Your child may see a mixture of schooling at home, field trips, co-schooling, etc. All depending on what structure of homeschooling you use for your child. Due to the nature of traditional homeschooling, exposing culture in homeschooling can be difficult to incorporate without specifically studying another culture. However, thanks to the 2016 Olympics, you may have a very useful tool right at your fingertips to invent some creative and fun teaching methods. Read below to find out how.
Culture in the Olympics
If you are familiar with the Olympics then you already know that people from all over the world compete in various sports for the gold medal. But are you really aware of all the culture the Olympic event combines? Here are some statistics to gain a bigger-picture view:
- 206 Nations will be represented in the 2016 Olympics
- 10,500 individual athletes will be competing
- There will be 306 events in 28 sports
- Furthermore, this is the first time the IOC would allow refugees to compete under the Olympic Flag as Independent Olympians
No other event in the world brings together this many representing nations, athletes, and competitors.
How to Watch
On the official Olympic website, all of the countries and confirmed athletes are listed, along with articles, videos, interviews, etc. This is important because this is the source of information you will need to determine who and when you want to watch. Have you ever seen an Chinese athlete take the stand before they perform? Why do they bow to the crowd? These cultural indicators can be used to educate your child about other culture traditions and expose them to a new experience.
Rio has their own set of rules
There is a huge opportunity for learning about the history and process of the Olympics. For example, how a country is chosen to host the event, how a country bids on hosting the event, etc. These are all interesting, teachable moments. You can have your child do a history report on a specific piece of the Olympics and then bring that report to life when they watch the event! Or vice versa. Your child can watch a specific event and then write a report that notes and explains any culture-specific traditions they saw. The creative trails are endless!
Why this matters
Exposure to culture in homeschooling is an important part of expanding perception. Unfortunately, this particular fragment within homeschooling studies is easy to overlook. The history books will only teach so much and without diving into every part of one culture, it is hard to paraphrase a few cultures. Watching the Olympics can not only be a fun family event but an excellent teaching moment for everyone in the room.