Hi there! Have you ever thought about what you’re really good at on the playground? Maybe you’re super fast at running, awesome at hand-clapping games, or a hula hoop champion. Guess what? Kids all around the world love doing these things too! Imagine if you could gather all those kids in one place to see who’s the best. That would be so much fun!
Someone named Yan asked a great question: Why are the Olympic Games so popular? Well, every few years, the best athletes from all over the world come together in one city to compete in sports that test their speed, strength, and skill. These are called the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and they are a really big deal! Cities prepare for years to host them, and people travel from everywhere to watch thousands of athletes compete in many different events. The athletes are the best in the world at what they do, like swimming, long jumping, and weightlifting. Winners get medals: gold for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third.
Right now, athletes are training hard to get ready for the Olympics. Imagine being one of them! How would you feel? You might be nervous about competing in front of so many people and against really good athletes. But you’d also be excited to meet amazing athletes from all over the world and have a chance to win a gold medal. Sounds pretty cool, right?
Now, let’s travel back in time to the first Olympic Games in ancient Greece, thousands of years ago. If you were an athlete back then, you’d travel to a place called Olympia in Greece. You’d compete in sports like foot races or chariot racing, and you wouldn’t have fancy equipment—runners even ran barefoot! Instead of a gold medal, winners got a crown made of wild olive branches.
Even back then, winning was a big deal. People came from all over Greece to watch or compete, and winners were celebrated with statues and songs. Today’s Olympics are a tribute to those ancient games, but a lot has changed since then.
In ancient Greece, only some Greek men, mostly soldiers, could compete. Today, athletes from over 200 countries, both men and women, can compete. There are also the Paralympics for athletes with disabilities, which started in the 1940s. These changes have made the games more exciting and inclusive.
Today, athletes use special equipment like running shoes that help them grip the track and run faster. Some Paralympians use prosthetic legs designed for speed. The games now include winter sports like figure skating and skiing, which weren’t part of the ancient games. New sports are added too, like surfing and skateboarding.
The Olympics and Paralympics are amazing international competitions that have evolved a lot since ancient Greece. They are more interesting and competitive, which is why so many people love watching them. What changes would you like to see in the future?
That’s all for now! Thanks for the great question, Yan! We’ll be back with more fun lessons soon. In the meantime, you can vote on what you’d like to learn about next: How are pencils made? How do phones work? Or how did cotton candy get its name? Stay curious, and see you next time!
Create Your Own Mini Olympics: Gather your friends or family and organize a mini Olympics in your backyard or local park. Choose a few fun activities like running races, hula hoop contests, or even a long jump competition. Make medals out of paper or cardboard and award them to the winners. Think about how it feels to compete and cheer for each other, just like in the real Olympics!
Design an Olympic Medal: Imagine you are an artist tasked with designing a new medal for the next Olympic Games. Draw your medal on a piece of paper, thinking about what symbols or images represent the spirit of the Olympics. Share your design with your classmates or family and explain why you chose those symbols.
Interview an Athlete: If you know someone who plays a sport, ask them about their training and what they enjoy most about competing. Prepare a few questions like “What is your favorite part of playing your sport?” or “How do you feel before a big game?” Share what you learn with your class or friends, and discuss how athletes prepare for competitions like the Olympics.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi, it’s Jay! What are you best at on the playground? Are you a fast runner, great at hand-clapping games, or a hula hoop hero? Think about this: whatever you love to do most, there are probably other kids around the world who love doing that too. What if you could get all those kids together to play in one place? Then you could try your skills against the best runners, hand-clappers, or hula hoopers out there. I wonder who would win!
Someone named Yan has a question about something a little like this. Let’s call Yan now.
Hi, Jay! I have a question for you: Why are the Olympic Games so popular?
That’s a great question! Every few years, the best athletes from around the world gather together in one city to compete in sports that test speed, strength, and skill. These games are called the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and they are a big deal. Any city hosting the games prepares for years. Crowds flock from all over to watch thousands of athletes compete in dozens of events. The athletes who compete here are the best in the world at their sports—the best swimmers, long jumpers, weightlifters, and more. The winner of each event gets a medal: gold for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third.
Right now, athletes all over the world are getting ready to go to the Olympics. Imagine what it would be like to be one of them! If you were getting ready to compete in the Olympics, how do you think you’d feel? Now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss.
Okay, you ready? If you were about to compete in the games, you might be pretty nervous. What if you mess up in front of thousands of people? What if your competitors are really good? It’s a lot of pressure! But you’d probably be excited too. You get to meet amazing athletes from all over the world and have a chance to compete against the very best for gold medal glory. Sounds pretty fun!
Now, what if instead of heading to the games today, you were heading to the first Olympic Games a long time ago? How would that be different? The earliest Olympic Games took place in ancient Greece thousands of years ago. If you were an Olympic athlete back then, you’d be getting ready to travel to a place in Greece called Olympia, where the games were held. That’s where the Olympic Games get their name. Once you got there, you’d compete in sports like foot races or chariot racing. You probably wouldn’t have much special equipment or clothing—runners ran barefoot. If you won, you wouldn’t get a gold medal; instead, you might get a crown of wild olive branches.
Still, even back then, winning at the Olympics was a huge deal. Thousands of people traveled from all over Greece to compete or watch the games. Winners sometimes had statues made of them in their hometowns, and poets wrote songs about their accomplishments. The Olympics today are a tribute to those ancient Greek Olympic games, but that doesn’t mean they are exactly the same as they were thousands of years ago. Back in ancient Greece, only some Greek men were allowed to compete in the Olympics, mostly soldiers. Today, women and men from more than 200 different countries can and do compete. Athletes with disabilities also compete in games alongside the Olympics called the Paralympics. The Paralympics did not begin in ancient Greece; they started in the 1940s when a hospital in Europe held a competition for athletes who used wheelchairs. Over the years, this competition grew and became more popular and competitive until it started being held alongside the Olympics.
Because of these changes and more, the way athletes compete at the games looks really different now than it did in ancient Greece. Runners don’t run races barefoot anymore—far from it! Check out these specially designed shoes for Olympic sprinters. They help runners grip the track, run faster, and avoid injuries. Similarly, some Paralympians use specially designed prosthetic legs to help them run fast.
The Olympics and Paralympics today also include some sports that the ancient Greek Olympics didn’t have at all. One of the biggest changes is the inclusion of winter sports. Back in ancient Greece, sports were only included if you could play them outdoors in the summer. Today, the Olympics and Paralympics have a whole separate competition in the winter for snowy and icy sports like figure skating, skiing, and snowboarding. Also, every few years, the organizers of the Olympics and Paralympics consider brand new sports to add to the games. Even in the summer, some sports have been added that the ancient Greeks never imagined, from surfing to breaking and goalball.
So, in summary, the Olympics and Paralympic Games are international athletic competitions. The Olympics today are a tribute to the huge athletic competitions held thousands of years ago in ancient Greece, but who plays and how we play has changed a lot since then. Those changes have made the games more interesting and competitive, which is why so many people still love watching them today. What changes would you want to see in the future?
That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks for asking, Yan! We’ll be back with new mini-lessons in the fall, but in the meantime, here are some older questions from the question jar. You can vote on which one you think we should send out next week. You can choose from: How are pencils made? How do phones work? Or how did cotton candy get its name? So submit your vote when the video’s over. We want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious, and see you next week!
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
