MeganW Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 It's almost Olympics time - the games start July 22nd! I thought we might do a short unit study on the Olympics. Tell me about your favorite Olympics books, educational DVDs, lapbooks, crafts, or other resources or ideas. I remember from my childhood a short cartoon with a guy that looked like the Little Caesar's guy (yes, I know he is Italian, but that is what he looked like!), explaining the history and so on. Anyone have a clue what that was? My kiddos are doing work on a first grade level if that matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbotoast Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 There were a lot of free lapbook resources, but I went ahead and purchased this lapbook pdf. I am super excited about it. http://www.ajourneythroughlearning.net/suoy20lawist.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillehei Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I love, love, love the Amanda Bennett Study on the 2012 Olympics at unitstudy.com. It lasts 4 weeks and can be tweaked for any age. She has it broken down into lower and upper, but you could even do less on the lower level since you dc are so young. She is going to have a virtual co-op starting the end of this month. She also has a ton of info on books, movies, videos etc in the unit study. We also looked at the Notgrass Olympic Study but it only had a few pages in the beginning about the olympics and the rest was a place to write about each of the actual sports. Very disappointing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singbanshee Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I second the Amanda Bennett one. If you're on her FB page she's been giving out codes to get a discount and I managed to score one. AWESOME! :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyerin Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 (edited) I am planning a VERY simple week-long unit study. Mine are pk/kinder, so it's storybook and craft heavy. Here's the outline (c&p): Olympics Unit Study Olympics! by B G Hennessy How to Train with a T. Rex and Win Eight Gold Medals by Michael Phelps Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull Day 1: read Olympics! Watch clips of diving, swimming, running, and gymnastics on YouTube. (pre selected) Day 2: read Olympics! Locate America and London on the map. Stamp Olympic rings. Day 3: read Olympics! Discuss opening ceremonies, make torches. Day 4: read How to Train... Discuss medals, watch a YouTube medal ceremony. Listen to the national anthem. Make medals from salt dough, stamp, bake. Day 5: read Wilma Unlimited. finish salt dough medals, paint, wear. All throughout, watch sports! Read aloud Hour of the Olympics (Magic Treehouse) at bedtime. All of my crafts are on a pinterest board, but I'll have to link that later when I'm on my laptop instead of my phone. (eta: http://pinterest.com/craftyerin/olympics-unit-study/)I'd also do a medal count and practice tally marking or something if we weren't going to be out of town for the whole 2nd week of the games. I don't want to keep up with it while traveling. Edited June 21, 2012 by craftyerin add a link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2two Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I've never booked at the Amanda Bennet unit studies, what a great find, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly1730 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 This is the one I plan to do. I hope the boys are excited about it as I am, it is "school" after all.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeturn Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I am planning a VERY simple week-long unit study. Mine are pk/kinder, so it's storybook and craft heavy. Here's the outline (c&p): Olympics Unit Study Olympics! by B G Hennessy How to Train with a T. Rex and Win Eight Gold Medals by Michael Phelps Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull Day 1: read Olympics! Watch clips of diving, swimming, running, and gymnastics on YouTube. (pre selected) Day 2: read Olympics! Locate America and London on the map. Stamp Olympic rings. Day 3: read Olympics! Discuss opening ceremonies, make torches. Day 4: read How to Train... Discuss medals, watch a YouTube medal ceremony. Listen to the national anthem. Make medals from salt dough, stamp, bake. Day 5: read Wilma Unlimited. finish salt dough medals, paint, wear. All throughout, watch sports! Read aloud Hour of the Olympics (Magic Treehouse) at bedtime. All of my crafts are on a pinterest board, but I'll have to link that later when I'm on my laptop instead of my phone. I'd also do a medal count and practice tally marking or something if we weren't going to be out of town for the whole 2nd week of the games. I don't want to keep up with it while traveling. You are fabulous and this is just perfect. Thank you. Now off to find the books. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyerin Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 You are fabulous and this is just perfect. Thank you. Now off to find the books. :D You're sweet. I hope you can find that Olympics! book. I checked it out of my library and I think it's the perfect intro to the olympics book for my kids' age/stage, but apparently it's out of print. Crossing my fingers for your library to hook you up! Here's my pinterest board for the crafts I have planned: http://pinterest.com/craftyerin/olympics-unit-study/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeturn Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 My library does have it!! I am going today before anyone else figures it out. We can keep books out for one month, so we may do our unit the week before. I love your idea of doing a tally too, so that would bleed over to the next week. Thanks for the link to the Pinterest board! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltop Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Thanks for the great ideas! I have not planned out exactly what we are going to do, but I know I am going to buy some Playmobil athletes for my dds (and me! :001_smile:). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Thanks for the great ideas! I have not planned out exactly what we are going to do, but I know I am going to buy some Playmobil athletes for my dds (and me! :001_smile:). Those are SO cute!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2two Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 the Sleeping bear books G is for Gold Medal and B is for Big Ben would also be great to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I just found a couple of really great books the other day. A Passion for Victory (I think this will be perfect for my oldest and maybe DD.) Through Time: Olympics will be great for all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 thank you thank you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I like this one...my library had it, but I'm planning to get my own copy. http://www.amazon.com/Story-Olympics-Richard-Brassey/dp/1444000489/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1340363798&sr=8-12&keywords=story+of+the+olympics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Also this is a great picture book about London... http://www.amazon.com/Katie-London-James-Mayhew/dp/1843622858/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340363876&sr=1-1&keywords=katie+in+london And homeschool share has both an Olympic lapbook and a London lapbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in AUS Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I put a list of links and books up on my blog. We can't wait!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivey_family Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Thank you for sharing all this! I picked up Wilma Unlimited at the library today. What a great book about a great lady! I pre-read it and was in tears through most of it! The kids and I also watched this video about her that was well done: My 3 & 4 y.o. sat through the whole thing with rapt attention. Regards, C. I am planning a VERY simple week-long unit study. Mine are pk/kinder, so it's storybook and craft heavy. Here's the outline (c&p): Olympics Unit Study Olympics! by B G Hennessy How to Train with a T. Rex and Win Eight Gold Medals by Michael Phelps Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull Day 1: read Olympics! Watch clips of diving, swimming, running, and gymnastics on YouTube. (pre selected) Day 2: read Olympics! Locate America and London on the map. Stamp Olympic rings. Day 3: read Olympics! Discuss opening ceremonies, make torches. Day 4: read How to Train... Discuss medals, watch a YouTube medal ceremony. Listen to the national anthem. Make medals from salt dough, stamp, bake. Day 5: read Wilma Unlimited. finish salt dough medals, paint, wear. All throughout, watch sports! Read aloud Hour of the Olympics (Magic Treehouse) at bedtime. All of my crafts are on a pinterest board, but I'll have to link that later when I'm on my laptop instead of my phone. (eta: http://pinterest.com/craftyerin/olympics-unit-study/)I'd also do a medal count and practice tally marking or something if we weren't going to be out of town for the whole 2nd week of the games. I don't want to keep up with it while traveling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teeniebeenie6 Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I'm doing a mix of things; bits and pieces of them. Journey through Learnings lapbook. It only costs $0.50. Homeschool Shares Olympic lapbooks. They are free. And Amanda Bennett's Unit. I got it for $5.95 with a code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixjen Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlamom2ansnm Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I believe opening ceremonies are actually July 27th. We just started the Amanda Bennett study yesterday and are having such a wonderful time with it. We will be finishing up the day of opening ceremonies (taking 1 week off in the middle for summer camp). Love the book suggestions. We've already picked up several, but always looking for more :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 We started reading "Goofy Presents the Olympics" today. Next week we will start on the Amanda Bennett Unit Study. If the kids show any interest, we will get more books, but I mostly just wanted them to know what the Olympics are about. I think the one book and web links on the unit study should suffice for this lazy mama. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singbanshee Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 forgot to mention That Amanda Bennett is doing a co-op on her FB page for the Olympic unit if anyone is interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelmama1209 Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 We started reading "Goofy Presents the Olympics" today. Next week we will start on the Amanda Bennett Unit Study. If the kids show any interest, we will get more books, but I mostly just wanted them to know what the Olympics are about. I think the one book and web links on the unit study should suffice for this lazy mama. boooo! just checked on this and it's "for library use only". :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choc0holic Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Thanks for the book ideas...my library has the Hennessey book and I just placed a hold on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAM Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I just blogged about this! Here's our Olympic Unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I wanted to link some great books I found this morning that are perfect for an Olympics unit study! The Olympic Experience in Your School (K-3) (You can find a wonderful Google preview here.) The Olympic Experience in Your School (4-6) (Google preview) I am also taking a chance on Olympic Math. With 116 pages, I'm sure I can find a great deal worthwhile for the price. I'm getting pretty excited for the games to begin! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMommy Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Not only Olympics-related, but one of the things we'll be doing is going through a guide book to London, and planning a (pretend) trip there. One of my favorite parts of any Olympics is learning more about the host city/country, and the fun things to do there! For the younger set, I got the Michael Phelps book "How to Train with a T. Rex and Win 8 Gold Medals"--very cute! I haven't finished the rest of my lesson plans (I may want to get started on that!), but that's part of what I have so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbcooker Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I found this site: http://projectbritain.com/olympics/teachingresources.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 boooo! just checked on this and it's "for library use only". :( Aw, that sucks. :( I wonder if it is just because the Olympics are so close so they want more people to be able to access it, or if it is always like that. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Found some simple Olympic calendar cards, good as a jumping off point to look at the different sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMommy Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Coming back to this because I finally finished the reading list for our Olympics unit: Olympics Books In addition to planning our fictional trip to London, I've also been working on craft activities. We'll be designing our own flags for the Opening Ceremonies, making tissue paper Union Jacks, making torches, and, of course, keeping track of the medal count with a poster. I'm going to make "passports" for the children, and they'll get "stamps" for completing different activities. Some of the things we'll be studying include the Olympic motto and oath, the meanings of the Olympic rings, the use of pictograms in the Olympics, the basics of some of the different sports, and some of the countries that are participating. I think this website was already mentioned, but I'm going to be printing off some worksheets, and possibly using some additional craft activities from there as well. I got a lot of great stuff from it for the Diamond Jubilee, so I'm really excited about using it again! I'm also planning on making this cake for the Opening Ceremonies, provided I can figure out how to convert the measurements into "American!" I still have to map out what we'll be doing each day, but at least I now know what I want to cover! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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