During the Olympic season one year, I came up with an idea to
give my bored little ones and their friends something to do. We had our own
Olympics. Most of the events were just variations on standard party games, but
by representing them in a homemade Olympic format, it turned out to be a bit
hit.
We started by calling it “The Goofy Olympics,” so they
understood the wacky tone of the event from the beginning. While everyone
changed into shorts and t-shirts, I quickly crafted prize medals. Now, here in
New Orleans, gold, silver and other colors of aluminum Mardi Gras doubloons are
plentiful, so I hot glued these to ribbons. Until I thought of using Mardi Gras
doubloons, I planned to cover plastic poker chips or cardboard disks with foil
for the same effect, which anyone could outside of Mardi Gras range can access.
To prepare the field, I made borders for lanes out of crepe
paper, just stretched across the grass. I soon realize they needed to be
secured in some way, so I made little u-shapes out of wire coat hangers and shoved
these into the ground to hold the crepe paper in place.
Instead of “pin the tail on the donkey,” it was “pin New
Orleans on the Map of the US.” Shot putt became tossing a beach ball into a
laundry hamper. Discus was Frisbee throwing at a target (instead of for
distance, so we wouldn’t lose it over the fence.) Because my yard’s not that
big, speed races lapped back and forth from the fence on one side of the yard
to the other. We had slow-motion races, but those were more difficult for the
littlest ones to comprehend. They kept running all out. And there was broad
jump, high jump, and hop-skip-and-jump jump.
We kept a formal score sheet, so the more eager contestants
could keep checking their status. And to add the right atmosphere, we played
the themes from “Rocky” and “Chariots of Fire” in the background.
Because our “contestants” ages ranged from about 2 to 8, I
had to find ways to equalize the challenges to give everyone a fair chance at a
medal. Older kids had to throw off-handed and, of course, starting lines were moved
up for the little ones. Some times I’d announce the judging criteria after the
event to make sure everyone would win something. The “crawling under two low
chairs” event definitely favored the youngest.
At the conclusion of each event, the winners stood on cinder
blocks of varying heights to receive their medals while I played the Star Spangled
Banner on kazoo (I didn’t look for a recording, because I thought the kazoo
would be funnier, which it was.)
So, I spent a few minutes putting together a one-day goofy
event for some bored children, and it was a hit that kept them busy until the
sun went down. They enjoyed it so much, they asked to do it all over again the
next day. Although I was tied up and couldn’t be outside with them all day, I could
still keep tabs on things. So, I challenged the two 8-year olds to be the judges
instead of contestants and manage it themselves. It worked. The event was
another success, and included even a few more kids than the first day. The
8-year olds rose to the occasion, using their imaginations to modify a few of
the games and picking up the beginnings of some leadership skills along the
way.
So, when are your next Olympics?
Sid Berger - Guest Blogger
Invited by
Chief Imagination Officer
No comments:
Post a Comment