March Into Shamrock Season
St. Patrick's Day activities filled with learning and fun

Shamrock Symmetry
Create beautiful shamrock cards to take home as you experiment with color and symmetry. Ask students to mix various shades by combining green paint with small amounts of white, black, blue, or yellow. Students draw a half clover leaf on folded white construction paper, being careful to draw along the fold, and then they cut it out. Ask them to paint one side of the shamrock with the green paints, and then fold it in half (paint side in). When unfolded, the shamrock will have a symmetrical design. Students can write their own St. Patrick's Day wishes or use this popular Irish saying:
May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow.
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.

Green Words
As a class, brainstorm a list of various "green" words or phrases, for example: green beans, greenhouse, green thumb, green light, Green Eggs & Ham, and the Green Bay Packers. Make a bulletin board of all your evocative color words.

Quick & Easy Good Luck Gardens
Trifolium dubium, the Irish shamrock, can be grown in small containers. Buy seeds at a garden store and have children grow their own cheery shamrock gardens in green paper cups to take home for Saint Patrick's Day. It's a great way to celebrate the beginning of Spring!

The Irish Language
About 80,000 Irish speak Gaelic (Irish) in addition to English. Gaelic is a Celtic language similar to Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton. Have children try out a bit of Gaelic for St. Patrick's Day!

Conas a ta tu? (kunas a thaw two) — How are you?
Dia duit (dee-a-gwit) — Hello
Slan (slawn) — Goodbye
Failte (fawlta) — Welcome
Eire (ire) — Ireland
Taa (thaw) — Yes
Nil (kneel) — No

This article was originally published in the March 2001 issue of Instructor.