Are you ready or the Family Summer Olympics?

News from The RADish Ranch

July 7, 2021

72nd Edition

Greetings!

It's July, the sun is shinning, the weather is beautiful... and your house is probably full of little people who need to burn off energy, work on attachment and bonding, and have fun with their family.

The Outdoor Summer Family Olympics is a great way to spend an afternoon having fun together creating lasting memories and working on brain and heart healing.

The Official-Unofficial Sports and Rules PDF can be downloaded HERE.

P.S. Don't stress out about making your Family Olympics "perfect" - just wing it and go with the flow of whatever happens and use whatever you have hanging around your house for supplies and equipment. The most important part is that you as a parent are having fun with your little people. ♥

Stay safe and have fun!

Karen Poitras

President & Founder of The RADish Ranch

Outdoor Summer Family Olympics

Official-Unofficial Sports and Rules

This event is a great way to spend family time bonding with your kids, getting fresh air, and bringing laughter into your home.

Parents MUST be the ones to lead all activities. When children are put in charge or given control they do not feel safe. Parents also need to cut out the competition – this is a family activity and everyone joins together in completing the activities. Stay strong and have fun, Awesome Parents!

Official-Unofficial Summer Sporting Events:

Super Water Balloon Toss
Soaker Sponge Bucket Race
Hula Hoop Hoopla
Extreme Simon Says Endurance Race
Victory Parade
Ice Cream Sundae Celebration

Super Water Balloon Toss

Equipment required:

Water balloons; about 12 per person
Towels!

Set up and ground rules:

Fill water balloons and put them in a large bucket or tub filled with water to keep them from bursting.
Form teams of two. A parent MUST be on each team, playing with another parent or a child. Children should not be playing with each other.
Start with team members facing each other just far enough apart that their hands can touch when stretched out.
The parent tosses the water balloon to the child, and then the child tosses it back to the parent. That is one round.
Team members then take a step back and continue repeating the rounds until the water balloon bursts.
Repeat as many times as you’d like, seeing how far apart you can get. End with cheers for all!

Soaker Sponge Bucket Race

Equipment required:

Large, car-washing sponges; one per team
Large buckets or tubs; two per team
Duct tape

Set up and ground rules:

Mark one bucket or tub for each team with a piece of duct tape to mark where you want the water level to be.
Set the marked buckets at one end of the course. Pace off about 30 – 40 feet and set the other buckets at that end.
Fill the non-marked buckets with water right to the top and set the sponges in them (make sure these buckets hold about twice as much water as what you’ll need to reach the mark in the opposite buckets).
Form teams of at least two people. A parent MUST be on each team, playing with another parent or a child or children.
Line the teams up behind the full buckets. The first person fills the sponge, runs across to the marked bucket, squeezes the sponge into it, runs back to the full bucket, and drops the sponge in. Once the sponge is released the next team member takes off.
Whichever team reaches the mark first wins!

Hula Hoop Hoopla

Equipment required:

Hula hoops; one per person, minimum of two

Set up and ground rules:

Hula hoop each round until only one person is remaining.
Round One: Hula hoop around your waist
Round Two: Hula hoop around your arm
Round Three: Hula hoop around one leg
Round Four: Hula hoop around your neck
Round Five: Hula hoop freestyle

Extreme Simon Says Endurance Race – With a Twist!

Equipment required:

None!

Set up and ground rules:

No set up involved!
Parents act as Simon, but replace the name with Mom/Dad; “Mom says…” or “Dad says…”.
Mix it up and say Awesome/Super/Amazing/Fantastic Mom/Dad!
Parent says, “Mom/Dad says touch your toes”. Kids reply “Yes, Mom/Dad!”.
However, the players must ONLY obey commands that begin with the words "Mom/Dad Says." If Parent says, "Mom/Dad says touch your nose," then players must touch their nose.
Make it silly!
Continue with directions until only one player is left.

Victory Parade

Equipment required:

Official Olympic Music
Things to hold aloft and wave

Set up and ground rules:

Parents lead the parade!
Everyone marches around the house/yard for two – three minutes in a victory parade to celebrate being together as a family!
If the music doesn’t work where you are, sing your family’s favourite song.