My husband and I usually aren’t very into the Olympics. But for some reason this year, I’ve really been looking forward to it despite the fact that there seem to be problems around every turn in Brazil.
I thought it would be fun to watch the games with my daughter and help her understand what it’s all about. Tonight we watched the opening ceremony, talked about the athletes from all around the world and how they would compete in sports games and races to win medals for their country.
Oddly enough, she didn’t have a lot of questions. I find that when I present her with a new, big concept she likes to digest it before she has questions for me or will randomly bring it up in conversation a week later. Or maybe she wasn’t listening to me at all. Only time will tell.
However, to get her excited we made our very own Olympic medals during the day that she was really eager to play with and wear. As soon as they were dry she gathered them all up and took them to the playroom. They are now donning the necks of a few dolls and stuffed animals.
Check out our easy recipe below to make your kids their very own Olympic medals. You probably have everything you need in your kitchen right now.
Because this craft involves use of the oven, your kids can help with some parts but depending on their age you may want to steer them clear of the cooking.
Make Your Own Olympic Medals
Ingredients for Salt Dough
- 4 cups of flour
- 1 cup of salt
- 1.5 – 2 cups of water
Other Tools
- 1 drinking glass
- Wax paper
- Rolling pin
- Baking sheet
- Tooth pick
- Marker cap
- Spray paint – gold, silver and bronze. Just one color will work fine.
Steps:
1. Preheat your over to 200 degrees.
2. Mix the flour and salt together until they are well blended.
3. Add 1.5 cups of water and determine if you need the other half cup. I felt like I did but it made the whole mixture very sticky.
4. Roll the dough out on the wax paper until you get it about ¼ to ½ inch thick. If it is sticking to the rolling pin, add some additional flour to your rolling pin and on top of the rolled out dough. My daughter loved helping with this part.
5. Using the open side of your drinking glass, stamp out your circles in the dough. This recipe will make about 15 to 
20 necklaces. If you don’t want to use it all on Olympic medals think about making Christmas ornaments for grandparents and other people in your child’s life.
6. Move the circles over to the baking sheet and decorate them. If they get a little warped in the move you can reshape them with your fingers.
We tried to replicate some pieces of the Brazil medals this year, which include laurel leaves, the Brazil 2016 Olympic logo and the image of the Greek goddess Nike (whom I’ve never heard of but all of a sudden the brand name makes a lot more sense).
7. Don’t FORGET to make holes for your ribbon at the top.
8. Put the medals in the over for up to 2 hours. Check them after an hour and after an hour and a half since oven cooking times vary. Don’t try to do it faster baking at higher temperatures. I did because I’m impatient and as you can see, my medals started to rise.
9. Once they are cooked and cooled, take them to a well-ventilated place to spray them the gold, silver and bronze colors. Let them dry for at least a half hour.
10. At this point you can either flip them over and spray paint the back side, or thread your ribbon through the holes and wear them. We decided to wear them without finishing the back because my daughter was so excited.
Oh and if you have pets, please keep these medals away from them. Since they are essentially a baked good, my dog thought they smelled tasty. Spray paint would obviously not be good for them.
How are you celebrating the Olympics at home this year? Are you or have you done anything special to help your kids understand the games?
Also, check out one of our favorite craft activities here and help kids to envision their own worlds.
What a fantastic idea and great for kids to learn about the Olympics, help in the kitchen and have fun and ask questions. I really love this idea, so creative and lots of fun. I can imagine why your dog wanted to have these too 🙂
These are super cute. My son has been talking/learning/creating Olympic themed things all week at school and he has gotten really into it!
This looks like such a fun and easy project. I love the olympics and can’t wait to do fun projects like this with my munchkin once she is old enough. ?
This is absolutely adorable!!! I love watching the Olympics, and for some reason it usually gets me even more motivated to workout… so win win. 🙂
XO
Love this idea! We havent watched the ceremony due to the time difference but we watched the summary here on the news this morning and even spotted dad in Team Spain :)!!
I can’t wait to make these with my little ones next week! Thanks!
What a fun idea and perfect to get kids involved.
Such a cute idea – perfect for the Olympic season!
This is so fun and such a great idea!!
This is just the cutest craft to do with the kids. It’s perfect now that the Rio Games have started.
This is great! my son isn’t totally understanding the idea of the Olympics, but he’s excited about the sports and the medals. I really love these cute medals we could make at home!
So creative, love it!
What a fun project to do with kids. I love the Games and love anything that encourages others to get involved and support the athletes!
Totally adorable. I bet they are proud to wear those, too. I am loving the Olympics and the stories behind the athletes.
awe, what a lovely project to do with the kids. You can even personalise them… best at tidying up toys, best at helping mommy… love them.
That’s really awesome! Growing up I always wanted one of those Olympic medals for myself. I knew I wasn’t a good enough athlete to go get one at the games, but now I can actually make one at home. Great idea!
I just love this adorable idea! My kids and I are happiest when we are spending time creating, so this will be the perfect addition to our Olympics unit study! (#nerdalert) Thanks for the inspiration!
This also enhances the creativity of kids. Awesome idea for this olympic season!
This looks so fun! My little and I might have to do this at some point during the week while we watch!
I just think this is just the cutest idea. I bet your daughter had a blast making these too and it’s something she will always remember 😉
Thank you!
Aww… that looks like so much fun! I could imagine doing a bunch of these and give them out at birthday party games! Thanks for the ideas!
Tie a Hula-Hoop on a low-hanging tree branch using a length of rope, and have each child attempt to throw a pool noodle through the hoop. If your kids are on the younger side, hang the Hula-Hoop fairly low to start, and then move the hoop to a higher branch as they start to get the hang of the game.
omg this is adorable!! Is it wrong to want to do it for myself tho? lol 🙂 thanks for the post!
These are so cute! My girls would love making these.
we loved the Rio olympics! I feel like we watched every waking moment! Not so into this one though. Ive hardly watched!
I love this idea! Im a foster parent and often take in kids with emotional or behavioral issues. A medal would be such a cute way for young kids who need some extra “Coaching” or incentive to feel accomplished. Thanks for sharing! Def going to try this with my foster kiddos!
Fun! I’ve been trying to teach my daughter about all of the sports in the Winter Olympics. These medals are a cute way to capture her interest!
I really love this art project.
These are soooo good ! I have to get my kids to help me make these.
this is a really cute craft, and I love that it can change with each year of the current games!
This is such a great idea!! So much fun to do
This looks like a great activity on many levels. What sets is apart from other activities I have seen online is the fact that it is compostable–once the kids don’t want their medals anymore (because unfortunately, they will grow up… Waaaah!!!) they can be composted instead of trashed, and the ribbons reused. Thank you!
Crafty! Good way to i introduce kids to the Olympics.
What a lovely idea and so much fun for little ones. DIY is the best thing ever:)
This looks so much fun and just in time for the Winter Olympics!
What a neat idea, and how creative. This would be a fun idea to keep the kids busy. I have never actually made salt dough, and there are so many neat things you could make with it.