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Olympic Fun-Paris 2024: Activities for Early Learners

Ideas for ECEC, Kindergarten and OSCH programs.

Olympic Ring Pasta Necklaces: Dye pasta in the five Olympic ring colours (blue, yellow, black, green, and red). Let children string the pasta onto yarn to create Olympic ring necklaces. This helps with fine motor skills and colour recognition.

Olympic Torch Craft: Use tissue paper and cardboard tubes to create an Olympic torch. Children can crumple and layer red, yellow, and orange tissue paper to mimic flames. This tactile activity also engages their creativity.

Sandpit Long Jump: Set up a small sandpit and measure how far children can jump. Use tape or chalk to mark distances. This physical activity encourages gross motor development and an understanding of measurement.

Water Balloon Shot Put: Fill water balloons for children to throw into targets. This sensory play with water balloons is fun and helps develop hand-eye coordination and motor skills.

Ice Skating on Wax Paper: Tape wax paper to children's feet and let them "ice skate" on a carpeted area. This simulates ice skating and provides a unique sensory experience.

Olympic Medal Playdough: Provide playdough in gold, silver, and bronze colours. Children can shape and decorate their medals, adding glitter or beads for extra texture and visual appeal.
Miniature Obstacle Course: Create a mini obstacle course using pillows, tunnels, and balance beams. This physical activity promotes motor skills, coordination, and spatial awareness.
Parachute Games: Use a colourful parachute to simulate the excitement of team sports. Incorporate balls or lightweight objects to create various sensory experiences.
Sensory Bin Gymnastics: Fill a sensory bin with kinetic sand or rice and add small figures or dolls. Children can pretend these figures are gymnasts performing routines, enhancing imaginative play and fine motor skills.
Olympic Flag Painting: Provide children with finger paints and large sheets of paper to create flags from different countries. This messy and colourful activity promotes creativity, cultural awareness, and fine motor skills.

French Food Playdough: Create playdough in colours resembling French foods like croissants, baguettes, and macarons. Add scents like vanilla or almond to enhance the sensory experience.: Create playdough in colours resembling French foods like croissants, baguettes, and macarons. Add scents like vanilla or almond to enhance the sensory experience.

Eiffel Tower Construction: Provide building blocks or foam pieces for children to construct their own Eiffel Towers. This tactile activity encourages creativity and fine motor skills.
Parisian Street Cafe Role Play: Set up a pretend play cafe with small tables, play food, and a cash register. Children can role-play as cafe customers and waitstaff, promoting social skills and imaginative play.
Crepe Cooking Station: Use felt or fabric to create pretend crepes. Provide various toppings like felt strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream for children to "prepare" and "serve" crepes.
Montmartre Art Studio: Set up an art station where children can paint or draw scenes inspired by Paris. Use watercolours, pastels, or crayons to create vibrant, sensory-rich artwork.
French Perfume Sensory Bottles: Fill clear plastic bottles with water, add drops of different scented oils (like lavender, rose, and vanilla), and small items like glitter or beads to create "perfume" sensory bottles.
Bastille Day Parade: Create a mini parade using toy figures and vehicles. Decorate with French flags and play music to simulate the excitement of Bastille Day celebrations.
French Bakery Sensory Bin: Fill a sensory bin with rice or beans and add small play bakery items like toy croissants, baguettes, and cakes. Provide scoops and containers for children to play with.
Parisian Fashion Show: Use fabric scraps, ribbons, and buttons for children to design their own Parisian-inspired outfits for dolls or paper figures. This activity encourages creativity and fine motor skills.

Seine River Boat Play: Set up a water table with toy boats and figurines. Add blue dye to the water to represent the Seine River and let children navigate their boats along the "river."
Olympic Sports Sorting: Create cards with images of various Olympic sports. Set up a sorting activity where children match equipment or athletes to the corresponding sport. This encourages categorization and recognition skills.
Eiffel Tower Building Challenge: Provide various building materials like wooden blocks, straws, or clay for children to construct their own Eiffel Towers. This activity promotes fine motor skills and spatial awareness.
Montessori Medal Counting: Use gold, silver, and bronze paper circles as "medals" for counting activities. Children can count and sort the medals into trays, enhancing their number recognition and counting skills.
Reggio-Inspired French Flag Collage: Set up an art station with red, white, and blue materials like fabric scraps, paper, and buttons. Children can create a collage representing the French flag, encouraging creativity and fine motor skills.
Olympic Rings Matching Game: Create a matching game with coloured rings and corresponding colored objects. Children match the objects to the correct colored ring, promoting color recognition and sorting skills.
French Cuisine Sensory Exploration: Set up a sensory table with ingredients commonly used in French cuisine, such as flour, herbs, and fruits. Let children explore the textures and scents, fostering sensory development and cultural awareness.
Olympic Torch Relay: Create a relay race using a homemade Olympic torch. Children pass the torch to each other, promoting physical activity, teamwork, and gross motor skills.
Reggio-Inspired Parisian Market Role Play: Set up a pretend Parisian market with play fruits, vegetables, and baked goods. Children can role-play as shoppers and vendors, enhancing their social and language skills.
Montessori-Inspired Gymnastics Movement: Create a simple gymnastics course with balance beams, mats, and hoops. Children can practice basic gymnastics movements, promoting balance, coordination, and physical fitness.

Olympic Sensory Bottles: Create sensory bottles filled with water, glitter, and small beads or trinkets in the colors of the Olympic rings. Children can shake and explore the bottles, watching the items swirl and settle.
Textured Medal Rubbing: Use textured materials like foil, bubble wrap, or sandpaper under paper for children to rub with crayons, creating their own gold, silver, and bronze medal textures.
Sports-Themed Play Dough Mats: Create play dough mats with different Olympic sports scenes (e.g., a track, a swimming pool, a gymnastics mat). Children can use play dough to create athletes and sports equipment to place on the mats.

Olympic Ring Gel Bags: Fill ziplock bags with coloured hair gel and small items like beads or sequins. Seal the bags and let children squish and manipulate the gel, feeling the textures and seeing the colors mix.

Mini Olympic Sandpit: Set up a small sandbox with toy sports equipment like miniature hurdles, hoops, and balls. Children can create their own Olympic events in the sand, engaging their tactile senses.
Olympic Sport Sensory Tray: Create a sensory tray with rice or beans and add small figurines or toys representing different Olympic sports. Children can dig and find the sports items, promoting sensory exploration.

Frozen Olympic Rings: Make ice cubes in the shape of the Olympic rings using food coloring. Let children play with the ice rings in a water table, feeling the cold temperature and watching them melt.
Scented Sport Balls: Use different scents on various balls (e.g., lavender for a soft ball, citrus for a bouncy ball). Children can smell and feel the different textures and weights, enhancing their sensory experience.
Paralympic Sensory Walk: Set up a sensory walk with different textures like sand, grass, and fabric. Blindfold children and have them walk on the different textures, simulating a Paralympic experience and enhancing their tactile senses.
Olympic Sport Slime: Create slime in the colors of the Olympic rings and add small sports-themed trinkets (e.g., tiny medals, mini sports equipment). Children can stretch and squish the slime, finding the hidden items.