Beaded Shamrocks for St. Paddy's Day

Engineer, Captain America, and I made beaded shamrocks this afternoon (while Frat Boy was napping).  I twisted two pipe cleaners together, bent them into a basic shamrock, and then let the boys add the beads.  Engineer made a variety of patterns with his pony beads, while Captain America chose to stick with just one color. 

It was interesting to watch the boys as they navigated the twisty pipe cleaners with the beads.  I was making my own at the time, so I can attest that it certainly works your fingers!  Definitely a great activity for fine motor development.  When they were done, I helped attach another pipe cleaner for the stem.

Engineer pointed out that our original shamrocks looked more like flowers, so we went back to the drawing board.  The below method is what worked better for us.  Again, I twisted two pipe cleaners together.  This time, though, I left them in a straight line.  Engineer and I worked together to make two different patterns on our pipe cleaners — one was green and white, while the other was a rainbow pattern.

Once the patterns were complete, I folded the pipe cleaners in half.  I created one heart shape at the curved end of the folded pipe cleaner.  I then twisted underneath that heart to help it holds it shape.  I folded the remaining edges up and twisted them in the middle.  Then I pushed them into heart shapes as well.  Once all that was done, Engineer and I added another pipe cleaner for the “stem” of the shamrock.

Engineer inspected all of the beaded shamrocks when they were done.  Thank goodness they all passed inspection!  :)  He definitely preferred the second set of shamrocks, and I must admit I liked them better as well.

Sorry for the lack of kiddos in the pictures, but the boys just weren’t having it!  I was permitted to take pictures of the crafts, but Engineer and Captain America were feeling camera shy today.  :)

This post was originally published on Fun-A-Day!