Go for the Gold: Olympic Crafts

The Olympics present the perfect opportunity to learn about other countries, gain an appreciation of peace, and get inspired for athletic achievement. But they're also a great time for some Olympics crafts that will keep your child from spending all his time glued to the action. From making an Olympic torch to creating a Beijing postcard, here are three crafts to get your child going for the arts and crafts gold!

Before the Games even begin, there is the ceremonious journey of the Olympic torch. Passed from hand to hand, and country to country, the torch must burn brightly as a symbol of the enduring tradition of the Olympics. Here's how to make your own:

Make an Olympic Torch

What You Need:

• White poster board
• Packing tape
• Blue marker
• Red, yellow and orange tissue paper

What You Do:

1. Roll up the poster board until it is roughly the right size and shape to serve as the torch. Note which edge you want to be on the inside of the torch.
2. Apply a piece of packing tape to the inside of the cone, where the paper overlaps itself. Once secure, you can apply more pieces of tape until the cone is sturdy.
3. Decorate the torch with Greek designs such as the “key pattern,” and drawings of athletes running, wrestling, and swimming. Let your creativity run wild!
4. Once you’ve decorated your torch, its time to set it alight using flame-colored tissue paper. Select one sheet each of red, orange, and yellow, and insert them into the open top of your torch. Spend a minute arranging the paper so that it looks flame-like, then tape the bottom of the paper to the interior of the torch as best you can.
5. Now it’s time to carry the torch!

What's the first thing an Olympic athlete does after arriving in Beijing? Send a postcard to the folks back home, of course! Here's how to make your own:

Make a Beijing Postcard

What You Need:

• 4” x 7” piece of card stock or other thick, sturdy paper
• Color printer
• Glue stick
• Heavy book
• Scissors

What You Do:

1. Start by doing a Google image search for “Beijing.” Select a few images that you like, then print them out using your color printer. If you like, you can choose to draw the images using colored pencils, markers, or crayons instead.
2. Once you have your images, it's time to make your postcard. Arrange the images in creatively on top of the piece of card stock paper. Make a note of how much space you have, and what parts of the images you'd like overlapping the others. You'll probably want to cut around important figures or images so that you can glue those on top.
3. Do the glue. Apply glue evenly across the entire surface of the card. Next, apply the first layer of your collage (the one that will be in the background). Apply more glue to the back of the rest of the images as you layer them onto the card. When your artistic composition is complete, make sure to press down firmly so that no pockets of air remain. Place a heavy book, such as an encyclopedia, on top of the card.
4. After 15-20 minutes, remove the book. Using scissors, trim the edges of the pasted images so that none hang over the edge of the card. It should look like a beautiful postcard!
5. Now it's time to write! Try to imagine that you are an Olympic athlete writing home from Beijing. What would you be feeling, thinking, seeing, and doing? Write a postcard to your parents or a friend as if you were an Olympic athlete, address it, and put it in the mail. The recipient will be so surprised to see a beautiful postcard all the way from China!

With hundreds of countries sending athletes to the Olympic Games, how can your child learn about other teams while still enjoying a piece of the action? By adopting 5 teams as his own, of course! Here's how: