The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing start this week! The Opening Ceremonies will take place on Friday, February 4. It’s hard to believe since we *just* had the Summer Olympics, but that’s the 2020s for ya. *shrug emoji*
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE the Olympics. I’m not even a sports person, but every two years I am frantically trying to figure out how to stream the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and as many events as I can without cable. It’s inspiring to see the hard work and incredible dedication of the athletes play out on the world stage. It’s also a time where so many people around the world are paying attention to the same thing, and that just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
The Olympics are also great for sparking some fun activity ideas in the Club. I took a look around the internet and gathered some ideas that I think could work well for afterschool, but remember, use these as a jumping off point for your own unique twists! This is a great chance to let your frontline staff let their creativity shine.
A great place to start is to learn about this year’s Games! The Olympics site has a ton of information, including about the Beijing Games official mascot, Bing Dwen Dwen.
You can also use the Olympics site to keep up with the latest event schedules and medal winners, which can link to learning about the countries represented. I don’t necessarily have a link for this idea, but in the past I’ve created a bulletin board with a medal count sheet similar to this (laminate it and use dry erase markers to easily update!) and each day we’ve quickly added winners and found where their country is located on a map or globe and looked up their flag. We love adding geography wherever we can!
If it’s the ClubX Blog, there’s gonna be a book list! Also check with your local librarian to see what they have on their shelves.
This list from WeAreTeachers has a range of ideas that will work well in a group setting. (MANY blogs with activities for kids are for parents to do at home, which is great, but doesn’t always work when it’s 20 kids vs 2!)
This list of games is fun, especially for a Teen Night. Use your discretion on what ages you use them with.
Now this one I share knowing that it needs to be adapted, because it is made for toddlers in a house with things like pillows and chairs lol. BUT the idea of an Olympics Circuit is SO GREAT for the Gym! The way they interpreted some of the Winter Games sports might help you come up with your own age and place appropriate ones.
Another idea that I really like that you could make your own is this Winter Olympics Challenge. The suggested challenges here are solid, but you could substitute others that are unique to your Club, like “Complete a MyFuture Activity in the Tech Lab” or “Participate in a Foosball Tournament in the Gamesroom.” You could make your own flyer version in Canva.
I don’t normally share activity plans you have to pay for, but I am including this link because I think most STEM Directors could recreate them without needing to pay. But also if you want to make it easy and support these creators, they are reasonably priced, and you can do a bundle of all of them or individual activities.
I always like to throw in a cooking activity for Clubs that have a kitchen programming space. These Olympic Rings cookies are super cute!
And finally, there are tons of craft ideas on Pinterest. Here are a couple I thought were unique and could be done with a larger group, plus a list of a bunch for you to peruse.
Have fun! And be sure to let us know your favorite Winter Olympics ideas!
What are your favorite Olympics Games activities? How do you integrate cultural events or holidays into your programming? We want to share your ideas! Comment below, on the BGCA Youth Development Facebook page, or email ClubXBlog@bgca.org.
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