2018 Outline for Winter Olympics Big Weekend
* Greeting- Use stick on nametags- be sure to get information on guests (unless parent is not there) If someone brings a friend who has not been at Waipuna before (or a long time) give each one a USA snap bracelet. Have kids pull their own punch-cards.
* First 10-15 minutes----Coloring sheets of 5 Rings/ Winter Olympic Sports coloring---Olympic Highlight video playing Broom Hockey outside.
SNOCONES will be delivered to your classroom……
* Intro:
Read Olympic Facts
Athletes every four years come from all over the world to take part in the Olympic Games. For them, to stand on the winner’s podium, be hailed as a hero, with the strains of their home country’s national anthem ringing in their ears, emotion etched on their tear stained faces, would make all the sacrifice and strenuous effort worthwhile.
You know, the Christian life is no different. Paul sees it as a race! It is not a race it is a long term decision.
Show Bible verse _ Phillipians 3:14b-15 NIV
Object Lesson:First a little snow making! (Mo has special materials for this)
Just in the same way that we magically made snow--- God helps us in this race of the Christian life. He does a miracle in us and helps us every day to become the kind of follower of Jesus that we all want to be.
Opening ceremony: Start outside- wave Olympic flag and have someone carry Olympic Torch
Winter Games- Today we will be playing Waipuna’s version of the Winter Olympics-
3 Stations for Minute to Win it Games: Give one practice round. Record who can get the best score in 60 seconds.Record best time on sheet-
#1-Ice Curling:
Show pictures of Ice Curling
Items needed:
A table
Ice cubes
Directions:
Draw or mark a target circle at the end of a long table.
Choose one player. The player will stand at the opposite end of the table from the target
and slide ice cubes across the table toward the target. They try to get three ice cubes to
stop in the target area.
#2- Downhill Racer-
Items needed:
A yardstick
Starburst
A bucket
Directions:
The object of the game is to send 3 Starburst
racing down the yardstick, held and aimed by the player, into the bucket. The player
should stand just far enough from the bucket that the yardstick will still reach the
edge. Each can keep their 3 starburst.
#3- Triple Spin-
Items needed:
A table
Three tops
Directions:
Try to get 3 tops spinning at the same time for at least five seconds - just like a trio of figure skaters.
Do small ceremony- everyone gets a medals.
Lesson:
---see below for lesson (show youtube video first)
Closing Game:
Snowball Fight- Put string half-way across room-_
Tell them the paper wads are snowballs and the goals of the game is to get all of the snowballs on to the other teams side. When time is up- the team with the most
Olympic Bingo- cheerios markers (Gold Hersheys’ kiss for Bingo’s- 1 per child)
Snack: Popsicles!!!
LESSON:
Begin with video of a real Christian Winter Olympian- Brock Kreitzburg- bob sledding.Bobsledder Brock Kreitzburg placed his faith in God at age 13, after losing his father to cancer. “God used the worst experience in my life—losing my father—to bring forth the best experience in my life—knowing my Heavenly Father. God is the Father I can never lose, who will be with me forever, and truly, unconditionally loves me,” Kreitzburg said. Kreitzburg, who earned a master’s of divinity from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in 2003, competed in the 2006 Turin Olympics but missed the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with an injury. He is hoping to make the final cut on the 2014 men’s Olympic bobsledding team.
Let’s go for the gold… and Go for God!
Read Philippians 3:12-14. Paul often uses running a race as a picture of the Christian’s life .How many of you have ever run in a race? (If no one has run in a race refer to sports, music etc.) What do you need to do to prepare for the race (game, recital, etc.)? If you are intending to win the race I would guess that you would train and practice daily. You would eat foods that would strengthen your body and avoid junk food that will not make your body strong. You would place training over your other favorite activities.. For example: A figure skater started training when they were very young- going to the ice rink before and after school. They eat right- they lift weights, they focus their mind on the task ahead.
Born Again
In the Christian life the race begins the moment a person becomes a Christian, but what are they racing for? Read Philippians 3:14. This is our memory verse as well. Every believer receives the gift of eternal life the moment he/she believes in Jesus. One day when we die we will live forever with Jesus in heaven. With that in mind each day we should be running in such a way that we are prepared to see Jesus face to face.
An athlete prepares by training his/her physical body to endure the challenges of a race. Their goal is to win the race. Even if they don’t win they still want to cross the finish line triumphantly.
A Christian prepares to cross the finish line and spend eternity with Jesus by training our spiritual lives. We do that by growing. We grow by spending time each day in God’s Word learning about who He is. We grow when we pray and see Him answer our prayers. We grow when we read and obey what He is teaching us. Just like training for a race we must make daily time with God a priority.
Persevere
An athlete in a long race must endure to cross the finish line. (Cross country skiers race for 31 miles) If God allows a believer to live a long life on the earth he/she must endure to cross the finish line triumphantly. Let’s do this little skit to give you an idea of what the race can look like for a believer. (Choose a student to run in place.) Sometimes the race is fun. People are cheering you on and encouraging you to keep running. (Have other students cheer/encourage) Sometimes the race is very difficult and people will try to get you to quit. You may even face very difficult challenges along the race. Enemies that have been paid to distract you and discourage you may pelt you with rocks, ‘boo’ you and try to lead you off the track. (Have students, boo, throw paper balls, etc.)(Have the students return to their seats)
In the Christian race there will be times that it is fun and encouraging. We read our Bibles and God is answering our prayers and life is good. At other times we may be facing very difficult, discouraging challenges. We read our Bibles and pray, but it seems like God isn’t hearing our prayers.
Do you think that Tatyana (paraplegic) ever felt like quitting??? How do you think God helped her to persevere?
It’s easy to press on in the race when it’s going well but what do we do when the race is difficult and it is tempting to quit? This is why praying, reading God’s Word, getting help and encouragement from our friends is important.
Goal
As you and I persevere by keeping our eyes on Jesus our prize we will cross the finish line triumphantly. As we make our relationship with Jesus the most important thing, His Holy Spirit will help us to endure the Christian race so we can finish with joy.
Let’s go for the gold…and go for God!
POP-SLEDDING
Number of players: 2 or more
Items needed:
Tootsie Pops
Two 4’ lengths of PVC pipe (or a sturdy, empty wrapping paper tube wide enough for a Tootsie Pop)
Two buckets
Set up:
Contestants stand five feet away from their buckets. Contestants will hold the PVC pipe.
Instructions:
In this challenge the contestants will attempt to launch their “pop-sleds” (Tootsie Pops) into their buckets by dropping them down the chute and slinging them from the end of the tube toward the bucket. This challenge will require perfect timing as you must launch the sled as soon as it hits the bottom of the tube. The contestant who
successfully lands the most sleds into their bucket wins.