SEMINARY OLYMPICS

FOR

BOOK OF MORMON

SET-UP

This years Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi, Russia February 7-23, 2014.

Since the month of February is always hard to get through, having this activity

during the month can help you get through the dreary winter months. Start your

Olympic planning as soon as possible! Here are a few things to do.

1) Choose the days you want to do this activity. Will it be the entire time of

the Olympic games? Just for Friday activities?

2) Decide how many countries you will need. Divide you class as you see fit.

Use places that are mentioned in the Book of Mormon-Zarahemla,

Bountiful, Land Northward, etc. Have your students look for places to use

as their country.

3) Pick a day to get the teams set up. Have them make a flag for their country,

choose colors, motto, etc. whatever will work for your class.

4) Decide on how you will score the events, how many for each event, gold,

silver, bronze.

5) Some events will take the entire time that the Olympics are going on. Will

that be something you want to do?

6) Make a torch out of a Styrofoam cone, ball and tissue paper to set the

mood. Have a Parade of Countries!

If you have a bulletin board available to use, make a scoreboard so the kids can

see their progress. I am going to include facts about Russia and the Church on

mine-how many missions, how many members, how many missionaries, things

like that to connect it to the Church.

EVENTS

Individual Events

Cross Country Skiing-read the Scriptures every day during the Olympics. Each

member of the team reading will count in the scoring. Give a gold medal to the

team that has the most days read, including the weekends!

Freestyle Moguls-every member of the team must be on time for class every

day of the Olympics. This could get pretty bumpy for some of our students!

Free Style Skating-ask a trivia question from the Book of Mormon every day.

Use this as a review of yesterdays lesson, or just fun facts that you might not

get to.

Team Events

SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING--Put the Magic Square rhymes on tongue

depressors or craft sticks and see who can go through them correctly. Put the

SMs on index cards and have the teams race against each other to put them in

the correct order.

SNOW BUCKET BALL-Each team has a bucket of balls (whiffle balls, plastic golf

balls or wadded up paper will work), an empty bucket, scriptures and a small

table. Portions of the SM (actual words form the verse, but not the reference)

are written on index cards. Make about 50-60 cards and number them in a

corner, on the same side as the words so you can make a key.

Place two masking tape lines on the floor for each team, approximately 6-8

feet apart. Place the index cards on a table between the teams face down.

When you start the game, each team picks a card from the table. The person

who picked up the card must find the scripture in their scriptures. Other team

members may help, but they cant touch the persons scriptures.

Once they think they have found the scripture, check it from your key. The last

person in line goes to the empty bucket and catches the snowballs form the

first person(the one who found the scripture). When they get three snowballs

in the empty bucket, they go back to the line and it starts all over again.

CURLING- set up a long banquet-style table(or use the floor if you have wood).

Mark off with tape a lane about 10 feet long. Place a target at the end of the

lane made of tape or a paper one. Have a bean bag for each team. After

finding the scripture, the team that finds it first shoves the bean bag down the

lane, aiming for the target, but not going off the end or out of bounds. The

next team shoves their beanbag down the lane, trying to keep their beanbag

on the target, but pushing the other teams off or to a lower scoring area of

the target.

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING-Set up a circular track in your Olympics area. You can

use tape, cones, chairs, whatever you have. Give each team a set of paper

plates(2). When the team finds the scripture, that person stands on the paper

plates and skiis around the track. You can have them go around as many times

as you want.

NORDIC COMBINED-This event is the same as Cross Country Skiing, but uses a

Marshmallow Gun for the shooting part. You could use a Nerf gun, slingshot or

whatever you choose if you dont want the Marshmallow gun. Have the

student find the scripture, go to the gun station that you have set up, shoot at

a target(I usually use a picture of a snowman) and then take a turn around the

track you have set up with all with the paper plate skis on their feet.

BROOM HOCKEY -Make a goal for the teams to shoot into. This could be

anything, tape on the floor, a box, trashcan, or even a real soccer net. Have a

broom for each team. When each team has found the scripture, do a shoot-off

with each team trying to get a puck into the net. I have used canning jar

rings in the past, but depending on your flooring material, you might want to

use whiffle balls, or wadded up balls of paper.

SPEED SKATING-Have a designated person from each team assigned to run a

course you have marked off with tape, cones or chairs .When all the members

have found the SM, have them put on the paper plate skates and slide around

the course. The team to return to their seat first is the winner. Their feet must

stay on the paper plate and they have to slide or they are disqualified.

SNOW MAN BUILDING RACE- Use marshmallows(regular and mini) to build a

snowman. Play like Cootie where each piece is earned by rolling a dice. One

number is assigned to each part of the snowman-1=head, 2=middle,

3=bottom, 4- arms, 5=hat, 6= ? You could make this really cute with markers,

other things for making the snowman. Use your imagination!

Obviously, the point of this is to help your students learn the Scripture

Masteries. February is always a hard month for me, its cold, dark the kids are

so involved in sports, this can help break up some of the monotony of Winter.

Adapt these activities to your situation; you could do this every day for two

weeks, just for Friday activities, use one activitiy more than once-whatever

works for you! HAVE FUN!!!