Another way to celebrate the three-week event is to emulate the mascots for each! These are fun animal poses, many of which the kids might have already learned, but can be adapted to suit each character, and can also talk about positive traits each have, or strengths that might help them do well in the different competitions you discussed last week. It can also be a great platform to talk about how they complement each other as friends.
Below are explanations of the characters, along with their stories from the Winter Olympics website for more context for you as the teacher to share. I also added the two Paralympic characters because they have great stories, and their contrast can also provide a talking point that can resonate with kids of all ages.
Two ways! To walk on all fours like a big lumbering bear, adapt a downward dog-style pose and walk on all fours, being careful not to bend the knees to have a strong, weighty lumber. But since he's standing up, adopting a crouched down, two-legged walk with teeth bared and a big ROARRRR can work too! Bonus points for having kids put on a scarf before being him.
"Beyond the Arctic Circle on a shelf of ice there lives a polar bear. In his home, everything is made out of ice and snow: his snow shower, his bed, his computer and even his weight-lifting equipment.
The polar bear was brought up by Arctic explorers from a very early age. It was they who taught him skiing, speed-skating and curling. But above all the polar bear enjoyed riding sports sleighs. He became a real bobsleigh pro, while his fellow bears, along with the seals and fur seals, love watching his sporting achievements. These days they often set up bobsleigh competitions together and during the long Arctic nights, there’s never a dull moment!"
Stand on knees and bring hands to either side of the head to create ears. Do some bunny breaths and wiggle/wrinkle nose, perhaps eat a couple of carrots to fuel up! Transition to a squatted position to do some bunny hops. Bonus points for tying a bow - you can even talk over how to tie one, or make a bow with your legs cross-legged.
"The Hare is the busiest creature in the winter forest. Her friends are always amazed: just how does she find the time to do so much! For the little doe hare not only studies at the Forest Academy (where she gets excellent grades) and helps her Mum in the family restaurant, “The Forest Dam”, but also takes part in all manner of sporting events. The little doe hare trusts her friends so much that she doesn’t have any secrets. She simply loves sport with all her heart. And she also loves to sing and dance."
Another pose traditionally made with four legs, you can create a snow leopard by being on hands and knees, and raising up one leg behind you, bent at the knee, to create a larger snow leopard body and a big tail. Trying using different legs to make that tail, even alternating arms and reaching one big paw up at a time to wave. Bonus points for putting a belt on first!
"The Leopard is a rescuer and mountain-climber who lives in the uppermost branches of a huge tree, on the highest peak of the snowy mountains in the Caucasus. He is always prepared to help those in need, and on a number of occasions has rescued nearby villages from mighty avalanches.
The Leopard is an experienced snowboarder and has taught all his friends and neighbors to snowboard too. He is a cheerful character who enjoys the company of others and loves to go dancing."
Ray of Light has a hot breath, so practice breathing in through the nose into the belly to stoke the fire, then exhaling from the back of the mouth, tongue out, to blow hot air. It is also very close to the sun, so practice reaching up very tall and reaching for the sun!
Snowflake has a cold breath, so practice breathing in through clenched teeth, and blowing out from the mouth making cold breath. Snowflakes fall from the sky, so begin standing tall, arms and legs stretched outwards, then slowly falling forward.
Through these poses and the below story, it might be fun to pair up one student as a Ray of Light, the other as a Snowflake, and have them find situations where they complement each other.
"Ray Of Light flew down to Earth from a planet where it was always hot. His journey was full of challenges. After he landed he faced a new and unknown planet where everything was different compared to his home. Everything on the Earth was new to him: cold winters, snow and winds, and of course unknown people around him. Ray Of Light looked very different from the people on Earth as well. He had amber skin, sparks in his wide eyes and hair that looked like flames.But these differences were only external. Ray Of Light was so nice and kind to everyone, and he was always ready to help and support the people around him. Very soon, people understood that the difference between Ray Of Light and the people on the Earth was based purely on appearances and that it was just people’s initial perceptions that had led them to believe that there were great differences. The more they interacted, the more they discovered that they were much more similar then they had thought at the beginning.
People taught him alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and biathlon. And then everybody understood that Ray of Light had unique abilities. So soon Ray Of Light became a true favorite all over the place.
Although he had good friends around him he still felt a bit lonely. There was no other Starperson like him among the people. That is why he stared up into the sky so often and sighed...
One day he saw a falling star leaving a beautiful trace across the night sky. It was another space stranger Snowflake. She flew down to Earth from an icy planet. She had snow-white skin like first snow, and looked like a snow crystal. In some ways they seemed very different but in others, Snowflake and Ray Of Light had a lot in common.
Ray of Light introduced her to his earth friends and told her about sports. Snowflake also started to practice alpine skiing. Together they invented new kinds of sports – wheelchair curling and ice sledge hockey. People admired their incredible achievements and loved these kinds of sports. They enjoyed imitating the technique of Ray of Light and Snowflake and everybody wanted to be like this star pair.
Ray of Light and Snowflake decided to stay on Earth and use their fantastic abilities in other areas beside sport to teach their friends and all people how to discover their own wonderful skills.
Ray of Light and Snowflake overcame many difficulties on their way to Earth through cosmic space. It was not easy for them to adapt to an unknown planet. But their participation in sports helped them to understand that, in the end, they are not different, they are united through their great sporting abilities and are good and faithful friends.
Ray of Light and Snowflake became the true personification of harmony within contrast. Together they demonstrate that anything is possible."