The 2014 Winter Olympics officially start today (February 7, 2014). Will you be watching?
The Olympics is a great way to teach your children about competition, the value of teamwork and hopefully inspire them to “reach for the gold” someday, whether its in the Olympics or another goal they have for their lives.
Children of any age can appreciate the Olympics, even if it’s their first time watching them on TV.
Common Sense Media has a few key lessons you can teach your kids when you are watching the Olympics together. In addition there is a great guide to watching the winter events as a family that you might want to check out too.
My kids are not really into any sports but they enjoy watching the Olympics. I know my daughter really likes ice skating. My son loves to watch Curling. Personally I find the skiing exciting, and I enjoy ice skating too.
Spending quality time with the family is always important. I think it would be fun to have your own Family Olympics. I would try that with my kids but they are teens and you know teens think everything their parents want to do is “lame” (LOL). If you have little ones I think it would be a lot of fun to create your own Olympic games.
I love this craft idea for making your own Olympic medals. Hey are made out of clay. I love this idea!
You can find the directions for these cute medals here.
In addition I love these sweet sport themed cupcakes. The ones shown are for sports that you won’t find at the Winter Olympics, however I think you could easily tweak them to create some that reflect the Winter Olympics. Maybe you can make skiis out of candy, or use piping to “draw” designs on top, such as an ice skate. I’m sure if you put on your “thinking cap” you can think of many creative ways to decorate the cupcakes for the Olympics. You can serve them at your family’s Olympic games.
You can find the directions for the cupcakes here.
I like the football one. That would have been cute to make for the Super Bowl.
The excitement of sports doesn’t have to end with the closing ceremonies. There are plenty of great movies you and your family can watch together that can help teach your children valuable lessons all year long.
Netflix has come up with an interesting list of movies you might want to check out.
Here are a few titles geared more towards little ones.
- Super WHY!: The Tortoise and the Hare
- Curious George: George Gets a Trophy
- Bob the Builder: The Bobblesberg Winter Games
- Angelina Ballerina: In the Wings
- Caillou: Caillou Gets Active
For adults and older children you might want to check out these titles.
- The Short Game
- The Kid
- The Pistol
- A Mile in His Shoes
- Winning Favor
- The Mighty Macs
- Like Mike 2: Streetball
- Air Bud: World Pup
- Air Bud: Spikes Back
- Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch
My kids used to love to watch the Air Bud movies. I think we still have a few of them on VHS. I guess you can say it’s been a while since my kids watched them.
My kids watch Netflix all the time, most especially my daughter. She loves to watch many series on Netflix to catch up on ones she might have missed.
For more information about Netflix visit www.Netflix.com. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.
Do you plan on watching the Olympics? Do you have a favorite sport you like to watch? Do you have a favorite sports related film or television show that you enjoy watching? Feel free to share your thoughts.
Kimberly
*I have partnered with Netflix who provided the information/sources. The opinions expressed are my own unless otherwise noted. There was no compensation.
RICHARD HICKS says
Good for netflix. We are watching the Olympics, but did not know this was going on with them
Cheryl Free says
I love my Netflix and will definitely check out some of these titles.
Anna Pry says
My kids enjoy the air bud movies