Olympic Excitement!
I am so excited to watch and share the excitement of the Olympics with my kiddos. When I told them we were going to be doing some projects to help us get ready to start watching the Winter Olympics this week, they had a lot of questions before they understood what we were going to be celebrating. It was important to me that they understood that the Olympics are a time where people from all over the world come together and we celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of athletes that are proud to represent their countries. I think it is so neat that in a world that can be torn apart by so many things, the Olympics continue to bring the world together. Awesome! After our discussion, the kids were excited to get started on our projects. I wanted to share with them some of the big symbols of the Olympics as well as let them "play" the games the athletes play.
1. Olympic Torches
I took some time with the kids to show them images of what the real Olympic torch looks like and to explain to them that the fire burning on the torch will burn throughout the entire Olympic games. We talked about the opening ceremonies and that all the players and teams will be there to represent the countries that they come from and to watch the torch be carried into the arena and the "big" fire lit! This was a simple and very exciting art project that they can't wait to play with while we watch the real thing!
We used foil to make our torch (paper towel rolls) shiny. I helped them to tape the foil to the tube and then we rolled them until they were fully wrapped. Next we stuffed the ends into the tube. The girls each had their own way of making the flames. My oldest daughter tried to cut her to look like flames, my youngest daughter decided to color hers and then she cut them into pieces she liked, and I tore strips of paper and then crinkled them up and taped them together at the bottom. We then pushed the flames into the opening of the tubes and secured any that needed to be with tape. The kids were thrilled to march around the kitchen and chant "USA, USA"!
I am so excited to watch and share the excitement of the Olympics with my kiddos. When I told them we were going to be doing some projects to help us get ready to start watching the Winter Olympics this week, they had a lot of questions before they understood what we were going to be celebrating. It was important to me that they understood that the Olympics are a time where people from all over the world come together and we celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of athletes that are proud to represent their countries. I think it is so neat that in a world that can be torn apart by so many things, the Olympics continue to bring the world together. Awesome! After our discussion, the kids were excited to get started on our projects. I wanted to share with them some of the big symbols of the Olympics as well as let them "play" the games the athletes play.
1. Olympic Torches
I took some time with the kids to show them images of what the real Olympic torch looks like and to explain to them that the fire burning on the torch will burn throughout the entire Olympic games. We talked about the opening ceremonies and that all the players and teams will be there to represent the countries that they come from and to watch the torch be carried into the arena and the "big" fire lit! This was a simple and very exciting art project that they can't wait to play with while we watch the real thing!
We used foil to make our torch (paper towel rolls) shiny. I helped them to tape the foil to the tube and then we rolled them until they were fully wrapped. Next we stuffed the ends into the tube. The girls each had their own way of making the flames. My oldest daughter tried to cut her to look like flames, my youngest daughter decided to color hers and then she cut them into pieces she liked, and I tore strips of paper and then crinkled them up and taped them together at the bottom. We then pushed the flames into the opening of the tubes and secured any that needed to be with tape. The kids were thrilled to march around the kitchen and chant "USA, USA"!
2. Gold Medals
There was no question we needed to be sure to include a craft that would let them feel the magic of getting the GOLD! This was my favorite of our activities because I know they will love putting their medals on every time we watch the athletes receive their medals. It was also fun to watch how they each chose to decorate their medals. Once we had the medals put together I left it up to them how they wanted to finish them. They could choose to leave them plain and just have them be "gold" or they could decorate them using fabric markers or puffy paint. It was fun to watch them come up with ideas and decide what they wanted to do. We started by cutting red ribbon to be long enough to slide the medals on and off their heads. We then traced a circle cooked cutter and cut our medals out of yellow felt. I used a needle and thread to sew the medals onto the ribbons. From there the girls each worked on their own to decorate their medals. Laine chose to use the fabric markers because "she is good at drawing" and Andie chose to use the paint. Not a surprise she chose to use the thing that had the possibility to make the biggest mess! She learned quickly that the harder you squeeze, the more the paint comes out! Both girls kept their designs simple and were proud that they completed them themselves. In the middle of this project my little man started to fall asleep in his chair so I put him in bed and finished his medal for him. I chose to use the puffy paint and make the olypmic symbol. I was surprised when the black puffy paint was dried up (I wonder who forgot to put the lid on tight *wink*), so I improvised and used the black fabric marker instead. I don't think Noah will mind! Then, the hardest part, waiting for the paint to dry before we can wear them!
There was no question we needed to be sure to include a craft that would let them feel the magic of getting the GOLD! This was my favorite of our activities because I know they will love putting their medals on every time we watch the athletes receive their medals. It was also fun to watch how they each chose to decorate their medals. Once we had the medals put together I left it up to them how they wanted to finish them. They could choose to leave them plain and just have them be "gold" or they could decorate them using fabric markers or puffy paint. It was fun to watch them come up with ideas and decide what they wanted to do. We started by cutting red ribbon to be long enough to slide the medals on and off their heads. We then traced a circle cooked cutter and cut our medals out of yellow felt. I used a needle and thread to sew the medals onto the ribbons. From there the girls each worked on their own to decorate their medals. Laine chose to use the fabric markers because "she is good at drawing" and Andie chose to use the paint. Not a surprise she chose to use the thing that had the possibility to make the biggest mess! She learned quickly that the harder you squeeze, the more the paint comes out! Both girls kept their designs simple and were proud that they completed them themselves. In the middle of this project my little man started to fall asleep in his chair so I put him in bed and finished his medal for him. I chose to use the puffy paint and make the olypmic symbol. I was surprised when the black puffy paint was dried up (I wonder who forgot to put the lid on tight *wink*), so I improvised and used the black fabric marker instead. I don't think Noah will mind! Then, the hardest part, waiting for the paint to dry before we can wear them!