The 2014 Winter Olympics will be starting on February 6th and will be held in Sochi, Russia.  I am SO excited to watch them!  I think the winter Olympics have some very interesting sports that I would never get a chance to watch otherwise (like bobsledding, luge, and curling).  And, of course, hockey.  (Did you know that 7 of my Pittsburgh Penguins will be representing their home countries in the Olympics this year?)

There are a ton of free (yay!) activities you can try at home to learn about and celebrate the Olympics.  Here are just a few that I have collected:

Olympic torch treats 

(Make with store-bought cake ice cream cones and Cheetos)

Olympic ring pizza

(You could use whatever toppings you like, but these are bleu cheese, olives, pepperoni, pineapple, and avocado)

Gold medal cookies

(Golden Oreo cookies and Fruit by the Foot)

Paper towel roll Olympic torch

Laurel Leaf crown

I was able to request all of these books from the library for free.  Don't forget to check out the non-fiction section, where you can find many, many books about individual sports and athletes.

G is for Gold Medal

Olympig!

Tacky and the Winter Games

The Winter Olympics

Geronimo Stilton Saves the Olympics (#10)

Magic Tree House: Hour of the Olympics

World Flags Matching Game

Snowboarder XS

Winter Games

Time For Kids
Information about different winter Olympic sports.

Olympics Fun Facts

Winter Olympics Facts
Over 100 pages of printable activities!

We did a really fun "craftivity" today to review the life cycle of a frog.  First, we watched this video:

Then, we made a frog life cycle spinner wheel.  You can download it for free HERE!  Julia Lee, the teacher who created this life cycle wheel, even included three different levels of writing so that you can differentiate the activity to meet your individual student's needs.

Here is the finished product.  I think it turned out lovely!

What says back to school better than a freshly sharpened No. 2 pencil?  Here are some easy tutorials to dress up your new pencils.

Materials needed:
pencils
washi tape (available at craft stores and some big box stores, like Target)

Directions:
Simply wrap the tape around your pencil in whatever pattern you like!

image and idea courtesy of Confetti Sunshine Blog

Materials needed:
pencils
pipe cleaners

Directions:
Shape the pipe cleaners, then wrap the end around your pencil.

image and idea courtesy of Make and Takes