We love watching sports on tv. My boys could sit and watch ESPN for hours regardless of what sport is on. I love that for the most part {minus some of the commercials} sports on tv are family friendly entertainment for all of us to enjoy. The Olympics are always fun and exciting for me, and this year all of my boys are old enough to really appreciate the idea of the Olympics. So I decided we would turn the Olympics into a bit of a learning experience by making a few flags from some of the nations participating in the Olympics.
We started with a pack of cardboard flags that I picked up at Michaels. They have a ton of different cutouts available and I just happened to notice these the last time we were browsing. I got a pack of 12 flag cutouts for around $3. You could also just use sheets of cardstock or recycle some other white cardboard that you have on hand. Then I printed out a clip art sheet with some national flags on it. I chose 12 flags for the boys to color making sure to include the U.S.A and the U.K. {because they are the host country}. I mostly just picked the ones that I thought would be easiest for the boys to color.
I gave each kiddo a blank flag, a box of crayons, and a small clip art picture of the flag they were going to make. I let Henry and Grant figure their flags out on their own, but I gave Eli a little guidance by drawing a couple lines or the shape {like the circle on the Japanese flag} and then let him color the flag in.
After the boys were finished coloring, we hung the flags up in our living room. We happen to have these two {still unpainted going on two years} canvases hanging in our living room that were the perfect spot for our flags, but you could hang them on your fireplace or string them together to make a banner to hang on an entertainment center.
We worked on learning which country goes with which flag, and Henry already has all 10 of our flags memorized! Knowing the nation's flags is going to make watching the Olympics so much more fun and educational for the boys. I think we are going to take our Olympic craft one step further once the games start and keep track of the medal count on our canvases as well! I guess we need to get busy making some gold, silver, and bronze medals:)
Linking up here..
This is such a cool idea! I'm gonna pin it for the next olympics when my kiddos will be old enough to enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteFun!
ReplyDeleteMy kids are excited about the Olympics too..they still don't 'get' it but they like watching races :)
What a great way to turn the Olympics into an educational activity that is fun.
ReplyDeleteI am getting really excited for the Olymics, too!
This is fabulous. We are trying to gather all kinds of Olympic ideas, so this is a must do. We agree sports is the basic channel of choice in our house as well.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
We love the Olympics too -- always have! My cherubs are a bit older, but we always do an Olympic party; whether is just us 4 . . .or more! We have food from the host country and watch the opening ceremony. But the most fun is we divide into teams and have trivia questions during the commercials that help us learn about the Olympics as well as the host country. It's so much fun! I always learn a TON when I'm preparing for the night of fun!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of stringing them up on the mantel. Cute idea!
ReplyDeleteI need to do this!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute idea!
ReplyDeleteI just LOVE this! Awesome how it incorporates learning and the flags look so good hanging up! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat flag idea! Would love for you to link up with us @costours.blogspot.com
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