“Pot of Gold” Kids Crafting Idea using Lima Beans!

When my children were little somehow we acquired a leprechaun in our home, named Fin. No one ever saw him but he was blamed for all the mishaps that happened, from messes to missing belongings. It was common to often hear “Fin did it!” from my children.

The leprechaun is a mythical creature in Irish folklore. Leprechauns are mischievous, small little bearded men that wear green, make shoes and hoard their gold coins in a pot at the end of the rainbow. If you happen to capture a leprechaun you will be granted three wishes in exchange for their freedom. Leprechauns are also musicians that play the fiddle, harp and other Irish instruments.

In the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day and our leprechaun friends, I went searching for holiday crafting ideas. I came across this music shaker on Pinterest from the website Fantastic Fun and Learning. It’s the perfect use for spare dry beans from your pantry.

Bean Music Shaker

Supplies

empty water bottle (make sure it’s dry inside)
ziplock bag
handful of dried large lima beans
gold acrylic paint
8” of ribbon in each of these colors:red, orange,yellow,green,blue and purple
four leaf clover stickers

Put handful of large lima beans in ziplock

Put glob of paint in ziplock. Close and shake

After liberally coating beans take them out of bag and put them on a paper plate to dry.

Have an adult poke a large hole in the top of the bottle lid with a large nail. Thread ribbon through hole.

Knot ribbon.

Put beans in bottle. Put a little glue on thread of bottle rim and screw lid on top.

Shake!!

Rainbow & Pot of Gold picture

Supplies

construction paper
Prang watercolor
paintbrush
Elmers glue or similar
gold acrylic paint
dried large limas and baby limas

Paint rainbow on construction paper. Put glue on first color of rainbow. Place large limas on the glue. Continue until you have all rows glued. Paint the limas the corresponding color. Let dry.