海角大神

If you鈥檙e like my family and many around the world, you鈥檒l be glued to the TV at all hours, watching the 2012 Olympic Games听蹿谤辞尘 London, which start tomorrow and run for 17 sports-filled days. The听Olympic Games听have been fascinating us since 776 B.C. in ancient Greece, where they were a one-day event featuring running, long jump, shot put, javelin, boxing, equestrian sports, and a martial art called pankration. Five听city-states听(think Athens and Sparta) competed for the prize, a听crown made of olive leaves.

In addition to watching them, here are six other ways to celebrate and enjoy the Olympics.听

Learn something about another country

With听204 countries competing in the 2012 Olympics, from Mauritius to Kiribati, there are plenty of countries and cultures to become acquainted with. Try finding some of the more obscure ones on a听map听or globe.

I鈥檝e long been fascinated with the flags of other countries, and I bet many others are, too. Make a fun听, using these wonderful听flag printables from听Activity Village.

There is also no shortage of interesting food you can make from every corner of the globe. This list of听听will certainly get you started. Moroccan, Middle Eastern, Indian, and Japanese food always sound good to me and my family, but we can be convinced to branch out even further, especially during the Olympics.

Celebrate London and England

London, which last hosted the Olympics in 1948, is a fun place to honor. Since we鈥檙e always up for celebrating with food, this听听will supply you with traditional comestibles, from Bangers and Mash to the Ploughman鈥檚 Lunch.

You also can鈥檛 go wrong serving tea (or juice) with simple听scones. Even though 鈥渉igh tea鈥� seems very fancy today, the first high teas were actually meals of meats and cheeses served with tea to Industrial Revolution-era workers who sat to eat at high tables.

London, of course, is quite rich culturally. I love this fun听, courtesy of听Entertaining Monsters.

England has also provided the world with a lot of wonderful music. If you haven鈥檛 introduced your kids to听The Beatles听yet, now is the time. Start anywhere in the song catalog and work your way around. Lots of kids love听Abbey Road, Magical Mystery Tour听and听Sgt. Pepper鈥檚 Lonely Hearts Club Band.听Rubber Soul听is a can鈥檛-miss classic. The earliest songs are great to dance to and the latest ones are fascinating for older kids. Speaking of dancing,听British '80s new wave music听is sure to get toes tapping and heads bobbing.

Get inspired to achieve your dreams and be a good sport

Most people can鈥檛 help but be inspired by watching Olympic athletes 鈥� indeed, that鈥檚 a large part of the fascination of the games. Just about every Olympic athlete sacrificed something to get to the top of his or her sport. While all great athletes show tremendous dedication, discipline, and ability, some have overcome more setbacks than others. (See the Monitor's coverage of eight such athletes.)

The Olympics can inspire you to be active and healthy, and also to achieve your dreams. While urging you to do your best in any endeavor, they can also teach good sportsmanship 鈥� as they invariably demonstrate that achievement often comes with disappointment. Sometimes, no matter what your training and background, it鈥檚 not your day to win. The best athletes know how to lose with grace, too. 鈥淭he most important thing is .. not to win but to take part,鈥� reads part of the听Olympic Creed.

Get active with a Backyard Olympics

So you don鈥檛 have a balance beam or a javelin handy? You can still create your own version of the Games with a听Backyard Olympics.听听offers lots of ideas for Olympic-inspired games and activities that are fun and easy to pull off. And Fiskars听provides more听听game ideas, as well as fun decorations and accessories, such as听homemade Olympic torches and flag banners. (See more craft ideas for your Backyard Olympics, below.)

Get active in your community

Rather get active in your community? First Lady Michelle Obama鈥檚听Let鈥檚 Move organization has declared Saturday, July 28听. Follow the link to find lots of ideas for fun Olympic-inspired games and meet-ups with others in your area.

Make Olympic crafts

You didn鈥檛 think we were done with Olympic-inspired crafts, did you? In addition to the ones mentioned above,听Sunhats and Wellie Boots听offers a tutorial for their version of an听. And the ribbon wands听will make anyone feel like a rhythmic gymnast or, at the very least, an enthusiastic celebrant.

You can also make these cute and clever听听using clay, courtesy of Cindy Hopper from听Alphamom.

No Time for Flashcards听offers more听. Because I love alphabet-bead projects (and have some in my听book), I鈥檓 partial to these fun听.

And, for those who want to get in touch with their inner ancient Greek, this is a fun laurel听听project from听Creekside Learning.