St. Patrick’s Day is around the corner. It’s the kick off to spring and a perfect opportunity for children to explore how seeds grow!
Using high-quality, engaging children’s books is the perfect way to introduce fun learning activities in the classroom.
Here is a fun St. Patrick’s Day book and a science activity to help children learn about what seeds need to grow.
Green Shamrocks Activity
In this activity, children will listen to a read aloud titled Green Shamrocks by Eve Bunting.
To extend the story, the children will plant seeds and observe the growth of the plants.
The skills covered in this activity include:
- literacy
- listening: actively looking at the book while the reader is reading
- comprehension: retelling the major events in the story
- vocabulary: learning words relevant to the story (shamrocks, sowed, perfect, spread, and moaned)
- science
- observing: noticing changes as the seeds grow
- communicating ideas: explaining what seeds need to grow
Green Shamrock Supplies
These are the supplies you will need for the Green Shamrock activity.
- A copy of Green Shamrocks by Eve Bunting
- Shamrock Seeds
- Pots or cups
- Potting Soil
- Plastic Wrap
- Green Ribbon (optional)
Reading Green Shamrocks
Green Shamrocks by Eve Bunting is the story of a rabbit who plants shamrock seeds in hopes of having enough to create a necklace to wear to the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
He plants them, waters them and then waits. One day, he discovers his pot of shamrocks has disappeared and he sets off to search for it.
He finds them just in time and is able to make his necklace. During his search he makes a friend who attends the parade with him.
Gather the children close so that they will all be able to see the pictures while you read. Remember to read with expression.
There are lots of questions and characters so you can have fun adjusting your voice to get into the story.
As you read, emphasize the following vocabulary: shamrocks, sowed, perfect, spread and moaned.
After reading, help the children retell the story in their own words making sure to highlight the major events in the story. Ask the children what the seeds needed in order to grow.
Shamrock Planting Activity
Give each child a pot and enough potting soil to fill the pot. Leave 1/2 inch space at the top of each pot.
Give each child 4-5 shamrock seeds to plant. The seeds are very tiny! The seeds need to be covered with a very thin layer of soil.
Gently water and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a sunny location. Seeds will sprout in about 3-5 days. After seeds have sprouted, you may remove the plastic wrap.
Each day, have the kids observe their pots and discuss what they notice.
Tie a festive ribbon around each pot and send home with the children.
BIO: Jodie is the creator of Growing Book by Book where she shares book lists, reading and writing activities, and literacy building tips for young children. She is also the proud mom of 2 little boys- check out their playful preschool year! You can connect with her on Facebook and Pinterest.
I have looked for the book Green Shamrocks, it is not readily available, selling used from over $30 and up. Very sad, looked like a great activity!!
The paperback is $6.99 and in stock on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0545274435/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0545274435&linkCode=as2&tag=wwwprekpagesc-20&linkId=F5NTLQP5E6F63MM2
Any suggestions on where you can find shamrock seeds or clover seeds? Love this idea! 🙂
Lots of places sell clover seeds, you can find a direct link in the post above. Here are more places: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=clover+shamrock+seeds
Excellent! This works perfectly to support my ELL kindergarten class. We are studying plants and this is the perfect diversion on Saint Patrick’s day!!!