Everything you Need to Excite Kids for the Winter Olympics

Original Image: Freestyle Skiing Men's Aerials Final (Duncan Rawlinson) / CC BY 2.0

With Sochi coming up in just a few short days, I wanted to share some creative ways you can get your kids excited about the Winter Olympics 2014.  I'll admit I am not the biggest sports fan, and am hardly athletic myself.  But, I love watching the Olympic Games! The Winter Olympics are especially nice to get into when it's cold outside and there's not much to do besides stay home.  As a mother, I have loved making a big deal out of watching the Olympics.  I feel like it encourages patriotism, and my kids are inspired by watching young people who have worked really hard achieve their dreams.

So, here it is!  Everything you need to get kids excited for the Winter Olympics:

Gather the family to watch the opening ceremonies, which air on Friday, February 7th.  If your family already has "movie" night on Fridays, this is a perfect opportunity to pop some popcorn and get comfy. Check out the uniforms from the different countries, and take a vote to see which one you like the best!  This year Ralph Lauren designed the USA uniforms and made sure they were 100% manufactured in the United States.

Eat and drink the Olympic Games.  Make food fun by getting creative.  We've seen ideas for everything from Olympic Ring cookies, to Oreo gold medals, to a fruit flag!  

We have lots of ideas on our Olympics Pinterest board.  We love these ideas from Ruth over at Living Well Spending Less. She got really creative with ice cream cone torches, and check out her Olympic pizza:

Photo Credit: Living Well Spending Less

Become experts on the events.  Print out a copy of the schedule, put it on your fridge and figure out what each event is about.  As soon as she saw the schedule, my daughter started asking me about some of the events.  Did you know they are divided into three categories?  Ice Sports, Alpine, Skiing and Snowboarding, and Nordic Events. What in the world is "curling" or a "biathlon"?  Look it up with your kids, and maybe play a trivia game with the facts you find! There are more explanations on the different sports at olympic.org/sports.  You can also find a great list of books to read on winter sports on The Educator's Spin on It.

Track the medals.  Pull one over on your kids by making math fun. Have your child create a table and chart a bar graph with the number of bronze, silver and gold medals that the US wins.  Make it more colorful by adding other countries to the chart and drawing their flags.  Over on the East Coast Creative blog, you can download a free printable to put behind glass in a picture frame.  Use a dry erase pen to update the medal list each day.

Learn about Russia.  I know there is a lot of focus on the security of these Olympic Games, but you can take a lighter approach with kids and just help them learn about a different area of the world. Julie from Nurturing Learning has a wonderful list of children's books set in Russia, and some easy art ideas.  At Teachers Pay Teachers, you can download clip art maps of Sochi and Russia for free.

Become involved in the athletes stories.  Who could forget the story of Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug? It's fun (and educational) to become familiar with athletes and their history, obstacles and achievements. The Team USA website has a great section devoted to 100 storylines you can follow in Sochi.  Find one that will interest your kids, and follow it throughout the games.  

Get Crafty  OK, I know some of you aren't crafters, but there are some EASY ideas out there that you and your kids can do that will produce some pretty impressive results!  I love this idea from Melissa at the Joys of Home Educating.  Isn't it cute?  All you do is tear paper and glue!

Photo Credit: The Joys of Home Educating

I've also seen many ideas for making your own Olympic torch.  This one is easy!  Cover a paper towel roll with aluminum foil and stuff in orange, red and yellow tissue paper.

Have your own games  We planned a fun night for our church's elementary-age youth group.  We talked about the importance of perserverance, endurance and relying on God.  We spent time thinking about how hard the athletes practice, and overcome disappointments and obstacles to achieve greatness.  These videos from P&G, which focus on thanking moms, have really cool stories.  We loved the one about Nick Goepper.  Go Nick!  Then, it was on to our games.  We hit soft balls with hockey sticks into taped off goals on the walls of our fellowship hall, had relay races with homemade torches, and pushed teammates on small carts to emulate the luge.  It was great fun!  

Do you plan to watch the games with your kids?  What activities do you have planned?

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Share the love!

I am so surprised this year at how fast Valentine's Day is approaching!  If you are looking for a cute and EASY way to take care of classroom valentines, as well as sharing a little something with teachers, coaches, babysitters and more, then check out these valentines from Stacey Claire Boyd.  

I have ordered these for the last two years for my children and they are simply adorable! The cards come printed with your child's name and a sweet sentiment for their friends and teachers.  You can easily attach a treat or tie to a goody bag or basket.  They are so easy to order and make your valentines look really special!  

I used small items found in the dollar section of Target, like a sparkly pencil or a colorful journal to add a little something to the card.  Washi tape and baker's twine are inexpensive and easy ways to enhance the card with a small gift or treat.

If you would like to have the whole package come completely assembled for you, check out these cute valentines from Little Lamb Designs on our site.  

Order any of these styles and more on our site by January 31st and use the Code Sweetheart to get 15% off your order!  Click here to order.

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Script your Success: Tips for Writing Professional Thank You Notes

Thank you for your help on the [BLANK] project. Your contribution was essential to our success.  The way that you [BLANK] was [BLANK].  Your time is valuable and I really appreciate you making this project a priority. I look forward to the next opportunity to work with you . . .

If this note was addressed to you would it make more of an impact to be typed, delivered to your inbox or, handwritten, delivered to your mailbox?

In 2013 I made a resolution to write handwritten notes to people that had been helpful or inspirational to me professionally. Over that 365 day period, I estimate spending no more than four or five hours writing handwritten, mailed notes.

The feedback that I received was overwhelming! Almost every individual that received a handwritten note made a point to thank me (and I was thanking them in the first place!) for taking time to write and send a personal note. I would never have expected such a response, but it proved to be a little thing that made a big impact.  

It is no secret that people like to be thanked and recognized for their contributions. It is, however, an unusual thing in this day and age to actually receive something in the mail. Every day our mailboxes are overflowing with catalogs, bills, solicitations, advertisements and other junk mail, so much that I cannot remember a single thing that I received yesterday. But, the note from my brother and sister-in-law saying thanks for a recent gift really stands out as something special.

If you want to stand out in your professional environment (as well as personal), set aside just a little time throughout the year to write a few notes. I promise that you won’t regret it!

Tips for Writing Professional Thank You Notes

• Just do it. I have managed a prestigious, national fellowship program for over four years.  We receive over 100 applications for only 20 slots each year.  About 40 people are interviewed (all expenses paid). We have only received three hand written thank you notes over the years (out of hundreds of people).  Those people still stand out in my mind!  You will stand out. After you write just one you will want to write more.
• Be authentic. Don't try to follow a formula for the perfect note. Be yourself. The person helped you with something. Thank them for it. Tell them how much it meant to you. Tell them why. Simple.
• Hand write it. Take the time to write the note out by hand. People receive typed letters all the time, even in the mail. It is taking the time to hand write it that will really set you apart.
• Short is fine. It really is the thought and effort that people will remember, not the length.
• Do it quickly. Get the note in the mail very soon after the event or experience.  That also shows how much it meant to you.
• Keep notes with you. You never know when you will have a few extra minutes to dash off a note.  Having notes with you makes that down time productive. I wrote almost all of my thank you notes last year while watching my kids' sports practices.

Ready to get started?  See a great selection here of 2 for the price of 1 flat or folded notes. Stock up for the year!

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Make: A Valentine's Day Entry Table with a Free Subway Art Printable

Looking for a way to spruce up your holiday decorating?  An entry table can be a great place for seasonal decor.  You see it every day when you come in the door, and it can be really easy when you reuse some basics such as hurricane vases and a large black frame.  This is what I came up with for Valentine's Day last year.

I filled my vases with conversation hearts, made a little garland out of book pages and scrapbook paper hearts, and set up some tiny mailboxes for my daughters to receive little love notes from me and their Dad.

The mailboxes came from the $1 spot at Target and my girls loved checking them each day for treats.  My favorite part of my display is using a large 11 x 14 black frame to showcase a Valentine's Day Subway Art. I created it in Photoshop using our family's favorite "love" words.

I will use this frame over and over again during the year for holiday and seasonal printables.  It's fun to find pretty quotes or artwork to give a fresh feel for the season.  

Free Printable!

If you like this Valentine's Day Subway Art, you can download it for free from our website here.  It's already sized for 11 x 14, but you could send it to your favorite photosite and have it printed as an 8x10 instead if you prefer.  Just click the link to open the file, then right-click to save it on your computer.  

What's your favorite way to decorate for Valentine's Day?

Follow Sassafras Paper's board valentine's day on Pinterest.

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