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In addition to all the rainbows appearing in our house, some shamrocks have sprouted up. I think perhaps a visit from his wee self may be next!
We made a beaded shamrock to hang from our chandelier. My daughter wanted to add some other colors besides green so I showed her the Irish flag and we decided to add a little white and orange.
- pony beads (green — we also used some clear and orange beads)
- 2 chenille stems (green – we actually used silver for the body and then a green one for the stem)
1. Thread one chenille stem halfway down with green beads.
2. Make a loop of the beaded part.
3. Continue beading the second half of the chenille stem with beads. And then loop the other half to the center.
4. Take the second stem and bead halfway down. If you are making a three-leaf shamrock, you can join the third leaf to the other two and leave the other half of the chenille stem as the clover’s stem.
5. Shape the leaves into hearts if you haven’t already done so.
A Story to Go with Your Shamrock
Green Shamrocks by Eve Bunting: In a fun story with preschooler-friendly repetition, Rabbit plants shamrocks in anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day. When the pot of clover goes missing, Rabbit asks each of his friends if they’ve seen his sprouts. Kids will love the funny little mystery and learn not only about St. Patrick’s Day–but spring planting, too!
- Mathematics: Skip counting is fun with shamrocks. Each shamrock has three leaves so you can skip count by threes. Older children can use them as multiplication manipulatives.
- Science: Now is a good time to do some spring planting. Go outside and look for signs of spring. Why (in the North) does the world begin “turning green”?
- History / Culture / Religion: Who was St. Patrick? What role did he play in Ireland’s history and culture? How has the shamrock become a symbol of the Christian Holy Trinity? Bit of trivia: modern tradition is that the three leaves represent faith, hope, and love, and the fourth leaf of a clover is for luck!
- Botany: Interesting read for older kids and botanists: The Truth Behind the Shamrock from BBC
Shared at: stART
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergartners), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 9-11 (Elementary), Featured, History and Culture · Tags: Christianity, Clover, Ireland, Shamrock, St. Patrick's Day