Olympic Art Class: Day 2

There are so many different things to do with the Olympics, in terms of art projects. From the sporting events to the opening ceremony to the venues, the possibilities are endless. I personally love the opening ceremony, specifically the Parade of Nations. Today's project features the flags of the competing countries. Although this project is simple, it gives kids the opportunity to explore the flags of countries they might not be familiar with.

Flags of the World

Materials:

• Construction paper*
• scissors
• glue stick
• markers
• Optional:
• construction paper crayons (or regular crayons)
• tissue paper of various colors cut into small squares
• star and circle hole punchers

* You will need several different colors of construction paper- a base sheet (or sheets) in the color of your choice, primary colors, and any other colors to match the flags. Many of the kids in my class liked using white paper to draw on and then cut out and glue onto their base sheet.

Instructions:

1.  Choose the color of construction paper you want to use as your base to glue/color all of your flags on.
2. Pick the flags you want to recreate. I used this site to pick an assortment of flags to print out. The site also has great information on the history of the flags and countries.
3. Start making your flags! Cut out pieces of construction paper and glue together and onto your base paper or use the markers and crayons to draw the flags. They can be any size you want. In my art class some kids made several small flags while others made one or two large flags. You can also use the tissue paper to create the flags or any other materials you might have around the house. Make sure to label the flags once you are done.

This project received great feedback from the kids in my class because they were able to have fun and be creative. And that's the best part about art- it can be whatever you want it to be! Art shouldn't be about being perfect; it should be about expressing yourself and having fun!

Question of the Day:

What is your favorite part of the Olympics?

As mentioned above, I love the opening ceremony! Even though London's wasn't as spectacular as China's, I still enjoyed it. The floating rings with cascading fireworks was a beautiful sight. But, of course, once the actual events start, they are all I can think about!

Olympic Art Class: Day 1

I recently did a week-long art class that centered around the Olympics. To start the week, the kids made gold medals and Olympic torches. Both are fairly easy projects and may seem to have little room for creativity, but by allowing the kids to personalize both projects it elevated the final results. Making these projects is a great way to get kids pumped about the Olympics!

Personalized Gold Medal

Materials:

• white paper plate (1 per medal)
• scissors
• gold paint
• paintbrush
• hole punch
• markers
• gold glitter glue
• red, white, and blue strip ribbon (a little over 2 feet per medal)
• needle and thread

Instructions:

1. Cut off the outer rim of the paper plate, leaving the center circle intact.* (This will be your medal.) Discard the outer rim.
2. On one side of the medal, have kids write their name (using the markers) and what they would want the medal for. It can be for anything. Some examples of what kids in my class wrote: social studies, baseball, tennis, singing, etc. Younger kids may need help writing on their medal.
3. Paint the other side of the medal gold. Depending on the paint used, you may have to apply a couple of coats.
4. Once dry, have kids decorate the painted side of their medal with gold glitter glue. They can write a number one or put circles around the edge, or just put a thin layer of the glitter glue all over that side of their medal so it's sparkles.
5. After the glitter glue dries (depending on the amount used, this may take at least a day to dry), punch a couple of overlapping holes in the top of the medal. (I punched 3-4 holes together to create one large hole.)
6. Cut a piece of the ribbon (a little over 2 feet long) and sew together the ends of the ribbon.
7. Take the sewn piece of ribbon and put the non-sewn end through the hole of the medal and complete a lark's head knot.

* I have a circle cutter for scrap booking and used this to cut out my paper circles. By doing this it left the outer rim intact and useable for a future project. But scissors will work just as well.

Olympic Torch

Materials:

• beige construction paper (1 sheet per torch)
• red, yellow, and orange construction paper (at least one sheet per color per torch)
• glue stick
• scissors
• gold glitter glue (optional)

Instructions:

1. Roll the piece of beige construction paper into a torch shape and secure using the glue stick. Don't be afraid to use lots of glue to make sure it holds.
2. Using the other colors of construction paper, cut out the flames of the torch.*
3. Once cut, glue the flames into the bigger opening of the torch and hold them down so they stick.
4. Optional: Squeeze a little of gold glitter glue onto a plate or newspaper and using their fingers have kids spread the glitter glue over their torch.

* They can make a couple of huge flames, lots of small flames, flames that look like leaves, or any other kind of flame they can think of. One girl in my class decided to make princess flames: yellow construction paper cut to look like Rapunzel's golden locks, with a red face and rainbow hair using markers.

Question of the Day:

Have you been watching the Olympics?

I love the Olympics, especially the Summer Olympics. As a huge sports fan, I enjoy the competitive atmosphere and it's a great way to discover sports that aren't usually televised on major networks. This Olympics I am really getting into beach volleyball. The swimming and gymnastics events as always are fun to watch and they have been providing great entertainment so far!