Olympics, Family style.

We have been studying ancient Greece (using SOTW) and I decided to let the kids have their own "Olympics" and Greek Feast. The kids planned the contests and made the medals.  The hardest for them was planning the obstacle course, but they persevered and planned a fun path through the backyard.  It included swinging, jumping jacks, trampoline bouncing, jumping over obstacles and running up the  ramp, across the bridge and down.   I am very proud of their planning.  They learned to negotiate what events would be included.  Christopher only wanted events that he could win (Don't we all).  He REALLY protested against the Limbo contest, but he lost that negotiation.  Keener had such a huge advantage, but couldn't figure out how to do it.  Very funny.

I discussed the food feast menu with them, but Elizabeth and I made most of it.  As usual there was too much food, but it was so yummy.  Most of the ideas came from this web site http://greekfood.about.com/od/discovergreekfood/u/classic_traditional.htm.

Here is the menu:
3 different types of olives-green, brine (kalamata), gaeta (olive link here) ,
dried figs, apricots, dates and golden raisins;
almonds
hummus and pita
Tyropita-3 cheese stuffed flakey pastry
Spanakopita- spinach and cheese stuffed flakey pastry
Camomile Tea
Tzatziki (Yogurt Cucumber Garlic dip)-SUPER EASY to make!!!
Froutosalata-Fruit Salad with honey dressing- yummy!
We also had two different types of fresh bread-thanks to the store bakery!

They had so much fun practicing the past couple of days and  then participating today.  It was such a great way to start off a week.  We had perfect weather and everyone had fun.

So here are the results:

Crabwalk
1st     Christopher
2nd    Elizabeth
3rd     I---- (Our neighbor)

4th     Rolo     

5th     Keener

Bear crawl

1st     Christopher

2nd    Elizabeth

3rd     Rolo

4th     I---- (Our neighbor)     

5th     Keener

Hopping

1st     Christopher

2nd    I---- (Our neighbor)

3rd     Rolo

4th     Keener    

5th     Elizabeth

Frisbee Toss

1st      I---- (Our neighbor)

2nd   Rolo

3rd     Elizabeth

4th     Christopher     

5th     Keener

Wheelbarrow Race (Teams)

1st      I---- (Our neighbor)/Christopher

2nd   Rolo/Elizabeth

3rd     Keener

Long Jump

1st     Christopher

2nd    Elizabeth

3rd     Rolo 

4th     I---- (Our neighbor)     

5th     Keener

Limbo

1st     Elizabeth

2nd     I---- (Our neighbor)

3rd     Rolo

4th     Keener

5th     Christopher

 

Obstacle Course (Time)

1st     Elizabeth (1 min 12.2 seconds)

2nd     Christopher(1 min 18.7 seconds) 

3rd     I---- (Our neighbor) (1 min 47.4 seconds)

4th     Rolo (1 min 49.9 seconds)

5th     Keener (2 min 35.0 seconds)  

     Keener was adorable doing the obstacle course. The other children helped her.  It was so wonderful to see them cheering her on and helping her not get sidetracked.  She did however tend to stop to fix her socks.  If she wasn't looking like a European tourist with her socks up to her knees, she just wasn't happy!  Made me laugh just to see her stopping to do that.  

Awards Ceremony Picture