Peace Medals Martin Luther King Jr. Day Craft
Peace Medals
Make and award a peace medal to a peace-loving friend with this simple Martin Luther King Jr. Day craft activity.
What You'll Need:
1 cup salt
1-1/2 cups hot water
3-1/2 to 4 cups flour
Measuring cups
Mixing bowl
Mixing spoon
Rolling pin
Drinking glass
Cookie sheet
Gold or silver paint
Paintbrush
Markers
Glue
Glitter
Ribbons
Scissors
Pin backs
Honor Dr. King's love of peace by awarding medals to family and friends who have shown great patience or thoughtfulness or who have been helpful in resolving a conflict.
To make the clay: Stir 1 cup salt into 1-1/2 cups hot water. Ask an adult to help with the hot water; be careful that you don't burn yourself. When the mixture cools, add 1 cup flour. Mix until smooth. Add another cup of flour, and continue to mix with a spoon. Add the last 1-1/2 to 2 cups of flour by kneading the clay with your hands. If the clay is sticky, add more flour. If it is dry, add a little more water.
Have an adult preheat the oven to 300 degrees. When your clay is just right for shaping, form a 3-inch ball and roll it out on a floured counter with the rolling pin. Press the rim of a drinking glass onto the flattened clay to cut out a circle. Continue doing this until you have cut out all the medals you want to bake.
Bake the medals on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes. When they cool, paint them gold or silver. When the paint is dry, write messages on them with markers, such as "World Peace." Drizzle glue around the edges, and sprinkle the glue with glitter. Cut two 5-inch pieces of ribbon and glue to the back of each medal when they are dry. Glue the pin backs to the medals or a piece of ribbon long enough to fit over your head.
Have you done your part for peace? Give yourself a medal!
Another great project for Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Peaceful Puppets. Check these out on the next page of this article.
