Olympics 2012 - Wobbler Style

Olympics 2012 – Wobbler Style

                       Siolta Standard 16 Community Involvement

Promoting community involvement requires the establishment of networks and
connections evidenced and procedures and actions which extend and support all adult’s
and children’s engagement with the wider community.

The Olympics is a time when the whole World comes together to celebrate the world of
sport. In our room we have Wobblers from all around the world so we decided to throw
our very own Wobbler style Olympics.

We decided to throw an Opening Ceremony just like in the Olympics but first we had to
make our Olympic Torches.

We had a good look through our recycling box and art cupboard and found some gold shiny
decorations. We had lots of fun tearing them apart and then gluing them to pages to make
our very own Olympic Torches.

Now we had our Olympic Torches we were able to have an Opening Ceremony and
introduce the contestants to the crowd.

Before the games began, the contestants were busy getting their sports equipment and
accessories ready. We made headbands and wristbands for everyone.

Aistear Theme 3: Communication, Aim 4: Children will express themselves creatively and
imaginatively, Learning Goal 2: Express themselves through the visual arts using skills
such as cutting, drawing, gluing, sticking, painting, building, printing, sculpting, sewing.

During arts and crafts we believe it is important to stand back and let the children try out
new things, so that they can develop their own skills while partaking in an activity.
Tearing and gluing helps the children to develop their fine motor skills and is an important
physical skill for them.

Aistear Theme 1: Well-Being, Aim 1: Children will be as healthy and fit as they can be,
Learning Goal 3: Discover, explore and refine gross and fine motor skills.

Our first event involved the contestants taking a dip in the pool so they lined up and
waited for their turn to show off their skills

There were lots of dives and splashes throughout the swimming event and everyone left
the pool with a smile! Some wanted to stay in even after the water was all gone!

                                “Splashing” said Maeve

Aistear Theme 3: Communication, Aim 2: Children will use language, Learning Goal 3: Use
an expanding vocabulary of words and phrases etc.

During their time in the Olympic Swimming Pool, our wobblers took this opportunity to
participate in some babbling with one another. There was also a lot of non-verbal
communication taking place when our friends all started to do some splashing.

Aistear Theme 3: Communication, Aim 1: Children will use non-verbal communication
skills, Learning Goal 1: Use a wide range of body movements, facial expressions and early
vocalisations to show feelings and share information, & Learning Goal 5: Combine non-
verbal and verbal communications.

We encouraged all the children to dip their toes in the water and try something new.

Aistear Theme 4: Exploring and Thinking, Aim 4: Children will have positive attitudes
towards learning and develop dispositions like curiosity, playfulness, perseverance,
confidence, resourcefulness, and risk taking, Learning Goal 6: Act on their curiosity, take
risks and be open to new ideas and uncertainty

Between all the splashing and laps, some contestants took a well-earned rest.

Aistear Theme 1: Well-Being, Aim 2: Children will be as healthy and fit as they can be,
Learning Goal 6: Make healthy choices and demonstrate positive attitudes to nutrition,
hygiene, exercise and routine.

The Swimming event allowed the children to develop their physical skills by flapping their
arms and legs while swimming. It also allowed them to work on their Sensory Skills as they
were splashing, rubbing and wiping the water.

As part of the children’s physical and cognitive development it is important that we
provide them with opportunities to try new physical activities and learn from it.

Next our Olympian contestants showed off their muscles in the Weightlifting event.

They really enjoyed using the weights they had made and painted in arts and crafts.

Aistear Theme 4: Exploring and Thinking. Aim 3: Children will learn about and make sense
of the world around them, Learning Goal 1: Make marks using drawing, painting and
model making to record objects, events and ideas.

Everyone was very tired after this event so they rested for a few days.

It is important for us that the children get the right rest and play level every day so that
they can fully enjoy their day.

Siolta Standard 9: Health and Welfare: Promoting the health and welfare of the child
requires protection from harm, provision of nutritious food, appropriate opportunities
for rest, and secure relationships characterised by trust and respect.

For our next event the children wanted to go outside so we set up an obstacle course
outdoors and then raced through it.

Everyone scrambled over and ran through the course at top speed.

Even those who can’t walk crawled their way along the mats and over the obstacles.

This event was a great opportunity to get the non-walking children to develop their gross
motor skills while having fun at the same time. It allowed the non-walkers to try new
physical movements that copying their friends who were running and jumping around.

Aistear Theme 1: Well-Being, Aim 4: Children will have positive outlooks on learning and
on life, Learning Goal 1: Show increasing independence, and make choices and decisions.

Outdoor Play is very important for young children; it helps them to learn about the world
around them while stimulating various aspects of their development, such as physical and
cognitive development.

This particular event really helped the children to work on their physical skills, especially
areas such as coordination, balance and self-control (for the crawlers).

Aistear Theme 1: Well-Being, Aim 2: Children will be as fit and healthy as they can be,
Learning Goal 1: Gain increasing control and co-ordination.

Our final event led us to the show jumping arena where once again our contestants
showed off their horse jumping talents.

This event gave the wobblers a chance to partake in role play. They all really enjoyed
dressing up and playing the part of someone else, whilst racing to the finish line and
watching their friends.

Role play is very important for children as it can teach them about other people and how
different people do different things.

Aistear Theme 2: Identity and Belonging, Aim 2: Children will have a sense of group
identity where links with their family and community are acknowledged and extended,
Learning Goal 6: Understand the different roles of people in the community.

It was a great day and even the crowd got into the spirit and dressed up in their best
outfits to watch the wobbler Olympics.

The end of the show jumping meant the end of our Wobbler Olympics so we threw a big
Closing Cermony. Everyone danced, clapped and performed their own personal party piece
for all our fantastic Olympians.

Fajer showed off her musical skills while Nessa was busy using the Palmer Grasp to play
the drums. The closing ceremony gave all our musicians a chance to develop their physical
and musical skills. Jenny even got the chance to show us some tricks with her dog.

Aistear Theme 1: Well-Being, Aim 2: Children will be as fit and healthy as they can be,
Learning Goal 3: Discover, explore and refine gross and fine motor skills.

Aistear Theme 3: Communication, Aim 2: Children will use language, Learning Goal 2:
Explore sound, rhythm, pattern etc.

At the end of the Cermony all the children received Wobbler Olympic Certificates.

We made these certificates for each of our Olympians so that they could bring them home
and remember all of the fun they had had and also to remind them of all the hard work
they had put in throughout the Olympic games

Aistear Theme 2: Identity and Belonging, Aim 4: Children will see themselves as capable
learners, Learning Goal 6: Be motivated and begin to think about and recognise their own
progress and achievements.

Throughout the Cermony we encouraged all the children to clap for one another as they
got their certificates because it is important that we appreciate each child and give the
children opportunities to develop an understanding of how people feel.

Aistear Theme 1: Well-Being, Aim 1: Children will be strong psychologically and socially,
Learning Goal 5: Respect themselves, others and the environment.

During all the fun and games of the Wobbler Olympics, our teachers were busy writing
notes and recording observations that helped us to come up with lots of different ideas for
folow on activities.

   1. Our first activity was to paint all of our National flags during arts and crafts and
      then hang them up on the wall with our pictures on them.

Aistear Theme 2: Identity and Belonging, Aim 2: Children will have a sense of group
identity where links with their family and community are acknowledged and extended,
Learning Goal: Know that members of their family and community are positively
acknowledged and welcomed.

2. We painted the Paraolympics logo

   3. We made a big poster, for outside our room with all of the pictures from our
      wobbler Olympics so that all of the parents and families could see how the
      Olympions got on.

Siolta Standard 3: Parents and Families: Valuing and involving parents and families
requires a proactive partnership approach evidence by a range of clearly stated,
accessible and implemented processes, policies and procedures.

   4. We have done several more obstacle courses with the children because they can all
      get involved in this activity and they seemed to really enjoy this event the most

5. We painted pictures of our favourite event during arts and crafts.

Aistear Theme 2: Identity and Belonging, Aim 1: Children will have strong self-identities
and will feel respected and afirmed as unique individuals with their own life story,
Learning Goal 6: Express their own ideas, preferences and needs and have these
responded to with respect and consistency.