DLTK's Holiday Crafts for Kids
Saint Patrick's Day Wreath

Materials:

• ring of cardboard (empty cereal boxes work wonderfully).
• green construction paper.
• scissors,
• glue,
• small piece of wool.
   
• Optional:  stapler and tape

Instructions:

• Trace a small plate and a large plate onto a piece of old cardboard.  (My 6 year old enjoys tracing by herself.  My 3 year old prefers I do this part.).
• Empty cereal boxes or frozen dinner boxes work well as a source of recycled cardboard.
• It doesn't matter if you go over the folds of the cardboard.
• Cut a small strip of cardboard and glue or tape it onto the back of the ring over any folds in the cardboard.
• This will reinforce the ring.
• Cut strips of construction paper (about 1 1/2 inches by 4 inches).
• Glue the strips into rolls (like making a paper chain).
• Glue the rolls of construction paper onto the wreath.

For the center clover decoration, cut:

• 4 strips of long paper (about 1 inch x 8 inches).
• 4 strips of medium paper (about 1 inch x 7 inches).
• 4 strips of short paper (about 1 inch x 6 inches).

Glue or tape each of the strips into rolls (you'll end up with 4 big, 4 medium and 4 small).

Nestle a small roll inside a medium and a medium inside a large and tape, glue or staple them together (I prefer staples).

Repeat with a second set.  Now hold the two sets together, staple to staple and glue, tape or staple them (it makes a figure 8).

Repeat with a third set and glue/staple that to the top of the figure 8 (you now have a 3 leaf clover).

Repeat one last time with the final set and glue/staple to make a four leaf clover.

Roll a 3 inch square of construction paper as tightly as you can and glue/tape it to hold.  Glue/tape it between one of the leaves of the clover as a stem.

• Take a piece of string and tape it to the wreath and to the clover so the clover hangs in the center of the wreath.
• Hang on the wall.
• We made a wreath with only one row of construction paper loops this time, but two rows looks great too!  (Tasha likes single row wreaths and I prefer double -- to see an example of a double, check out the chinese new year version)