The 2026 Winter Olympics are just around the corner! Commonly known as Milano Cortina, the Winter Olympic will take place at sites across Lombardy and Northeast Italy from February 6 to 22, 2026. The Paralympic Winter Games will take place from March 6 to 15, 2026.
Act!on for Healthy Kids invites students to prepare for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games just as Olympic athletes would. Students can create a travel passport, choose their events, and practice for the big day. They have only a few weeks, but winning an Olympic Gold Metal is within their reach!
Here’s how to help students prepare for their Olympic events:
- Download the Passport to the Olympic Games and make copies for each Olympic student athlete participating in the Olympic-inspired events.
- Ask students to fill in their information under the “World Traveler” heading and either paste or draw a personal picture in the “If I Were an Olympic Athlete” section. Students can also decorate their passport to reflect their culture, nationality, or personal interests.
- Encourage students to participate in at least one of these events described on the website: Cross-Country Skiing, Bobsleigh Team Building Activity, Biathlon, or Floor Hockey. After completing an event, have students update their passport by writing in the appropriate event title, describing or drawing a picture of the event, and identifying which skills they tried during the activity. Teachers can give a stamp or sticker in the “completed” star or invite students to color the star.
Each of the Olympic-inspired events can be completed in a small but open space, such as a classroom, hallway, or multiuse room. All can be integrated into an indoor recess program (for cold weather!) or into a more in-depth Olympic Games unit.
If someone in your school or wider community competed in a past Winter Olympics or Paralympics, reach out and ask if they can come to your Olympic Day as a volunteer to share their story and lead an event aligned with their sport.
Students may want to invite parents or family members to join as celebrity guest hosts. They can serve as emcees and present the teams during an Opening Ceremony. They can also act as announcers for each event and interview students afterward or help score events as Olympics Judges. To give their Olympic Day an international feel, students may want to bring in a healthy snack traditional to their country of heritage.