T is currently in Ireland, where he will be until he comes home. While he is there, we are reading a few Irish tales and having some fun celebrating everything Irish.
I have been waiting for the right opportunity to try making homemade window clings. I remembered that Almost Unschoolers made heart window clings, and since a shamrock can be made from three hearts, I thought we would try it out.
I began by adding green food coloring to an almost empty bottle of Elmer's school glue. Then, I turned the glue bottle upside down to let the glue mix with the food coloring.
Once it was mixed, I used the green glue to draw hearts on wax paper, and left them on the counter to dry. I'm not sure if this is necessary, but I drew the outline of the hearts first and let that set for about ten minutes before I filled them in - I was afraid that the hearts wouldn't keep their shape otherwise. Also, I used a pretty thick layer of glue and the hearts dried very thin, so use more than you think you need. I made them in the afternoon and left them to dry overnight. I was happy to see that they dried darker than they looked when wet.
Once they were dry, I carefully peeled them off the wax paper. To make them stick to the window, I let C and R spray the window with water in a spray bottle and then stick on the shamrock pieces.
Then, I let C and R build their own shamrocks on the sliding glass door. Warning: they are fragile, so you have to be careful with them! One of R's pieces got smushed a bit.
One of the tales we read while the glue was drying is The Prince of Ireland and the Three Magic Stallions retold by Bryce Milligan.
C and I really enjoyed the tale, but R only listened to the beginning. The prince is heir to the throne, but his stepmother, the queen, is upset because she wants the throne for her own twin sons. She puts a geis [gaysh], a deadly spell, on the prince, and he puts a geis on her. The prince must present the queen with three magic stallions that belong to a giant or else die, and the queen must stand before a high cross fasting until the prince returns. We were on the edge of our seats reading this tale!
10 comments:
My first reaction when I read the title was, "shamrocks now?" but then I realized that T must be visiting Ireland. The tale looks pretty interesting!
I think it's so great how you're keeping the younger kids close to their big brother by learning about where he is :) It must help them not miss him quite so much.
oo how cool!! I will definitely have to try that soon!
Those are neat!
I think I read that book to my kids once and it was really interesting.
I was given a window cling book, and I need to remember to try it with the kids.....
Another awesome craft!
What fun! This will be great to know how to make all year long.
That sounds like a.fun story, and your window.clings turned out great!
I agree, I love the way you are spending time with the younger kids and showing them so much of what their older brother is experiencing.
This is so great! I love the possibilities of making my own window clings. I also love how you connected it to literature.
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