In celebration of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, students in grades PreK through 3rd, with the help of the 8th graders, have learned about some of the nations that will be competing. After making “passports”, the students moved between classrooms to participate in activities. In the United States, formerly known as the PreK classroom, the students learned about the bald eagle and made an eagle using their handprints as the wings. In the first grade classroom or, Canada, the students studied and made beaver dams. The second grade classroom represented Ireland where the children learned a little about the nation’s history, located the capitols of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and discovered the history of the Claddagh ring. The students also visited Germany in the third grade classroom and the Olympic host country, Russia, in the Kindergarten room where they were introduced to the currency, the ruble, and learned about Fabergé eggs and Matryoshka dolls. Adding to the fun, the 8th grade students represented Jamaica by teaching all of the students a traditional Jamaican dance.
During the first week of the Olympics, the students will make flags and celebrate the start of the Olympics with their own opening ceremony where an elected torchbearer from each class will run a lap around the gym. Throughout the duration of the Games, the children will compete in academic and physical games or challenges each day. Lastly, they will participate in a closing ceremony to coincide with the closing of the Winter Games.
The children have been very excited to learn about other nations and to compete in their own version of the Olympic Games. We wish them luck as they put their academic and physical muscles to the test!
