Use the Olympics to Teach Kids Life Lessons #NetflixKids [Sponsored]

I love the Olympics because it is a rare time where people from all walks of life and all ends of the earth come together. Each person there has the same goal…..to win gold. There is no talk of wars, politics or fighting, just training, competing, teamwork and medals. Teach your kids life lessons using the Olympics as an example. (Disclosure: I’m writing this post as a member of the Netflix Stream Team.)

 Olympic Lessons

The Olympics is the perfect opportunity to teach kids life lessons about teamwork and competition. My favorite part of the Olympics is not the sports, but the stories. Each athlete has a story and no two stories are alike. They all gave up a lot so they could dedicate hours and hours to their sport. The stories show the dedication it takes to be an Olympic athlete.

Photo from Wikipedia – Stamp of Russia with Winter Olympics Mascot 2014

Common Sense Media has a 2014 Olympics Guide for Families with links and resources to help guide you through the next few weeks.

Teamwork

Obviously, team sports takes a lot of teamwork. Even in the solo sports, it takes teamwork to get that athlete to the Olympics. Their families and coaches dedicated a lot of time and money too.

The Mighty Macs is based on a true story and shows what can be accomplished with proper guidance and a lot of teamwork. Watch this movie with your kids and discuss ways that being a team player will help them in school.

Competition

When you win, the competition is awesome, but there is only one winner. Being a competitor means also being a good loser.

In the Winning Favor movie, there can only be one winner. Both boys want to win, but to stay friends, they have to learn to be a good loser too. Discuss with your kids what they would do if they were to lose a competition. How can you be a good loser?

Inspiration

In order to train day after day for a great part of the day, the athletes find inspiration in something. There is something that keeps them training even when they are losing. Each person needs to find what inspires them to keep going.

In A Walk in His Shoes, the team finds inspiration in the newest team-mate who has Asperger’s Syndrome. Help your kids understand what inspiration is and how it helps you to keep going.

Favorite Winter Olympic Sports

My favorite Winter Olympic sport is Ice Skating. I love watching them glide along the ice looking so graceful. They do tricks on the ice I wouldn’t attempt off the ice. Netflix has The Fabulous Ice Age, a new documentary that tells the history of Figure Skating.

Netflix Olympic Craft

Netflix is sharing a craft you can do with your kids creating these Olympic medals.

Will you be watching the Winter Olympics? What is your favorite winter sport? Do you watch the Olympics as a family? Do you have a favorite sports movie?

Disclosure: As a member of the Netflix Stream Team, I receive the product in exchange for my participation. All opinions are my own.