Fun with the Olympics


Olympic Logo 2008 Summer Olympics Educational Materials olympic logo
The Olympic Games provide a fantastic and FUN opportunity for learning! We have developed the following home school materials for our own children to use during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

First, check out our 2008 Olympic Games Fact Sheet (PDF, 132KB), which will give your kids many of the answers to our Olympic Games Quiz (PDF, 85KB).

Check out this Post Olympics Quiz (PDF, 89KB) - 15 questions based on results of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games!  And be sure to grab the Final Medal Math below, also based on actual results!!

Olympic Geography!
USA Olympic Cities (PDF, 111KB) On a U.S. map, locate the cities that have hosted the Olympics.
Medal Country Match (PDF, 70KB) Match medal-contending countries to their continent.
Country Fact Sheet (PDF, 67KB) Use this blank fact sheet to have kids research interesting facts about a country, including its 2008 Olympic accomplishments.


Olympic Medal Math!
Use these story problems based on the Olympics as fun math work sheets!
Medal Math #1 (PDF, 100KB) Basic Single-Digit Addition and Subtraction, includes answer key
Medal Math #2 (PDF, 105KB) Multi-Digit Add and Subtract w/ carries and borrows, incudes answer key
Medal Math #3 (PDF, 100KB) Single-Digit Multiplication, includes answer key
Medal Math Diving Scores (PDF, 92KB) Multi-Digit addition and multiplication with decimals, incudes answer key
Final Medal Math (PDF, 130KB) Basic through long division; based on actual results!!


Fun Olympic Puzzles!

Check out this Summer Olympic Games Word Scramble (PDF, 48KB) that my beautiful and talented wife Amy made! If you need it, here is the answer key (PDF, 51KB).

Here is another one from Amy; Match the events to their summer sport (PDF, 48KB)! If you want to make sure you get them right, check out the answer key (PDF, 49KB).



Medal Charts by Continent and Country
Have your kids keep track of the medal winning countries with these handy sheets! See the website mentioned below for medal results as the games progress. After the Olympics are over, check back here for a Quiz and a Medal Math sheet based on actual results!
North American Countries (PDF, 57KB) North Asian Countries (PDF, 56KB)
South American Countries (PDF, 59KB) Central/Southwest Asian Countries (PDF, 64KB)
European Countries (PDF, 62KB) South Pacific Countries (PDF, 62KB)
African Countries (PDF, 66KB)


Other Suggested Activities
Here are some additional activities that we have done with our kids during past Olympics.

Design the Olympic Medal.  One fun activity is to have your kids come up with their own design for the Olympic Medal, if the Games were to be held in your own city. Did you know that every Olympics has a different design for the medals? The front side was basically the same for each Olympics from 1928 to 2002, but both sides were changed for the Summer 2004 Olympics, and again for the 2006 Winter Olympics. Here are some pictures of the 2002 front and back designs, the 2004 front and back designs, and the very unique design for the 2006 Winter Games. Check out this year's 2008 medal design for the front and back.

Design an Olympic Mascot.  It has become a tradition for each Olympics to have their own unique mascots. The mascots for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City were a Rabbit, a Bear, and a Coyote. The mascots for 2008 are the 5 Fuwa which are symbols of friendship and peace for children of the world. (See our 2006 fact sheet above for pictures of the Fuwa.) Have your kids come up with their own Olympic Mascots and what they represent, if the Games were to be held in your own city. One idea would be to use certain animals that are indiginous to your area.

Olympics Collage.  Write each letter of the word OLYMPICS on a piece of paper. (Make the letters bold and colorful.) Have your student draw or cut out pictures that start with the same letter, and glue them onto the pieces of paper to make a collection of collages.

Paragraph or paper on a sport.  Have your student research a particular sport of the Summer Games, and do some good old fashioned writing on it!

Draw a flag.  Draw and color the flag of a particular country that will compete in the Olympics. (There are LOTS to choose from!) Go to this page at WorldAtlas.com and click on the name of any country to see a picture of its flag.

Design an Olympic poster.  Have your student draw a poster to advertise the Summer Olympic Games. Pretend they are going to be in your home city, or pick any city that you like.


Web Sites
You can go to www.nbcolympics.com for lots of interesting news and facts about the 2008 Games, TV listings for event coverage, and all event results as the Games proceed, so you can fill in your medal charts each day. The official site for the 2008 Olympics is en.beijing2008.cn.

Suggested Books on the Olympics
Here are some childrens books about the Olympics that we have read. Check your local library!

© 2005-2009 Scott Weberg. All rights reserved.