Topic —  Parenting Solutions Ages & Stages — School Age, Preschool,

Olympic Spirit and Souvenirs

January 29, 2010
Michelle Tice

Pocket

First let me start off by saying that I am not always very creative when it comes to my kids. Luckily for me, I have a sister-in-law who is quite talented, and she is currently volunteering for two of her kids’ schools to create some 2010 Olympic Spirit crafts in their classrooms. We were together at a family gathering on Sunday and I was duly impressed with her latest creation. She has come up with a great Olympic souvenir that is sure to be a hit with both the 3 year-olds and the 7 year-olds (whose Winter Games excitement she is looking to pique).  The best part is that this souvenir is also simple to make (even for moms) and cost-effective, too. 

Homemade Gold Medals

What You’ll Need:

• 2 CDs
• Red ribbon (the wider the better)
• Small Olympic stickers
• Paint pen
• Weldbond white glue (non-toxic and less smelly than superglue)
• Gold spray paint (optional)

How to Make:

1. Take 2 CDs and insert the red ribbon between the CDs.
2. Glue the ribbon to one CD and then glue the second CD to the first one.
3. Put a heavy object on top of the CDs to help with the adhesive process. It takes a couple of hours for the glue to dry.
4. Once the glue is dry, spray-paint the CDs gold (for the kids in the classroom,she is leaving the shiny silver CDs as-is). If you are using spray paint, two coats are recommended.
5. Add the children’s names with a paint pen and some Olympic stickers, strategically placed on both sides of the ‘new gold medal’ to create a true 2010 Winter Olympic look and feel.

I can tell you first-hand that my boys thought these were the coolest gifts they had received in a while. One of my sons did not even want to take his off to go to bed. Their cousins (ages 3, 6, 7) also wore their new medals all afternoon. 

Our kids may not yet understand what it takes to win a real medal (or qualify for the Olympics for that matter), but beyond the pure fun of having an Olympic souvenir, they gain a sense of the excitement building in our city and maybe as they watch their favourite athletes earn their real medals on the podium, they will understand the pride and passion these athletes deserve to feel.