Puppets and the Olympics Teach Respect

Thanks to Reading Confetti and Ready. Set. Read. for passing the Olympic torch to me in the Kid Bloggers Go Olympics. A group of bloggers from around the world are the celebrating the Olympics with our kids. The Olympics provides the perfect opportunity to teach our children about respect.

What Does Respect Look Like?

• Be thoughtful of other people’s ideas.
• Listen to others when they talk to you.
• Compliment others. Tell them they did a good job.
• Be polite. Say please and thank you.
• Take care of your things. Don’t break them. Treat them nicely.
• Take care of the environment. Pick up trash. Be kind to animals and plants.
• Follow the rules.

How is Respect Promoted in the Olympics?

The Olympics is all about people from around the world coming together to showcase their best athletes. In doing so, the athletes show us what respecting others means. Even though you are competing against someone, you still value them. You congratulate them when they win. You exhibit good sportsmanship. As I’ve watched the Olympics, I’ve seen many examples of respect. As you watch the games with your kids, be sure to point out respectful athletes.

The theme of the 2012 London Olympics is Inspire a generation. When London put forth their proposal for hosting the games, they said they would make the games sustainable. They were going to care about the environment and the future in their design of the venues and organization of the games. You can read more about their sustainability efforts. This goal sets a great standard for future games and shows a wonderful respect for our earth. I think it will definitely inspire a generation.

Use Puppets to Teach Respect

I wanted to come up with a hands on activity that could teach children – even preschoolers – examples of respect. The best way to teach respect is to model it, so we got out our puppets and role played a little.

In my best animal puppet voice, I asked Aiden’s elephant if I could please play with the blocks. Aiden answered for him saying, “Yes.” I said, “Thank you. I like to play with blocks.”

Next, I asked if the dog could play with us. Aiden again said yes. I said, “Great. It’s so nice to let everyone play.”

Then, of course, I had to add in a little care for the environment. “I see some trash on the floor. What should we do with that, Dog?” Aiden answered, “Throw it in the trash!” If he hadn’t said the answer, I would have had Dog pick up the trash.

Role playing with puppets {or even stuffed animals or other toys} allows you to model behaviors you want to encourage. Of course you can and should model these behaviors in everyday life as well. The more practice you can give your children, the more likely they will exhibit behaviors you want.

I searched for more activities to teach respect. Dr. Michele Borba has a list of 35 ideas for teaching respect. Her list is geared towards school age kids, but many of the ideas can be adapted for various ages.

Passing on the Torch

I’m passing the torch to The Iowa Farmer’s Wife! Stop by tomorrow to see how she celebrates the Olympics.

Celebrate the Olympics

Check out the amazing Olympic inspired ideas below. Add your ideas, too!

 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

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