But, I still wanted us to connect to them in another way. The first was that we randomly drew the name of a country that has historically brought home a lot of medals. We have charted each medal they've earned, thanks to the daily updates on the internet.
After the first two day with no medals, I let Beth choose a different country. She has been a little happier. However, since she's not winning the overall number of medals, she's been a bit pouty. We used the opportunity to talk about how the athletes must feel, since they're the ones working so hard and not taking home a medal for their country. It didn't seem so bad to not get a sticker after that!
To make the olympic experience even more fun, I used some ideas (a little adjusted) I saw in a magazine to have our own backyard events. The kids were so excited!
First event: Shake It- 4 ping pong ball in a shoebox (I didn't have a rectangle tissue box). They had 15 seconds to shake out as many balls as they could.
Second event: Ping Pong Toss- from the chair, toss ping pongs into numbered cups. They had 2 rounds of 15 seconds. Beth had the advantage with longer reaching arms.
The final (and silliest) event: Snack Toss- Shower caps covered in shaving cream. Then they had to toss cheetos at each others' heads to get them to stick. Beth got handfuls at a time, while Jacob was methodical with one at a time. Of course, Beth had to sit in a chair to even out the playing field, so to speak. Sadly, this event was cut short when fire ants came to the fun.
With a total score of 18 points, Jacob won the silver (blue) medal. Beth brought home gold with 31 points.
