Rio 2016 Olympics

The Olympic opening ceremony, full of colour, fun and music, will take place on Friday 5th August at the Maracana stadium in Rio, followed by three weeks of exciting sport events. The Paralympic games will be held in the following month from 7th–18th September, also in Rio. There are lots of activities inspired by the Olympics and by the host country Brazil to try out here.

A day in Brazil

• Introduce the idea of ‘A Day in Brazil’ by talking to the children about the Olympics being hosted in lots of different cities (last time it was London) and explain that the 2016 Games are to be held in Rio, Brazil.
• What do they already know about Rio? Have any of them seen the animated films Rio or Rio2?
• Watch a few clips online and enjoy the samba music that fills the soundtrack.
• Show the children where Brazil is on a world map or globe.
• Learn some facts and stories about Brazil.
• Watch some clips of the famous Rio Carnival on Youtube.
• Share some tasty Brazilian food.

Invite friends and families to come and share the fun with you. Many of the following activities could be shared on the day.

Tropical fruits

• A popular choice of food for breakfast in Brazil is tropical fruit.
• Organise a second breakfast when the children arrive at your setting by making a tropical fruit salad.
• Provide a selection of tropical fruits such as banana, papaya, mango, passion fruit, pineapple and guava. Let the children handle them and learn their names.
• Chop and peel as necessary and encourage the children to try the new tastes.
• Which one do they like the best?