By Mike Blake, Reuters

Is your family enjoying watching the Winter Olympics this year? Ours is! We are able to see a couple of hours after dinner on the computer through some streaming video Hubby finds. I especially love when the video he finds is in a foreign language. The first night we watched, I think the version of EuroSport TV we found was Portuguese, since it sounded like a mixture of French, Spanish and Italian. The mogul jumpers messed up a few times, and the announcer would say, “Ah, DISASTRO!” We got a kick out of that.

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The kids are really learning a lot from the Olympics physics class (elementary age and up) that Science Jim is offering online. We love the live, interactive classes, and Science Jim is quite entertaining. Last week he taught us about speed and friction, and the week before that, gravity. There are three more classes coming up on Wednesdays in this Olympics series, including this week’s acceleration class. I highly recommend these classes! And the price is a steal for such valuable teaching — only $5 a class! Each class stands on its own, so you can jump in and join the fun this week even if you missed the others.

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Speaking of jumping… I really should take some video of my 18 month old son watching the Olympics… He can’t actually jump yet, but whenever he sees a skiier or boarder or skater jumping and flipping high into the air, he tries to do it, too. He thinks it will be simple, just throw your body and go! So cute.

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We are learning little bits here and there about various countries and where they are, about sports like curling, and some of the athletes themselves. It’s amazing to realize how much older my children will seem when the next Winter Olympics comes around four years from now! And I can’t wait for gymnastics in another two years…

How about you? Has your homeschooling family been able to integrate the Olympics into your studies?

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(In case your family could use some great science ideas, here are other super resources we use regularly:)
Professor Krampf “The Happy Scientist” emails us free video experiments – very fun and simple yet explain deep concepts well
The Futures Channel – neat videos showing how real careers use math and science
SpaceWeather always has some interesting science news
CurrClick has Science Jim and other online classes

The Physics of the Olympics!

The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, and the wonder of physics!  Believe it or not, the Olympics are a lot more than just amazing athletic achievements.  There is a huge amount of great science going on as well. Join Science Jim for one or more of these Physics of the Olympics classes as we dive into the amazing world that lies underneath all amazing athletics.  Classes are recommended for ages eight and up.  Each class comes with a complete .pdf lesson plan that includes plenty of hands-on activities to try at home.