When I saw this idea on super clever blog, Toddler Approved, I knew immediately I had found our first Olympic event. Toddler + spray bottle + sidewalk chalk = Olympic fun!
And so I gathered my pint sized Olympian and his friends. We huddled in the dining room around the “Prize Box” (filled with $1 treasures).
“Complete your task young Olympians and you can choose a prize!”
I armed each of them with their very own spray bottle and outlined our plan:
1) Observe bugs on our driveway (mommy drawn bugs, each with a letter on it’s buggy body)
2) Man your circle of bugs
3) When I call out a letter, spray the buggy with that letter until the letter is gone.
Olympians Crowley and Jack team up for the win!
4) Repeat for each letter
5) Win a prize
We chose a leader to hold our torch and light the way.
Jack the Olympian leads the way
Then our Olympic chalk-bug anihilators began their work. They loved it!
Olympian Josh and his #1 fan
At the end, we had an awards ceremony and each child chose a prize from the “Prize Box.”
WHAT THEY GOT OUT OF IT:
1) Working with their letters without realizing it
2) Fun in working together to conquer a challenge (they helped each other which is a real accomplishment. The human toddler has epic struggles with sharing.)
3) Motor skills in working with the spray bottle, aiming it at a very specific target to complete their task
4) Sets the stage for the real Olympics, the idea of groups working together or individually towards a goal and the reward of completing that goal.
Are our Olympians aware of all of this? No. They just had fun!
Mission Accomplished!
Anna
This is a great idea! I’ll have to do this with my son and share with my other mommy friends!
We are having a great time with our Olympic activities! Thank you for your comment!!