“Olympic” Medals for Kids Games

It’s official…the Winter Olympics have begun! With competitions heating up and teachers requesting our foam circles for medals they can use for classroom competitions, we have been inspired to create the perfect kid version of a gold, silver, and bronze medal. So here goes! Choose from a simple medal using goldenrod, gray, and cocoa foam circles. Or if you are up for a little more, shall we say “creativity”, add numbers to the foam with a low temp glue gun and then spray paint with metallic gold, silver, and bronze. No matter how you make these medals they are sure to be a hit at your next classroom competition or kids game!

Supplies Needed:

Foam 3″ Circles
Hole Punch
Saddle Stitch Ribbon
Low Temp Glue Gun
Sharpies Markers
Gold, Silver, & Bronze Metallic Spray Paint

Directions for Making “Simple” Medals:

Hole punch 3″ foam circles with a single hole punch. Use goldenrod for gold, gray for silver, and cocoa for bronze. Then add 36″ of 3/8″ Saddle Stitch ribbon to each foam circle shape. Write #1, 1st, 2nd, etc with Sharpie Markers. Optional: draw dots, or lines around the edge of the circles. That’s it! We said it was simple…

Directions for Making Metallic Medals (a more “creative” version):

1. Hole punch 3″ foam circles at the top.

2. Using a Low Temp Glue Gun add a 1, 2, 3, or 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or #1, #2, #3 on each foam circle. Tip: write the numbers with a permanent marker and then cover with glue gun.

Optional: add dots around the edge of the foam circle. To add dots, simply make a dot on the edge of the foam. Then press the low temp glue gun into the foam to “release” the dot. This picture was taken after the medal was painted, however, the dots need to be added BEFORE it is spray painted.

3. Evenly spray one coat of metallic (gold, silver, and bronze) spray paint on the top of the foam circles. Let dry (we found it took about 10 minutes) and then flip the circles over and spray one coat on the back. FYI: when the spray paint is wet it may look spotted and also cause the foam circle to curl. Don’t worry about this at all. The foam will flatten when it dries and the “spots” will disappear. Below you will see wet spray paint on the foam and also what it looks like when it is dry.

Here is a picture of all 3 medals (gold, silver, and bronze) painted with metallic spray paint. Notice they are all flat once they are dry.

4. Each medal will need a 36″ piece of ribbon. We used 3/8″ Saddle Stitch Ribbon for our medals. Simply fold the ribbon in half and thread the loop through the hole in the foam circle. Then feed ribbon ends back through loop and pull gently. Tie ends of ribbon to secure.