Children of all ages will enjoy watching the shape of a shamrock emerge from the soil and turn green.

As the shamrock shape grows the grass can be trimmed and edged to maintain the shape.

What You’ll Need

•Potting soil

•Quick growing grass seed

•Pencil

•Pie tin

•Plant mister

What You Do

Fill the pie tin with a three-inch layer of potting soil.

Mist the soil lightly with the plant mister–don’t soak the soil.

Use a pencil to draw a picture of a shamrock in the moist soil.

Sprinkle a generous, thick layer of grass seed inside your shamrock and cover with a quarter-inch layer of soil and then mist with water.

Place the Emerald Isle shamrock in a sunny window and mist with water one to two times a day.

Watch the seed sprout in a few days and continue keeping the grass moist as it grows.

Trim when needed to keep the shamrock shape.

Hints and Tips

Draw a face directly on a cup or little plastic pot. Plant grass for hair.

Try using herbs rather than grass.

Talk about roots, springtime growth and the importance of watering and sun to keep the grass alive.

Robin Ballmer is a children’s art advocate and program coordinator.