Let the Olympic Games Begin!

It's a very special time-it's time for the Summer Olympics! The very best athletes from around the world will meet to compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals in a wide variety of sports ranging from track and field to gymnastics to swimming and diving. The Olympics are also time for people from many different cultures and backgrounds to make friends and learn acceptance. Bring the Olympics into your home by planning some activities and crafts to inspire your children to be active and experience the Olympic spirit.

The Olympic Flag

Explain to your child that the Olympic Flag is a very special flag. It has five interlocking colored rings on a white background. The rings represent the five major land areas, or continents, of the world. Show children these land areas on a map or globe. Explain that the rings are interlocked to show friendship among the different nations. Then, have your child paint or color interlocking rings on a sheet of white printing paper to resemble the Olympic Flag. Attach to a drinking straw for the handle.

The Olympic Torch

During opening ceremonies of the Olympics, a specially chosen person lights the Olympic cauldron to signal the official start of the games. The flame is kept burning during the entire length of the games. Have your child make his/her own Olympic torch and let the games begin! To make a simple torch, have your child cover the outside of a paper roll with aluminum foil. Then, have him/her glue red, yellow, and orange tissue paper inside the paper roll. Let your run around the cauldron pretending to light the big torch with his/her torch.)

Olympic Mascots

The Olympic Games Mascot for 2008 is the Fuwa. The Fuwa consist of five doll-like creations named Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini. Each of the Fuwa represents a different animal (fish, giant panda, fire, Tibetan antelope, and swallow) and Chinese element of philosophy (water, metal, fire, wood, and earth), and each has as its primary color one of the colors of the five Olympic Rings (red, blue, green, yellow, and black). Encourage your child to create a mascot similar to the Fuwa that represents your city or state. Visit our site for free coloring pages for each mascot.

Olympic Medals

Create some easy to make medals for your children. Draw a circle on a piece of cardboard and have children color it with yellow crayons. Spread a thin layer of glue over painted circles and while glue is still wet, lightly sprinkle on glitter. Shake off excess glitter and let dry. To add the neck ribbon, cut a length of ribbon approximately 32 inches.

Olympic Sports Day

For the opening celebration, play some marching music and have children follow a torch-bearer with their own creation of flags to start your games.

Water Sports

Have your children jump over a sprinkler, move water balloons from one clothes basket to another, throw water balloons or resealable plastic baggies filled with water from one bucket to another,, and toss sponges from a bucket filled with, water trying to hit a target.

Gymnastics Event

Put on music and spread out a large sheet to use as a gymnastic floor. Let children make their own gymnastic floor exercise. Let children dance with crepe paper streamers to music or hop in and out of hula hoops.

At the end of the event make a podium out of cardboard boxes, etc. and hand out the medals to all participants of the Olympic Games.

Olympian Snacks

The Olympics is a multicultural event-a perfect time to introduce foods from other countries to your child, such as tortillas, pizza, egg rolls, pita bread and hummus, etc.

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Where Can I Buy Olympic Red Mittens?

This is probably one of the top 10 searches here in Canada and the answer is getting tiresome - sold out, sold out, no longer in stock. This is a huge disappointment to many proud Canadians, who are ready to start getting involved in the spirit of the Vancouver winter games in February 2010. We have somehow all fallen in love with the fuzzy red hand cozies, but when we try to buy a pair, we find ourselves unable to find them for sale.

The red mittens are supposed to be available at HBC, Zellers, on Amazon.com and at The Official Vancouver 2010 Store. So we are told, but countless disappointed people have spent many an evening or Saturday afternoon, going from one of these stores to the next, only to be informed everywhere that they are sold out in all of these locations at this point, March 2010.

Obviously, the governing bodies of the Olympic Retail Supply Universe have either gone on vacation or they are as dinosaur like as the government itself, when it comes to adjusting on its feet to a new demand or situation. Of course, we all know that that people in charge of these things are very busy with more important things to think about that whether there is a shortage of red mittens or not. Jeepers though! Why market the mitts until everyone has to have a pair if you don't have a proper supply to distribute? They have been sold out since around mid Oct, so why did they not order more at that point? Ah, we'll never understand these processes!

Millions of Canadians and millions of other nationalities around the world want their red mittens and they would like to have them right now. They want them for Christmas & other holiday gifts, for the patriotism that they want to express, for the trendy fashion accessory to wear at all the events of the Olympics, for the photo ops, the family Christmas card pics and so on.

What on earth is going on? Where are all the mittens?

Right now, you can find a pair of 2010 mitts at on-line red mitten stores in Canada & US. You will have to pay more than the $10 original price that was being charged at the retail outlets. Everyday, more of these private listings get posted, some are even being sold by a relay torch bearer! I would absolutely not part with my red mitts if I had worn them to carry the Olympic Flame! With the demand increasing and the supply dwindling, I wonder just how high the bidding will eventually go. Right now they are selling for $14 - $25 dollars CDN on eBay auctions, but at least we can get a pair.

Here is my wish - that someone at VanOC & the COC would try really really hard to get more mitts, so that everyone who wanted them could actually have a pair. Can it really be that difficult?

Author D. Lennox

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Olympic Torch Relay - Whatever You Choose to Do, Strive For Excellence - Let Your Light Shine!

In 1976 I was motivated to compete in ROWING along with 20 other Canadian women in the Olympic Summer Games in Montreal. The motto of the Olympics is Citius, Altius, Fortius which means Swifter, Higher, Stronger. It was our job to excel at our sport. We focused on nothing else but our competition. All I remember about the Torch Relay in Montreal was that the last runner was an anonymous boy and girl who represented the equality of the sexes. Yes, the 1960's and 1970's were the years of revolution, civil rights & feminism. The Torch Relay was so appropriate, especially since the female athletes that year proved that women could ROW!

How motivating it was to find out that I was going to be a Torch Bearer for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, it gave me the opportunity to focus on the meaning of the Torch Relay and the Olympic Flame. In my particular group of Torch Bearers on Day One, I heard how it means something different and special to each one of the people touched by the flame. For me the Olympic Torch Relay means Striving for Excellence, Peacefully".

The Olympic Games is about doing your best in sport. But the Olympic Flame reminds us that WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE TO DO, STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE. When you do your best it brings out all the best qualities and virtues in you, just like competing in sport at the Olympics does for athletes.

On Day One of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games Torch Relay I watched as the young girl arrived to use her torch to light my torch. It did not diminish her flame to light my torch. In fact for a moment there was a super flame between us! By the time I had passed the flame to the next runner, and the flame in my torch went out, the flame had rekindled a fire in my old heart. I heard that the flame touched every Torch Bearer's heart!

Imagine this: The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay is creating a circle of light around our vast country of Canada. Not only from torch to torch but from heart to heart. The spirit of the Olympic Flame will shine from the hearts of all people who witness it, perhaps reminding us to strive for excellence in everything we do. The Olympic Flame invites us to be Everyday Champions. WHEN WE DO OUR BEST WE SHINE LIKE THE OLYMPIC FLAME.

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine...

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Jackie Mason '08 Vlog 28 The Olympic Torch

From my April 13th radio show. I noticed with the Popes visit this week, that there was more security in San Fransisco last week for the Olympic Torch, than there was for the Pope's visit. Why is this symbol of a sporting event the object of such rage in people? The Torch represents the Olympics, not China or their oppresive treatment of the Tibetans. What good comes from destroying the Torch. Why didn't these "Free Tibet" people protest when they first chose China to host the Olympics in the first place? Huh? I'm going to stay here until we figure this out.

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