St. Patrick's Day Craft

St. Patick's Day is next week, so we've been reading picture books and legends about him.  I putzed around online one day to find a craft, then made one up for the kids that blended ideas I'd seen online.  There is a story that tells of St. Patrick using a clover to teach about the trinity.  Our Trinity Shamrock craft can be seen below in the photos; instructions follow for both preschool and elementary age children.

Pre-Crafting Preparations:

1. Make a heart stencil and trace three together on a page to make a shamrock, adding a free-hand stem.
2. Trace the heart three times on separate paper for each child (light green in the pictures above.)  Cut them out for children without the scissor skills; let you elementary children cut them out on their own.  Then draw a line to create a small triangle at the bottom of each heart to show them where they will put the glue; you want the leaves to be able to fold up to reveal a Bible verse!
3. For preschoolers, write FATHER, SON, HOLY SPIRIT, & THE TRINITY on pieces of paper for them to glue onto their shamrocks.  Older children can write these words on their own or copy them onto their leaves and paper.
4. Choose a Bible verse to "hide" behind each leaf about each member of the Trinity.  We used Genesis 1:1, John 14:6 and 14:26.  I printed them out in 9pt font and they fit fine behind the leaves.

Crafting time:

1. Give directions, such as the ones to the right to your reading child(ren) and they will pretty much do it on their own.
2. Work together with your preschoolers to guide them through the directions, showing them were to glue the prepared words where your older child(ren) are writing them.
3. Display these shamrocks in a place where you can see them regularly.  Perhaps you could even memorize the verses you choose over the weeks around St. Patrick's Day!