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History: The first Olympics

December 8, 2010 Ticia 11 Comments

Sometimes homeschool history lessons are an excuse to get some energy out.  That’s certainly true with the first Olympics lesson we did the other day.

silly Batman

Okay, I pretty much am just putting this in here because the picture cracks me up.  Batman and I went to dinner on Saturday as part of our annual “Shop for your siblings Christmas present,” and he was excitedly explaining something to me.

He really cracked me up spending a good 5-10 minutes searching for a present for his brother that would have 2 guys so they both could play.

{this post contains affiliate links marked by an *}

But, back to the First Olympics

Ancient Olympics activities for preschool

So, Olympics.  Over at All Things Beautiful she did a very cool post on the Ancient Olympics.  I remembered it when we got to this point in history in Mystery of History 1*, and staged our very own mini-ancient Olympics.

 

Supplies we used for our first Olympics

toothpicks*, frisbee*

 

And now I present: The First Olympics as done by preschoolers

first Olympics

Toothpick javelin throw.  The kids were very disappointed they didn’t get to keep throwing these.

They also wanted to use them as swords.

And were horribly disappointed when I didn’t let them do that.

 

first Olympics

Racing, we opted for the hands and knees version since we were doing it inside.  When we did the ancient Olympics in elementary school we did a longer race in the backyard.  But they quite liked this version now.

first Olympics

Long jump, and I’m really wondering what the heck that is in the bottom corner there.

Either way the kids were all cheaters and wouldn’t jump just once.  I am quite sure they did not jump as far as they claimed they did.

first Olympics

We tried a discus throw, but it became complicated by the dog “helping.”  Really, it was helpful for some because their discus got much further.  But it did make accurate measurements hard to do.

 

First Olympics activity

What some more ancient Greek activities?  Then check out:

  • Ancient Greece for preschool
  • Greek mythology
  • Ancient Olympics (elementary version of this lesson)

Or see all ancient Greek posts.

history Ancient Greece, ancient history, kindergarten

Comments

  1. Mama Hen says

    December 8, 2010 at 1:16 pm

    I did something similiar to this when mine were little. We dressed up in our togas and did some games. It was fun and one of my favorite memories.

    Reply
  2. Raising a Happy Child says

    December 8, 2010 at 2:29 pm

    This is a great idea to explain early Olympics. It's neat that you have a group always available to compete against each other 🙂

    Reply
  3. Phyllis says

    December 8, 2010 at 3:00 pm

    Oh, what fun!!

    Reply
  4. Christy says

    December 8, 2010 at 3:13 pm

    I like your Olympics! We go to a local restaurant that has sword shaped toothpicks (in pink and blue, no less!) and my kids love them! So far, no one has been stabbed.

    Reply
  5. An Almost Unschooling Mom says

    December 8, 2010 at 4:58 pm

    Tooth pick throwing, huh? So, was ambulance racing another one of the events 🙂

    Reply
  6. Jenny says

    December 9, 2010 at 2:23 am

    Oh, how I miss the days when racing on your hands & knees across a hard floor was fun…I love the joy on their faces.

    Toothpick throwing – sign us up! Way to create a history lesson the kids go crazy for.

    Reply
  7. Julie says

    December 9, 2010 at 2:44 am

    What a great “hands-on” learning experience! You really make learning fun for your kids!

    Reply
  8. MaryAnne says

    December 9, 2010 at 2:44 am

    Hands and knees racing sounds great!

    Reply
  9. Debbie says

    December 9, 2010 at 3:09 am

    This is great! I love everything you did. Isn't it fun having a puppy around to always get in the way!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Hands on HistoryAdventures in Mommydom says:
    January 11, 2013 at 11:39 am

    […] Olympics- Recreate the first Olympics in your own home, we also as a lark made the Cleaning Olympics one day.  All Things Beautiful has a great Olympics post also. […]

    Reply
  2. 134 Preschool Activity Ideas for Homeschooling Little Ones | Free Homeschool Deals © says:
    January 16, 2016 at 1:26 pm

    […] games inspired by the first Olympics […]

    Reply

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Ticia Adventures in Mommydom Hi, I'm Ticia! This is the adventures of my family in life and learning. Follow along with us as we share our adventures. We're having a lot of fun and learning as we go.

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