Our school-age 2 and before school children spent time recognising and celebrating different cultures from around the world. We incorporate St. Patrick’s Day celebration into our curriculum by designing, decorating and sewing a Shamrock stuffy. First the pattern of the shamrock was traced and cut on green felt fabric. The children chose what pattern of stencils they wanted with famous St Patrick’s Day words. They were given options of whether they wanted to use yellow fabric paint or gold marker to trace their stencils. Lucy chose to use the gold metallic marker to trace her stencil with the word (Lucky) and said, “I don’t want my word to get messed up that is why I am using the marker.” Emily chose the same word and commented, “I will paint my stencil with the yellow fabric paint because I want mine to be very bright and I will do more than one coats.” Alexis and Avery J. did the same but Grace chose a stencil with the word (Irish) and said, “I will give this to my dad because he is Irish and all his family live in Ireland. We will also be visiting them in the summer.” After the children finished with the stenciling, they wanted to add some more embellishments on their stuffy before sewing the pieces together. They used gold sequins and some gold thread to make their own pattern on the shamrocks. Thomas D. who has never done sewing with the needle before said, “This looks very hard I don’t know what to do.” Then Austin added, “Me too” So, with some help from the other children Thomas D. and Austin were both able to create their own patterns and sew the sequins on them. They were able to learn how to use a threader and also some of the safety rules when sewing. Amanda who was playing nearby was very curious and said, “I would like to make one but I am scared that I will poke my finger.” Then the other children reassured her that she will be okay. With that in mind and some guidance Amanda was able to design and decorate her shamrock and was very excited that the next day she will get to use the sewing machine. They children each took turns to sew their shamrock on the sewing machine. Thomas D. said, “I have never done this before, my mom has a sewing machine like this but it is broken.” Lucy and Ella then reassured him that it was easy if he listened and followed the instructions carefully. He was very determined to get his shamrock sewed, so with some guidance and patience Thomas D was able to finish sewing and stuffing his Shamrock stuffy, which he was proud to show to his mom. Austin and Amanda did the same as well as Grace and Alexis who were using the sewing machine for the first time.
The children were able to listen and follow instructions carefully. They practiced turn taking and developed eye hand coordination and fine motor skills. They also helped each other and were able to make choices. They had an opportunity to develop cultural awareness and celebrated their differences.
