Looking for a fun activity for your kid’s church this March? Try this St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Craft and inspire kids to share Jesus’ love with others!

You’ll need:

• Bible (try this kid-friendly version!)
• 4×4-inch paper in various shades of green (3 pieces per shamrock stem)
• tape
• markers
• scissors
• green chenille wires

Introduce the St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Craft

Say: St. Patrick was born in a country called Britain a long time ago. St. Patrick had the coolest job! He was a disciple of Jesus—that means he followed Jesus. And St. Patrick was also a missionary—that means he told people about God’s  love. 

Let’s practice sharing God’s love with each other. Let’s go around the room and tell each person God loves them.

Allow time.

Ask:  What are some other ways we can show God’s love to the people around us? Share an example from your own life to begin. For example, you might invite someone to sit with you at lunch, play with someone at recess, call a grandfriend to say you are thinking of them, or shovel the sidewalk for a neighbor when it snows.

Say: St. Patrick traveled far from his home to share the love of Jesus with people in a place called Ireland! When St. Patrick walked in Ireland’s shamrock-filled meadows, he encouraged others receive God’s gift of love and grace through Jesus.

When we are kind to all people—including those who don’t have a friendship with Jesus just yet—it shows people that we care for them just like Jesus does. Jesus encouraged his friends to go out into all the world and share his love—and Jesus’ friends today can, too!  Our loving example helps other people love Jesus, too!

Read aloud Mathew 28:19-20 from your Bible.

Say: Three-leaved clovers, called shamrocks, grow in the lush green meadows of Ireland. Let’s make shamrocks to remind us to share the good news of Jesus and encourage others to love and follow him, too!  

Build the St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Craft

Say: First, let’s make paper hearts. As you cut each heart think of a person in your life that may not know about Jesus’ love for them. If you’d like, write that person’s name on your heart.

1. Have kids fold a paper in half, draw a half heart, then cut out the heart. (Younger children may need a heart template for them to trace before cutting.)
2. Lay 3 paper hearts flat so that the points touch.
3. Tape the 3 hearts together to make the shamrock leaves.
4. Poke a chenille wire through the base of the shamrock where it was taped.
5. Bend and twist the wire to secure the shamrock leaves to the wire.
6. Encourage kids to take their shamrocks home and place them somewhere where they’ll see it often and remember to pray for people to know and follow Jesus.

Ask: Who did you think about as you cut out hearts and made your shamrock? Share about someone from your own life to begin the conversation. Invite other responses, but don’t force kids to share.

Say: Let’s pray for all the people we’re thinking about—and people we may not know, too. 

Pray: Dear God, be with us this week and as we share the good news of your love with others. Especially bless those who came to our minds as we made shamrocks. May we remember that you love us, Jesus, and that we are your disciples. Amen

Looking for more St. Patrick’s Day ideas? Check out this article! And if you need even more great holiday ideas, check out Group’s Seasonal Specials for Children’s Ministry book.