Putting The Pretty In Preschool – Page 53 – Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

Shamrock Rolling Pin Art

March 16, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

A fun rolling pin art project with three different looks. A process art painting activity on shamrocks the whole family can enjoy.

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This shamrock rolling pin art project is bound to get a little messy, and that means your little learner is sure to looove it! Shamrocks make an eye-pleasing subject for this process art activity.

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Supplies to Collect

green, yellow, and white tempera paint
rolling pins or paper towel rolls
large sheets of sturdy paper
paint containers and spoons
shamrock template

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Click here to download a shamrock template.

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Shamrock Rolling Pin Art Fun

Set out tempera paints in yellow, white, and shades of green. Invite your little learner to spoon dabs of paint over a paper shamrock.

Invitation to use a rolling pin as a painting tool.

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Then ask your little one to roll a rolling pin over the paint.

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A paper towel roll works well to move paint around too. On the shamrock below, a pattern of paint was spread vertically. Then a paper towel roll was rolled up and down to give the striped effect. There are diagonal lines left from the paper roll on the shamrock…I kind of like them!

Paper towel roll painting on a shamrock.

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The paint can also be splattered on diagonally, with the rolling pin to squish the paint around positioned the same way.

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Which shamrock art project do you like best? Leave a comment below.

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Rolling pin art with a diagonal stripe design.

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Related:

Shamrock Paper Plate Lion

St. Patrick’s Day Sheep Craft

St. Patrick’s Day Painted Shamrock

Crayon Resist Watercolor Shamrock

Scissor Skill Shamrock Collage

St. Patrick’s Day Tablescape

St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Tub

Leprechaun Sensory Jar

St. Patrick’s Day Woodland Sensory Bin

St. Patrick’s Day Jewelry Bin

Leprechaun Sensory Play

St. Patrick’s Day Treasure Blocks

St. Patrick’s Day Light Table Tray

Shamrock Dissolving Candy Experiment

St. Patrick’s Day Activities

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[Read more…]

Leprechaun Sensory Play

March 14, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

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Leprechauns, shamrocks, pots of gold, and the color green are all associated with St. Patrick’s Day. And they make for super fun sensory play…especially the leprechauns! Here are two inexpensive, easy-to-put-together leprechaun sensory play activities.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas.

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Leprechaun Facts

Leprechauns are tiny, mischievous, gold-loving characters in Irish folklore.
Shoemaking is how leprechauns spend most of their time.
These entertaining, energetic, miniature men love to participate in dance parties and expertly play the tin whistle, fiddle, Bodhran, and Irish harp.
Underground caves or hollow tree trunks in rural Ireland are where these solitary characters are said to live.
Leprechauns love to collect gold and store it in pots in the remote countryside (or at the end of the rainbow.)
The speedy tricksters can vanish quickly, so are difficult to capture.
But if a leprechaun is caught, he must grant three wishes.
Leprechauns are known all over the world.

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Leprechaun Sensory Play

Here are two easy to set up leprechaun sensory trays:

Leprechaun Rice Tray

Gold coins, shamrocks, a money pot, and an oh-so tricky leprechaun are the highlights of this rice-based tray.

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Glutinous rice is the base for this tray. I love it because it is super white, and showcases the loose parts. Included are:

leprechaun figurine
money pot
tiny gold coins
white, green, and gold beads (because leprechauns like all kinds of treasure)
glittery, green hats (to collect any coins or gems that don’t fit into the pot)
shamrocks
St. Patrick’s Day greeting

The leprechaun is a repurposed plant poke topper. The other loose parts are snipped from inexpensive St. Patrick’s Day necklaces.

Shamrocks, gold coins, a money pot, and an oh-so tricky leprechaun are the highlights of this rice-based tray.

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Shamrock Confetti Tray

Instead of rice, generously sprinkled shamrock confetti with metallic gold pots added in is the base. The tray also includes a leprechaun, money pot, gold coins, beads, hats, and shamrocks.

The leprechaun has plenty of gold to collect in this shamrock confetti-based St. Patrick's Day sensory tray.

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For more facts about leprechauns, view these blogposts:

The Legend Of The Leprechaun (CBC Kids)

Legend Of The Irish Leprechauns (Your Irish Culture)

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There is plenty of gold for the leprechaun to collect in this shamrock confetti-based St. Patrick's Day sensory tray.

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Follow up a leprechaun sensory play session with a scavenger hunt for pots of gold, a leprechaun race, or a game of Hide And Seek.

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[Read more…]

Scissor Skill Shamrock Collage

March 13, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky 4 Comments

An invitation to cut textured craft supplies to decorate a shamrock.

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Ireland is called “The Emerald Isle”, after emerald gems. This is because the landscape has many shades of green. Inspired by the luscious land, this shamrock collage craft is full of green textures and shades. There are tidbits of yellow and orange sprinkled in too.

A shamrock is a young sprig of clover. Each leaf has three heart-shaped leaflets. The shamrock is an emblem of Ireland and is a huge part of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. It is also incorporated into everyday Irish life, seen on buildings, monuments, dishware, jewelry, fabric, stamps, and logos.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas.

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Supplies To Collect

For this activity, collect craft supplies in orange, yellow, gold, and many shades of green. Feathers, pompoms, pipe cleaners, crepe paper, tissue paper, bead garland strips, straws, and yarn are good choices. Shamrock confetti and foam shamrocks could be added to the mix.

You will also need:

green construction paper
tray
scissors
white glue
glue paddle
shamrock template (downloadable below)

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Shamrock template for a collage or painting activity.

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Shamrock PrintableDownload

This printable is for personal or one classroom use only.

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Making The Shamrock Collage Craft

Set out a tray of craft supplies, and let your little learner cut them smaller.

Invite your little one to glue the cut shapes to the paper shamrock.

Invitation to cut and paste textured craft supplies to decorate a shamrock.

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Let the craft dry.

Shamrock collage with rust, green, and yellow textured craft supplies.

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Cutting textured collage supplies gives your early learner next-level scissor skill practice. And the resulting collage pieces make the craft project waaaaay more interesting than if all the supplies were precut.

Shamrock collage with rust, yellow, and green textured craft supplies.

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Click here for scissor skill tips.

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More St. Patrick’s Day Activities

Shamrock Paper Plate Lion

Shamrock Rolling Pin Art

St. Patrick’s Day Sheep Craft

St. Patrick’s Day Painted Shamrock

Crayon Resist Watercolor Shamrock

St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Tub

Leprechaun Sensory Jar

St. Patrick’s Day Woodland Sensory Bin

St. Patrick’s Day Jewelry Bin

Leprechaun Sensory Play

St. Patrick’s Day Treasure Blocks

St. Patrick’s Day Light Table Tray

Shamrock Dissolving Candy Experiment

St. Patrick’s Day Activities

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St. Patrick’s Day Tablescape

[Read more…]

St. Patrick’s Day Painted Shamrock

March 11, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

A painted shamrock sprinkled with green glitter and shamrock confetti. An all-ages art activity.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas.

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This painted shamrock art activity has a whole lotta green and plenty of glitter and shine. It is a paint mixing exercise with a finished product that looks lovely displayed. As is the shamrock collage craft, it is inspired by the lush greens of the Irish countryside.

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Supplies To Collect

green, yellow, and white tempera paint
large sheet of sturdy paper
egg carton or paint palette
paintbrush
paper towel square
shamrock confetti
green glitter
green ribbon
scissors
glue gun
shamrock template

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Painted Shamrock Art

Cut a shamrock from a large sheet of sturdy paper. Shown below is manila paper.

Pour dark green, medium green, yellow, and white tempera paint into an artist palette or used egg carton. This color scheme works well whether your little learner keeps the colors separate or does a lot of blending.

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Invite your early learner to paint the shamrock, using green, yellow, and white hues. A paper towel works well to dab excess paint from the brush before switching to a new color. This is a helpful tip from Patty Palmer’s book “Draw, Paint, Sparkle.”

Color mixing painting exercise with green, yellow, and white paint.

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Next, have your little one sprinkle on metallic shamrocks and green glitter while the paint is still wet.

When the shamrock art is dry, spray on unscented hairspray from an aerosol can to help the glitter and shamrock confetti stay on.

Fashion a bow from ribbon and use a glue gun to attach it to the shamrock.

Painted shamrock art activity. An all-ages color mixing invitation.

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Discussing shamrock shapes, using beautiful finishing touches, seeing how white added to darker green makes different shades, and noticing how yellow lightens and brightens green are some learning possibilities for this craft.

If done just before St. Patrick’s Day, this painted shamrock art project can be displayed for the festivities.

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St. Patrick’s Day Sheep Craft

March 10, 2021 by Annette Kaminsky 1 Comment

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St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in Ireland and around the world each year on March 17. It is a special day to remember St. Patrick, a missionary who brought Christianity to Ireland in the 5^th century and to celebrate Irish culture.

So how does this St. Patrick’s Day sheep craft fit into the celebration?

Patrick was born in the British Isles. His father had a key position in the Roman government. Patrick’s life was comfortable until age 16 when he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland. There he was forced to live a rugged life working as a sheepherder until he escaped six years later.

As for Irish culture, there are tons of sheep who roam the countryside in oh-so-green Ireland. Hardy breeds are raised. The sheep need to be able to handle the hilly land and tolerate cold, rainy, windy water.

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Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas.

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Sweet doily and pompom sheep craft perfect for St. Patrick's Day or spring.

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Craft Supplies To Collect

sheep printable (downloadable below)
six-inch white paper doily
yellow and green pompoms
green craft foam
green ribbon
foil shamrock
mini rainbow erasers
white craft glue
glue paddle
8 1/2 inch x 11-inch cardstock paper in white and green

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Making The St. Patrick’s Day Sheep

Craft steps to make pompom and doily St. Patrick's Day sheep.

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Cut out one of the sheep from the printable and set it on a table along with pompoms, white glue, and a glue paddle.

Sheep template for a farm or St. Patrick's Day craft.

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Sheep Craft PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Invite your early learner to spread glue on the area above the eyes, and add pompoms.

Next, have your little one paste the decorated head on a paper doily.

Then ask your little learner to add two craft foam legs. A ribbon bow, foil shamrock, or mini rainbow erasers can be the finishing touch.

Mount the sheep onto a complimentary colored piece of cardstock. Add a St. Patrick’s Day saying if desired.

A pompom sheep craft perfect for St. Patrick's Day or spring.

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A cute sheep craft perfect for St. Patrick's Day or spring.

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Sweet sheep craft perfect for St. Patrick's Day or spring.

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