The Olympic Spirit

Ordinarily, I don't spend much time watching TV.  And, I am fairly strict about how much time the kids  spend numbing their minds in front of the set.  But, we've spent a substantial amount of time watching the Olympics.  I had no idea how much Lacey could learn from watching.  For example, she has been learning about world geography.  We let the girls stay up to watch the opening ceremony.  Lacey was fascinated with the parade of nations, primarily because she still has difficulty comprehending the scope of the world.  Although she knows the names of the continents and can locate them on a map, she really doesn't understand how immense the world is.  She was thrilled to discover that there are so many countries with so many different people.


The geography lesson continued as we watched the different sports.  


Lacey:  What's "MEX?"
Cassie:  That's Mexico - you know, the country that's south of the United States.
Lacey:  Oh, yeah. They speak Gladis' language there.
Lacey:  What's "RUS?"
Cassie:  That's Russia - one of the biggest countries in the world.  
Lacey:  Even bigger than Virginia?
Cassie:  LACEY!!  I keep telling you that Virginia's not a country!


Lacey also had her first exposure to nationalism.


Lacey:  Why is that guy jumping up and down?
Cassie:  Because he's a coach and his diver just did well.
Lacey:  Is he going to jump up and down for the U.S. guy?
Cassie:  Of course not!! You only cheer for your own country.
Lacey:  Does that mean that we should clap for the U.S. guy?
Cassie:  Well, I guess we should clap for the ones from China too.


Lacey also had some lessons in style.  I walked into the room while she was watching the men's platform diving team competition.


Lacey:  Mommy, why are those boys diving in their underwear?
Me:   Actually, those are just very small swimming suits.
Lacey:  Do their moms know the boys are wearing their underwear on TV?
Me:  Well, those are their moms waving the American flags and yelling.
Lacey:  Then I guess they're proud that their sons are wearing underwear?
Me:  Yeah, I guess so.


The Olympics also offer valuable lessons in team spirit and hard work.  We have struggled to help Lacey understand that being the first one finished with an activity isn't necessarily the best and that there's value in taking her time and doing something well.  During the gymnastics competition she kept asking me why the girls kept hugging each other.  She finally began to understand that they were working as a team.  Lacey got very excited watching the gymnastics.  "Look how high that girl can fly," she kept yelling.  Then, Cassie walked into the room.


Lacey:  Cassie, look what that girl can do on the bars.  Do you want to be in the Olympics?
Cassie:  No.
Lacey:  Why - you don't like to travel?
Cassie:  No.  I'm just not good at any of the sports.
Lacey:  What about Taekwondo?
Cassie:  Taekwondo isn't an Olympic sport.  It originated in Korea and could only be an Olympic sport if Korea were the host nation and chose to make it a sport.
Lacey:  Maybe you could ride a horse?
Cassie:  You know, you're really lucky that you live in the U.S. now.
Lacey:  Why?
Cassie:  I've heard that in other countries there are spies that look for kids who might be good at gymnastics.  They hang out on playgrounds, watching kids play.  If they had seen you on the playground, they might have kidnapped you and forced you to become a gymnast.
Lacey:  Wow!