Guilford County Schools ACES Program
Weekly Theme: Spectacular Sports – Centers Activities
Art Center
Team Mascot
Have students design and color a team mascot for their group.
Olympic Symbols
Have students paint their own Olympic Symbol using the colors of the ring (red, green, black, blue, and yellow) The white background symbolizes peace. The five interlocking rings represent the continents of Africa, Australia, Europe, The Americas, and Asia. The five colors of the rings are blue, yellow, black, green, and red. At least one of these colors appears in the flag of every nation.
Olympic Medals
Cut discs out of cardboard. Cover the discs with foil or paint them. Punch a hole near the edge of each disc using a hole punch. Cut lengths of ribbon or yarn. Then string the yarn or ribbon through the hole in the medals and tie to close.
Olive Leaf Crown
Cut a strip of paper about 1 1/2 inches wide. Measure it around the child’s head and cut to size. Cut out lots of leaf shapes and glue them along the length of the strip, leaving a couple of inches at either end. Tape the two ends of the band together.
Olympic Medals
Cut 24" of red, white and blue striped ribbon and “stick” the ends of the ribbon together by two gold seals (usually found in an office supply store as notary or legal document seals). Use the seals to hold together the ends of the ribbon, two seals per medal, one front, one back.
Olympic Windsocks
The students will create an Olympic windsock. The students draw or paste pictures to represent the Olympics on a 9x4 paper. Roll the paper up and glue or staple. Have the students staple streamers of the Olympic colors on the bottom. Tie on strings and hang up.
Pinecone Skier
Attach a pine cone to 2 craft sticks. Wrap around a pipe cleaner to come out on each side as arms. Glue tooth picks to the pipe cleaners for the ski poles (pipe cleaners are bent to be the hands and hold the poles). The head is made from a large bead and googly eyes attached.
Board Game Center
Don’t Break the Ice (Kaplan)
Building/Manipulatives Center
Have students build a games stadium with LEGO® bricks or blocks.
CATCH Kids® Games
CATCH Kids-Students choose favorites for the week.
Computer Center/Computer Lab
Downhill Ski Challenge
http://funschool.kaboose.com/fun-blaster/winter/games/game_downhill_challenge.html
Olympic Ski Jump Slide Puzzle
http://www.primarygames.com/socstudies/olympics/games/sliders/ski_start.htm
Snowboarder XS
http://www.primarygames.com/seasons/winter/games/snowboardxs/start.htm
Animal Athletics
http://www.primarygames.com/socstudies/olympics/games/animalAthletics/start.htm
World Flags Match Game
http://www.primarygames.com/socstudies/olympics/games/match_up/start.htm
Dramatic Play Center
Head to the Gym
Set up the Dramatic Play area like a gym complete with towels, mini barbells, exercise mats, etc.
Gross Motor Center
Cotton Ball Shot Put
Stand at the tape line on the floor. Using one hand, throw one cotton ball as
far as you can. Use the measuring tool provided to find the distance your
cotton ball traveled from the throw line to where it landed.
Giant Step
Put both feet on the starting line on the floor. Take one giant step forward.
Have a partner use his or her finger to mark the spot in back of your forward
heel. Use the measuring tool provided to find the length of your giant
step.
Paper Plate Discus Throw
Throw the paper plate like a discus (or Frisbee) from the throw line marked
on the floor. Use the measuring tool provided to find the distance the plate
traveled from the throw line to the place where the plate stops on the floor.
Record this distance on your recording sheet.
High Jump
Stand next to the chalkboard or a wall. Stretch your arm high in the air,
keeping your feet flat on the ground. Use a piece of chalk to mark the
highest point you can reach on the chalkboard (or on the piece of paper
covering the wall). Place a piece of chalk in one hand. Jump as high as you
can and make a mark on the chalkboard (or the piece of paper covering the
wall) with the chalk.
Side Step
Stand with both feet together. One foot should be on the line marked on
the floor. Take a giant step with one foot to the side. Have a partner use his
or her finger to mark the inside spot where your stepping foot lands.
Straw Javelin
Throw a straw using an overhand motion as far forward as you can. Have a partner watch for and mark the place where your straw first hits the ground.
KidzLit®
(K-2)-Hey, Little Ant
(3-5)-Duke Ellington
Listening Center
Sound Bottles Game
Small black film cans are great for this activity. Fill 8 cans with food items. (2 with salt; 2 with rice; 2 with macaroni, 2 with large dried beans.) Seal cans and mix them up. Have your students try to find matching sounds.
Timer Hide and Seek
Set and hide a timer somewhere in a room. Have your students try to find it before or after it rings.
Music Center
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out with the crowd
Buy me some Peanuts and Crackerjack
I don't care if I never get back
Oh it's root, root, root for the home team
If they don't win it’s a shame
For it's 1, 2, 3 strikes you're out
At the old ball game
Kookaburra
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Watching the Olympics on TV.
Cheer, kookaburra cheer,
Kookaburra cheers on the USA team.
It’s A Small World
It's a world of laughter
A world of tears
It's a world of hopes
And a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all
There is just one moon
And one golden sun
And a smile means
Friendship to ev'ryone
Though the mountains divide
And the oceans are wide
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small, small world
Friendship Flame sung to Mulberry Bush
Here we go around the friendship flame,
The friendship flame, the friendship flame.
Here we go around the friendship flame,
Let’s get ready for games.
Reading Center
K-3
Gus & Gertie and The Lucky Charms by Joan Lowery Nixon
Snowden by Nancy L. Carlson
Olympics! by B.G. Hennessy's
Tacky and the Winter Games by Helen Lester
3-5
Snowboard Showdown by Matt Christopher
Always Dream by Kristi Yamaguchi
Dreams on Ice by Beverly Lewis
The Winter Olympics by Larry Dane Brimner
Riddles
Q: Why isn't sun tanning an Olympic sport?
A: Because the best you can ever get is bronze.
Q: Why did they send the Olympic judge out in search of the lost wedding ring?
A: Because he was a medal detector.
Q: Why does the Olympic torch always start in Olympia?
A: Because it's hard to put out a Greece fire.
Q: Where does the track team keep its medals?
A: In the pole vault.
Q: Why was the race walker disqualified?
A: Because her nose was running.
Q: What's a horse's favorite event?
A: The mare-athon.
Science and Nature Center
Weighing Balls
On the science table next to the balance scale add a container of small balls, such as golf balls, styrofoam balls, wiffle balls, and tennis balls. Allow students to weigh the different balls and compare weights and sizes.
July 2008 1 Activity ideas obtained from ACES staff and public domain materials