Winter Olympics

The Olympics have always been something that I look forward to every couple years.  Growing up we didn't have cable.  We just had the basic channels and when the Olympics were on, that is what we watched, as a family.  I have so many memories sitting around together cheering for our American athletes and watching in awe as they demonstrated their amazing athletic ability to set new records and win medals.  But my absolute favorite thing to see was watching them stand on the podium as our National Anthem played with the American flag being raised behind them.  All that work they put in to get to this moment, and they are so proud to not only do it for themselves, their family, but also to make their country proud.

If you're looking for a new family tradition... well... the 2018 Winter Olympics are held this year in PyeongChang, South Korea.  The Opening Ceremonies will be held on Friday, February 9th, but some events actually begin on Thursday.  Different events will be held each day and run until the 25th.  Just pick some events to follow or an athlete or two.  With the internet at our fingertips you can easily look up more information about these athletes to share with your kids.  How old they are, how many Olympics they have competed in, where they are from, etc.

Here at school, we will be keeping track of the medals several different countries earn: U.S.A., Canada, Germany, South Korea, Norway, and Austria.  We will be making a bar graph to see which country wins the most Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. 

Here is a link to the days of competition and medal events:

http://www.nbcolympics.com/full-schedule

And here is a link to the T.V. Listings.  You can scroll through each day to find out what time certain events are on that you would like to watch:

http://www.nbcolympics.com/tv-listings

"Athletes strain to be the best

To the wild and thunderous roar,

Of fans who chant their country's name

With hopes their team will score."

The Flag We Love by Pam Munoz Ryan