Low-Prep Ways to Learn About the Winter Olympics

Olympic spirit is in the air. These ideas are easy to start (and easy to skip!) for ultimate low-prep, low-key learning about the Winter Games with your older kids, that doesn’t require a full-on unit study, a stack of supplies, or a plan you’ll never quite finish.

The Olympics are a favorite in our home. While the Summer Games are my personal favorite, my husband & boys are firmly Team Winter Olympics.

While I love planning big themed units, I’m terrible at executing them. But low-prep simple ideas? Love ’em! And the Olympics are a perfect time to bring in some extra geography, science, and history into our days.

So, if you’re looking for low-prep ideas you can use even at the last minute, keep reading.

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1. From Their Table to Yours: Learning Through Food

One of my favorite ways to learn about other cultures is through food, and the Olympics is a perfect time to incorporate meals from around the world.

Pick a few countries participating in the Winter Games and explore. Cookbooks are especially great here, since many include stories about family traditions and the region. Blogs are great, too, but there’s something about browsing through cookbooks with beautiful pictures and story insets that really pulls you in.

Pick a couple of ideas to add to your meal plan for a special Olympic dinner night. If your kids are older, let them plan & cook dinner.

If you want a simple starting point, here are 30+ ideas from around the Olympic World.

2. Cold Places & High Peaks: Learning Through Geography

I adore geography. Cultural geography, like learning about food & people, and physical geography.

If you want a blend of both, the Geography Now! YouTube channel is a must-watch. Going country by country, Paul explores the people & their history, the physical geography, and how all of those things influence each other. It’s a long-time favorite in our homeschool.

This is one of the simplest ways to learn about Olympic countries, whether you watch a new video every day or pick a few to watch over the course of the Games.

3. One Country at a Time: Learning Through Geography & Research

If you’d like something a little more structured but already done for you, this is where Around the World at the Winter Games: Geography & Research Pack fits in.

There are two parts to this mini-research project. The worksheet lets your kiddo choose any country and research its geography, culture, and Olympic history.

In the companion Google Spreadsheet (compatible with Excel & Numbers), your kiddos can record key facts to compare countries side-by-side.

They’re both endlessly flexible. And on sale!

This pack works especially well if you want your kids to follow along with the Games without turning it into a full-on unit study.

4. Fast, Frozen & Fascinating: Learning Through Videos

Videos — on YouTube, Netflix, wherever — are one of the easiest, no-prep ways to learn. I regularly create themed playlists for my boys on YouTube. I give them the playlist link, and each day during the Games and for a week or so prior, they pick any video on the list to watch. Sometimes, we talk about them, but not always. But I do know they’re always learning!

• Changing the Games: The Stories Behind the Paralympics
• Science of the Winter Olympics
• The Winter Olympics (a playlist I created with teens & tweens in mind)

5. Take a Look, It’s in a Book: Learning Through Books

If your reading list needs some new ideas, keep reading. Whether you’re looking for picture books, a novel for your teen, or a young adult non-fiction book, check out these ideas. (Click ‘view all’ to see even more.)

If your reading list needs some new ideas, this is one of my favorite ways to learn about the Winter Olympics. Books let kids explore the sports, the athletes, and the host countries at their own pace. Whether that’s a picture book on the couch or an Italian cookbook that pulls your teen away from their phone, books are an easy addition to your days.

Below you’ll find a mix of picture books, novels, and nonfiction. Click “view all” to see the full list on Bookshop.org.

6. Little Picassos: Learning Through Art

Did you know that art was an Olympic event at one time? Check it out!

With varying levels of art skills in our home, I like to look for simple drawing videos. With teens, we could certainly look for ones that are a bit more complex than the ones below. BUT! Simpler drawings are a quick, get-it-done activity. They’re also easy to adapt and add onto for kiddos who want to keep drawing.

• Olympic Rings Line Drawing
• Olympic Torch with Chalk Pastels
• Italian Flag
• Draw the 2026 Olympic Mascot
• Draw an Olympic Athlete (no talking)