Saint Patrick's Day Shamrock

Saint Patrick's story is actually pretty neat, especially for little boys who like a little adventure :) See, he was kidnapped by the Irish as a teenager and lived in captivity for 4 or 6 years (different sources claim different time periods) During that time he persevered in praying to God, and when he was grown he felt it was time to escape back to his home. After his successful escape he began studying to be a priest. He returned to Ireland, the place of his capture, and spent the rest of his life walking around Ireland converting people to Christianity.

St. Patrick would use a shamrock to explain the idea of the trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) to the pagans, that God was three persons in one, just as a shamrock has 3 parts but is 1 plant.

One great activity for Saint Patrick's day is to go outside, find a shamrock, and talk about God to your kids! (hopefully your snow has melted already) We were able to do this two days ago when the ground was fairly dry for once.

Inside, we did a shamrock craft in preparation for Saint Patrick's day (which is March 17th this year).

Age Range:
18 months and up

Materials:
-rice
-rubbing alcohol
-green food coloring
-plastic bag
-shamrock outline traced on a piece of paper
-glue


Activity:

1. Combine 3/4 cup of rice in a baggie with 2TBSP of rubbing alcohol and several drops of green food coloring
2. Shake and mix together (your child can do this)
3. Pour rice onto wax paper or a plate to dry (takes several hours so it's best to do the first part either in the morning or the night before the craft)
4. Spread glue all over the shamrock.
5. Sprinkle the colored rice over the shamrock where the glue is.
6. Dump off the excess and set the project aside to dry.