Around the World in 12 Dishes: Exploring Irish Folklore

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Welcome to Around the World in 12 Dishes, the 2013-2014 edition!

We enjoyed our journey so much last year, that we decided to do it again with a different set of countries. We made a few changes that will hopefully make your experience more enjoyable.

We’ll be posting throughout the month now, so now you’ll find my posts the third Monday of every month. Plus, the girls and I won’t be cooking. Instead we’ll be focusing on crafts, activities, and other cultural activities. If you would like to join in, or just find other ways to these countries on your own, you can join Around the World in 12 Dishes on Facebook and Pinterest. Are you ready to get started? Let’s go to Ireland!

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With St. Patrick’s Day in March, Ireland seemed like the perfect spot to start our journey.
When researching our project, I found a wide selection of Irish folktales and soon settled on Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie DePaola. We love Tomie DePaola books and knew he would tell us a fun tale.
After enjoying the story of Jamie O’Rourke, the laziest man in all of Ireland, we decided not to be lazy and to start crafting. Since the book centered around a potato, we decided to try out potato stamping.

 

Supplies Needed:
Potato
Sharp knife (adult use only!)
Green paint
Paper
Paint brushes (sponge brushes work best)
The grown-up in charge will have to prep this project. To make the potato stamps, cut a potato in half. I used a toothpick to “draw” my shamrocks before cutting. Then using the knife I cut around the shamrock to make my stamp. We made two different styles of stamps. On one, I cut out the shamrock and on the other, I cut a thick outline of the shamrock.
We used the paintbrush to paint some green paint onto our stamp.
I used a couple of different shades of green since we were using shamrocks.
The girls painted and stamped and painted and stamped some more. We weren’t so worried about the end product. This project was all about the process.
The girls enjoyed stamping and seeing the texture from the potatoes.
After they covered their paper, they got creative. Soon our potatoes were completely painted green!
Would you like to join in this month? You can download a printable passport page here and a placemat here. Also, check out the other participating blogs for plenty of wonderful ideas:

Adventures In Mommydom, Creative Family Fun, Domestic Goddesque, Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, Glittering Muffins, Here Come The Girls, Juggling with Kids, Kid World Citizen, Kitchen Counter Chronicles, Little Artists, Mermaids’ Makings, Montessori Tidbits, Mummymummymum and The Educators’ Spin On It

Please link up your Irish activity in the linky below. We’d love to see it!

 

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Terri Thompson

Terri is a writer and mom of two elementary-aged girls. She has a passion for learning and is always looking for ways to make learning fun. You can find her at Better Than Homework where she shares fun learning activities or Creative Family Fun where she shares art, craft, and family fun ideas.
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