Paint a Shamrock Resist

With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, your child can explore the concept of resist with this fun green-on-green shamrock art activity. It’s as simple as getting out a green crayon, watercolor paints and a piece of white paper. Your child can experiment making many different shamrocks to create lots and lots of decorations for St. Patrick’s Day!

What You Need:

• Green crayon
• White paper
• Green watercolor paint
• Paintbrush

What to Do:

1. Start by taking a look at what a shamrock looks like with your child by researching on the Internet or in books. The shamrock is a symbol of Ireland and is a small three-leafed clover plant that grows all over Ireland.
2. Offer your child the white paper and green crayon and invite her to draw a large shamrock that almost touches the edges of the paper. Encourage her to press hard with her crayon, making a strong line and encouraging her fine motor skills!
3. Now get out the watercolor paints and ask your child what she thinks might happen if she paints the paper – will the green crayon show through?
4. Invite your child to cover her paper with green watercolor paint and watch as her shamrock pops out! Crayons are made with wax, which repels (or resists) water!
5. Once she’s covered her entire paper, she can let her green shamrock dry and then proudly display it in a special spot for St. Patrick’s Day!

Did you know: Shamrocks are worn on St. Patrick’s Day, and all year round, in Ireland to bring a bit of luck to the Irish and all their children, no matter where they are!