: Olympig!, G is for Gold Medal: An Olympic Alphabet, How to Train with a T-Rex and Win 8 Gold Medals, Wilma Unlimited, America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle, Way to Go Alex!, Touch the Sky, Pele: King of Soccer, A Picture Book of Jesse Owens & Babar’s Celestville Games.

You can also check on YouTube for videos of books being read aloud.

Fun Fact: The Olympic symbol consists of five interlaced rings of equal dimensions, used alone, in one or in five different colors, which are, from left to right, blue, yellow, black, green and red. The Olympic symbol (the Olympic rings) expresses the activity of the Olympic Movement and represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games.

Image: Project Nursery

Camp Au Pair – Summer Olympics

The Olympics started this week!

I have put together some great ideas to correlate with the activities of the Summer Games! Lace up your sneakers and let’s get going!!

Virtual Learning:

Books:

Check out this collection of book ideas about the Olympics!

  • Hour of the Olympics: Book 16 (Magic Tree House) 
     

    No girls allowed at the Olympic Games!  That”s the rule when the Magic Tree House whisks ack and Annie back to ancient Greece. But when Annie tells jack to go to the games without her, he knows she”s up to something. Will Annie find a way to see the games? Or will she get herself-and Jack-into Olympic-size trouble?

  • Wilma Rudolph

Wilma was born into a family with 22 brothers and sisters, in the segregated South. She  contracted polio in her early years and her doctors said she would never walk again. But Wilma persisted with treatment, and she recovered her strength by the age of 12. At school, Wilma showed a talent for basketball and sprinting, earning the nickname “Skeeter” (mosquito) as she ran so fast. Wilma was in college when she went to the 1960 Olympics. She not only won gold in sprint events, but also broke world records with her sprinting skill. She had beaten polio to become an Olympic champion. She is a huge inspiration to many women in sports around the world. This moving book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the athlete’s life.

At sixteen years old, Laurie Hernandez has already made many of her dreams come true—and  yet it’s only the beginning for this highly accomplished athlete. A Latina Jersey girl, Laurie saw her life take a dramatic turn in 2016 when she was chosen to be part of the US Olympic gymnastics team.

After winning gold in Rio as part of the Final Five, Laurie also earned an individual silver medal for her performance on the balance beam. She then danced her way into everyone’s hearts while competing on—and winning!—the hit reality TV show Dancing with the Stars.

Whatever activities you chose to do, there will be lots of fun going on!

Photo by: Vincent Angler {flickr}, Craig Maccubin {flickr}

Around the World in 80 Days – Romanian Olympic Athlete, Nadia Comaneci

Nadia Comaneci, was born in Romania in 1961.  She is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976 at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0 at the Olympic Games.

You can watch her perfect 10 play out here!

Romania is a southeastern European country known for the forested region of Transylvania, ringed by the Carpathian Mountains. Its preserved medieval towns include Sighişoara, and there are many fortified churches and castles, notably clifftop Bran Castle, long associated with the Dracula legend.

 

 

Camp Au Pair – Summer Olympics

The Olympics were scheduled to start this week, but alas, COVID19 changed all of that.

Despite the postponement of the Summer Games to next year, we have put together some great ideas to correlate with the activities of the Summer Games! Lace up your sneakers and let’s get going!!

Virtual Learning:

Books:

Check out this collection of book ideas about the Olympics!

  • Hour of the Olympics: Book 16 (Magic Tree House) 

    No girls allowed at the Olympic Games!  That”s the rule when the Magic Tree House whisks ack and Annie back to ancient Greece. But when Annie tells jack to go to the games without her, he knows she”s up to something. Will Annie find a way to see the games? Or will she get herself-and Jack-into Olympic-size trouble?

  • Wilma Rudolph

Wilma was born into a family with 22 brothers and sisters, in the segregated South. She  contracted polio in her early years and her doctors said she would never walk again. But Wilma persisted with treatment, and she recovered her strength by the age of 12. At school, Wilma showed a talent for basketball and sprinting, earning the nickname “Skeeter” (mosquito) as she ran so fast. Wilma was in college when she went to the 1960 Olympics. She not only won gold in sprint events, but also broke world records with her sprinting skill. She had beaten polio to become an Olympic champion. She is a huge inspiration to many women in sports around the world. This moving book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the athlete’s life.

At sixteen years old, Laurie Hernandez has already made many of her dreams come true—and  yet it’s only the beginning for this highly accomplished athlete. A Latina Jersey girl, Laurie saw her life take a dramatic turn in 2016 when she was chosen to be part of the US Olympic gymnastics team.

After winning gold in Rio as part of the Final Five, Laurie also earned an individual silver medal for her performance on the balance beam. She then danced her way into everyone’s hearts while competing on—and winning!—the hit reality TV show Dancing with the Stars.

Whatever activities you chose to do, there will be lots of fun going on!

Photo by: Vincent Angler {flickr}, Craig Maccubin {flickr}

Camp Au Pair – Summer Olympics!

The Olympics are in full swing!! We have put together some great ideas to correlate with the Summer Games! How about creating your own Olympic Rings Ball Toss  or Olympic pictographs? Learn about the culture of Rio or do an Olympic word search! Make a pom pom soccer field, a laurel wreath or your own gold medal! When it’s snack time, learn how to make grapes in a canoe, ring cupcakes or an edible Olympic torch! You can also learn how to chart the medals won by your country and the US! Whatever activities you chose to do, there will be lots of fun going on! Check out all of these ideas and more here!

Vincent Angler - Flickr

Photo by Vincent Angler – Flickr