The other morning it hit me. It's my fault. The first part of this "Olympic Fever" was setting the stage. As part of my son's Cub Scout rank, he needed to learn about sports. We chose Olympic sports and Olympic athletes. By doing this, we connected both kids with Apolo Anton Ohno, the lugers Martin and Grimmette, Lindsey Jacob Ellis, and even Scott Hamilton. When seeing Apolo Anton Ohno skating they were on their feet cheering. Seeing Jacob Ellis they were having discussions about the choices she made that got her a silver medal. They even saw Hamilton doing commentary and said, "Hey...isn't that the Scott Hamilton?"
I'm pretty sure that the second reason for this "Olympic Fever" has to do with enthusiasm. I am so "pumped" about the Olympics and just can't get enough. It honestly doesn't matter what the event is, I want to watch these remarkable athletes show what they can do. I know all of the channels that are showing the Olympics, I follow it on Twitter (#olympics), and have been known to stay up until past midnight to watch. I'm exhausted, but still keep watching.
Setting the stage and sharing enthusiasm has made the Olympics magical for my family. Before dinner several nights ago, my daughter said, "Mom, after dinner do you think we could watch 'you know what?'" It took me a second, but I soon realized that the "you know what" was the Olympics. And, YES, we watched the "you know what!"
My lesson from all of this? How do we take this magic and spread it to other parts of our lives? By setting the stage (having a plan) and sharing genuine enthusiasm... our relationships, family projects, homework, children doing chores, and even passing on the love of reading is possible. What are you enthusiastic about that you've passed on to your children? We'd love to hear tips from others for creating excited and motivated children/families.
GUWB wants to help share the passion of reading. Try a one month FREE membership on us! Just enter A64D9C when signing up. We'd love to have you join us and share in the passion of books.
Possible Connections:
Check out some of these Olympic sites for kids...
Education World
A to Z Teacher Stuff
PrintActivities.com (Be sure to scroll down.)
Activity Village
Happy reading and enjoy the "Olympic Fever!"
The GUWB Team
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Wow, Lara! Your family's enthusiasm sure runs the risk of being very infectious!! We only follow the higlights of the Olympics online or when we watch the news. (My husband and I try to get a few hours' of uniterrupted work done after our daughter's in bed. With a 3-yr old we don't get too many of those.) But I can definitely visualize the scene at your home. I remember following cricket matches with such feverish enthusiasm when I was a kid in India.
ReplyDeleteAnd what a great question you've posed at the end! "What are you enthusiastic about that you've passed on to your children?" It got me thinking and I just realized how important it is to let your kids see and experience what you're passionate about! At this instant, I can only think of our love of nature - just enjoying walks outside, the sunrise and sunset, a gorgeous moon, a lovely landscape...my husband and I just stop in our tracks to enjoy these things wherever we may be...and I think a little bit may have rubbed off on our daughter. She loves being the first to spot the moon every night and the first thing she does every morning is run to the windows and greet the sun. (She's our in-house weathergirl...we usually learn if it's sunny, cloudy or rainy outside from her.)
You've raised a very important point. Thank you!