Are you game?

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*Are you game?*

*Make this Fuwa craft and host some games at home to make Olympic season a

family affair*

 

By KATHY ANTONIOTTI

Akron Beacon Journal

Even if you don't know a word of Chinese, the five Fuwa -- the official

mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games -- will help you learn at least one

sentence before the opening ceremonies begin in Beijing on Friday.

 

It won't be as difficult as you might imagine.

 

Four of the Fuwa, a word meaning " little dolls, " represent animals that live

in China and elements of nature. Each is a color of an Olympic ring. There

will be a blue fish for sea, a black panda for the forest, an orange

antelope for earth and a green swallow for the sky. A fifth Fuwa, a red

flame, represents fire and the Olympic torch.

 

The Fuwa are designed to express the qualities of playful little children

and embody the characteristics of the animals they represent. The names of

the Fuwa, each a two-syllable word, are Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying

and Nini. Say the first syllable of each name together -- Bei Jing Huan Ying

Ni -- and you've just said " Welcome to Beijing. "

 

This clever blending of Chinese symbolism with traditions, nature, language

and the Olympic games promises to make these ambassadors popular with

participants and visitors who attend the games.

 

 

The panda might be one of the most recognizable and lovable symbols of China

in the world today. It is considered a national treasure. Jingjing, the Fuwa

representing the endangered bear, wears a headdress of lotus leaves inspired

by porcelain paintings of the Song Dynasty (A.D. 960-1234). I took a pattern

for a panda wall hanging from http://crafts.kaboose.com/panda.html on the

Web and added some hand-drawn leaves to represent the Olympic mascot.

 

Supplies you will need:

 

-- White paper plate with three sections

-- Black and green fun foam

-- Black marker

-- Fast Grab tacky glue

-- Scissors

 

Using the photo as a guide, draw the black eye patches for your panda on the

black fun foam and cut out. It might help to make one, turn it over and use

it as a pattern for the other one. That way they will be the same shape.

They should be large enough to cover most of the white space in the small

food sections of the plate.

 

Glue into the center of the sections.

 

Cut an oval from black fun foam for a nose and glue under the small sections

at the center of the plate.

 

Draw two curved lines (similar to hooks) under the nose for a mouth.

 

Cut two large ears of black foam and glue to the top of the plate, above the

eyes.

 

Draw three sections of lotus leaves on green fun foam. The section of leaves

on top should be as wide as the space between the panda's ears. Using the

photo as a guide, glue the leaves to the plate.

 

*On the Web:*

To get a peek at the Olympic Fuwa and read about their personalities, visit

the official Web site of the 2008 Summer Games, at

http://en.beijing2008.cn/spirit/beijing2008/graphic/214068254.shtml on the

Web.

 

*Host a Family Olympics*

The Olympics generate lots of excitement.

 

Why not use that as inspiration for some creative fun while inspiring a

sense of family " team " spirit?

 

One way is to host a Family Olympics, a suggestion we found at

www.familyfun.go.com. You can invite other families to join in the fun. Or

keep the competition all in the family, with brothers, sisters and parents

squaring off in friendly competition with one another.

 

Here are four of our picks -- some we've adapted -- from the group games and

activities listed on the Web site. Experiment and adapt any one of them to

fit your group's size or needs.

 

1. Make a family flag

 

What you need: A sheet of white poster board, cut into triangular pennant

shapes (enough that you have one for each family " team " (or for each

individual, if just your family is present); a ½-inch wooden dowel (about 3

feet long) for each team; washable markers; stapler.

 

What you do: Give each team (or individual) a poster-board flag and a dowel.

Allow 15-30 minutes for each team to create a flag. Each must incorporate

the family (or individual's) name.

 

When time is up, help everyone staple their posters to the dowels to make

flags.

 

Have an opening ceremony with a parade of champions, holding their flags

aloft. Then post the banners in a visible spot, along a mantel or, if

outside, along a clothesline or deck railing.

 

2. Tug-of-war

 

What you need:

 

Some thick rope with a piece of tape marking the middle. (Thinner ropes are

harder to hold onto and more likely to cause rope burns.) Tie a few knots in

the ropes for a good grip. (Warn against wrapping rope around waists or

wrists.)

 

What you do:

 

Set two families at opposite ends of the rope. Center the rope over a line

on the ground and ask them to step back six feet to another line you've

marked with tape. At a signal, each family tries to pull the other over to

its side. Pick the family names out of a hat to determine the draw. Winners

continue to accept new challengers. Losers can continue in a separate

bracket. A loss in the losers' bracket means a family is out.

 

3. Five-lap relay

 

This relay race has five legs to it: cartwheeling, the wheelbarrow,

crab-walking, skipping and hopping.

 

What you need:

 

A large foam-board sign naming the different laps so that during the race

families know what activity comes next. For instance: Lap 1: Cartwheels; Lap

2: Wheelbarrow, etc.

 

What you do:

 

Ask each team member to choose a lap. The cartwheelers might start first,

and then tag the wheelbarrow-walkers. The first team to finish the last lap

wins.

 

4. Cake-decorating

 

This calls for creativity rather than athleticism, but also provides a treat

for everyone after the " games. "

 

What you need:

 

One pre-made, unfrosted, 9-inch single layer cake for each family, a mound

of white frosting, knives, various tubes of decorative frosting, sprinkles

and small candies.

 

What you do:

 

Give each family a cake, a knife and some frosting. Put the decorative

frostings and candies on a table within reach of all participants. Every

team is given only 10 minutes to decorate its cake. The cakes will be judged

after the games and then served as dessert for hungry Olympians.

 

--

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