31 Days. 31 Flowers. Teaching kids about the Iris…

Literature, legends and art bloom with FLOWERS, from lovely little nursery rhymes to sophisticated epic poetry and great myths and masterpieces.  Knowing the names of flowers, the references to flowers, the symbols of flowers, the language of flowers gives kids a blooming head start in understanding literature and enhancing literacy.

Each day in May, a FLOWER will be presented here at 31 Days. 31 Flowers – 31 Ways to engage your kids in literature, literacy and life in just a few moments a day. Enjoy!

The IRIS– In Greek mythology, Iris is the goddess who acts as a messenger of the Gods, appearing to mortals in the form of a rainbow.  The Iris’s wide spectrum of colors lends itself perfectly to its namesake.

The Iris symbolizes great faith, wisdom, hope, love and cherished friendship, and is reputed to purify evil energies. Poets, kings and artists have been admirers of the exotic Iris , and the flower was considered a symbol of great power by the Egyptians.  Drawings of the Iris have been found in many Egyptian palaces.

The petals of the Iris are fan-shaped and its leaves are sword-shaped.  The downward spread of the petals are sometimes referred to as falls for the direction they take.  Some Irises have what are called beards, a fuzzy part of the lower petal on the flower.  This beard is thought to attract bees to encourage pollination.

For centuries, the Iris has been used to make fragrances and medicines.  Considered sacred by the Greeks, the Iris was used to heal colds, coughs and indigestion.

Share the Iris with your kids today.  Tell of the goddess Iris, her rainbow colors, and the colors of the Iris flower…  blue, purple, orange, yellow, red, brown, white, pink and even black.  Tell of the Iris’s beards.  Kids love things like flowers with beards!

Give an Iris masterpiece to a cherished child and tell of its secrets, as if the goddess Iris herself is visiting with her delightful colors and shapes.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote of the Iris, “Thou art the Muse.”

Share the Muse through Vincent van Gogh’s masterpiece, Irises!