Montessori and the Olympics
Image: My Nature Place and Montessori
Have you been watching the Olympic Games with your children? Have you been doing any specific Olympic activities with them?
Today Caspar had his school sports day. During the opening of the event, the school principal gave the children several quotes by well-known Olympians. It was such a nice way to start the day and get the kids into the Olympic spirit.
"Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It's our goal in life to find it and keep it lit." - Mary Lou Retton
"Gold medal aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination and a hard-to-find alloy called guts." - Dan Gable.
"Don't put a limit on anything. The more you dream the further you get." - Michael Phelps.
The Olympic Games can provide many learning opportunities for sport, sportsmanship, geography and culture. Here are some Montessori Olympic ideas that I love.
- An Olympic themed shelf as above by My Nature Place and Montessori.
- Summer Olympic games three-part cards (for children 3-6 yrs) at Montessori Helper (free download).
- Keeping a Medal Tally at Living Montessori Now. I love this idea, it would keep children in touch with the day's events with a bit of patriotism.
- The NAMC Blog has a few articles about the Olympics and I really like this one (from the winter games) about incorporating the Olympic spirit into the classroom.
- For older children (8-9 years +) this site is really powerful Olympics - Stories of Peace "Sport has the power to bring people together. It builds friendships and draws lines of respect across borders. And it always triumphs."
We have also been reading G is for Gold Medal and Olympics.
I hope you have a good weekend with lots of fun watching the Olympics!