St. Patrick's Day

Art

Green and White Art
Let children make pictures using green glitter, Crayons, Pens, Colored Pencils, Markers, Paint, String, Yarn, Ribbon, Tissue Paper, Torn Paper, Holes from a Hole Punch, Shamrock Stickers, Buttons, Colored Glue, Colored Tape, Chalk, Wet Chalk, Wrapping Paper, Shamrock Shaped Sponge Painting, Shamrock or Leprechaun stamps or Pasta or rice colored with green food coloring.

Blarney Stone
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Let the children paint a rock as they desire. When the rock is dry parents can use it as a paper weight.

Shamrock Mobile
Have the children cut out and decorate different shamrock shapes, then attach the shapes to a hanger with yarn for a mobile.

Shamrock Headband
Have the children cut out and decorate two shamrock shapes. Then, have the children cut out two strips of paper, that when connected will fit around their head. Connect the strips with glue or tape, (staples will catch the child's hair). Attach the shamrocks to green pipe cleaners and then onto the headband.

Green Shaving Cream Art
Add a few drops of green paint to shaving cream. Have the children use this to paint with. Not mixing the paint in will give it a special look.

Shamrock Hats
Make hats from newsprint and have the child decorate with green paint or shamrock stickers.

Shamrock People
Give the children a piece of white paper, and a green shamrock shape. Have the children glue the shamrock onto the paper, and then draw a body as if the shamrock was a head.

Shamrock People 2
Draw a large shamrock shape from green construction paper. Have the children cut it out with 4 smaller shamrock shapes. Have the children draw a face on the large shamrock shape. Supply the children with 4 strips of paper to fold accordian style for arms and legs. Have the children glue the small shamrocks onto the the strips of paper as hands and feet, then glue the arms and legs onto the body.

Torn Paper Shamrocks
Draw a shamrock shape on a piece of paper. Have the children tear pieces of green construction paper, and glue them inside the lines for the shamrock shape.

Shamrock Necklaces
Supply the children with shamrock shaped stencil. Have the children cut out shamrock shapes from construction paper. Then, have them use a hole punch to make a hole, so they can thread them onto a piece of yarn.

Noodle Necklaces
Supply the children with pasta noodles that have been dyed green, or use many different colors for a rainbow necklace, and yarn. Have the children thread the noodles onto the yarn to make a necklace.

Sponge Art
Supply the children with St Patrick's Day sponges and paint and have them make a St Patricks' Day scene with them.

Shamrock Cookie Cutter Art:
Obtain a cookie cutter that is shaped like a shamrock. Have the children dip the cookie cutter in a shallow container of green paint, then press onto a piece of paper to make shamrock prints.

Green Spray Paint Art:
Obtain a clean spray bottle. Add water and a little bit of liquid or powdered tempera. Then, place a large piece of paper on an easel, and have the children spray the colored water onto the paper.

Kool Aid Art
Sprinkle a little dry greeen kool aid mix onto a piece of paper. Have your child spray water from a spray bottle onto the paper. For added adventure, you may choose to take your children out into the rain with a piece of paper that has kool-aid on it.

Rain and Rainbow Collage
Look in a magazine or newspaper for pictures of rain, or rainbows, cut them out, and let your child glue them onto a piece of paper for a collage.

Torn Paper Rainbows
Apply glue onto a piece of paper where the first color of the rainbow should be, you can make a half or full arc. Have your child apply red torn paper to the glued area. Next apply glue under the red torn paper for the next color, and so on!! (you will only be able to do three or four colors)

Easy rainbows
Tape three or four different colored crayons in a straight line. Show your child how to draw a rainbow with one stroke.

Cereal Rainbows
You will need a box of Fruit Loops (or similar cereal), paper, pencil and glue. For younger children, you should draw a rainbow shape on to the paper then have the children glue the fruit loops inside the shape. Older children can make their own rainbow shape, or trace it. You may also do this project as open ended art by allowing the children to make whatever they wish with the fruit loops.

Leprechaun Foot Prints
Obtain a very long piece of white paper, about six feet long is nice. Then have each child walk across the paper after a teacher has painted their feet green.

Pistachio Pudding Finger Paint
Mix instant pistachio pudding according to the directions and paint on wax paper. Great for children who like to eat their art

Potato Prints
Cut a large potato in half. You will need a cookie cutter that will fit on the potato half. Press the cookie cutter into the flat side of the potato. Then, using a knife, cut the potato around the outside of the cookie cutter, leaving a shaped potato stamp. Supply the children with the potato stamps, different colored paints, and paper. Have the children dip the potatoes in the paint and press them firmly onto the paper. If the potatoes are not cut evenly the shapes will not appear clearly.

Potato Prints 2
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Cut a large potato in half. You will need a cookie cutter that will fit on the potato half. Press the cookie cutter into the flat side of the potato. Then, using a knife, cut the potato around the INSIDE of the cookie cutter, leaving a shaped potato stamp. Supply the children with the potato stamps, different colored paints, and paper. Have the children dip the potatoes in the paint and press them firmly onto the paper. If the potatoes are not cut evenly the shapes will not appear clearly.

Pot Of Gold
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Supply the children with black construction paper pot shapes and cotton balls to glue near the top. Then add more glue and gold glitter.

Ireland Flag
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Have the children make Ireland Flags with red, green and white construction paper and a straw for the flagpole.

TP Leprechaun
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Use the picture as a model. You will need a toilet paper tube (body), brown pipe cleaner (beard), red tissue paper (hair), green foam doughnut shape (hat) and paint.

Shamrock Rubbings
Cut shamrock shapes from paper doilies or sandpaper. Tape these shamrocks to the table. Have the children place a piece of thin white paper over the shamrocks and rub a crayon over the shamrock.

Creating The Color Green
Ask the children what colors you need to make green. Then supply them with blue and yellow paint and white paper. You should start with your yellow and add a little amount of blue. Ask the children to mix the colors to get their favorite shade of green. Discuss how all the colors of green are a little different.

Sticker Art
Supply the children with St. Patrick's Day stickers and have them place them on a piece of white paper.

Stamp Art
Supply the children with St. Patrick's Day stamps and have them make a St. Patrick's Day scene with the stamps.

Games: Math Science and Sensory

Green Shaving Cream
Add a few drops of green paint to shaving cream. Be sure that the children's clothes are protected as the paint may stain the clothing.

Goop
Mix 2 cups water with a little green food coloring, add 6 cups of cornflour/cornstarch to make goop.

Shamrock Search
Cut out many shamrock shapes and hide them around the room. Have the children search for them like an Easter Egg hunt.

Shamrock Search 2
Cut out one shamrock shape. Hide it in the room. Have a chair in the center of the room. The children should look for the shamrock, then the first child to find the shamrock sits in the chair. The child in the chair then goes to get the shamrock, the other children hide thier eyes and the child hides the shamrock, and the process is restarted.

Shades of Green
Supply the children with green and white paint. Allow the children to mix a small amount of the paints together. What happens? For younger children, you child add the paint to a zip lock bag to minimize the mess.

Shades of Green 2
Give the children blue and yellow paint. (A lot more yellow than blue) Let the children mix the paint to see what happens.

Shades of Green 3
Supply the children with three clear cups of water, one with a drop of blue food coloring, one with a drop of yellow food coloring, and one empty cup. Supply the children with plastic eye droppers and let them mix the colors in the empty cup. (Add more coloring as desired)

Shamrock Sequencing
Cut out many different sizes of shamrocks. Four or five will be fine. Have your child arrange the shamrocks in order of size, largest to smallest, or smallest to largest.

Treasure Hunt 1
Draw a simple map of your house. Hide a "treasure" somewhere in your house, something like a snack, or maybe a treasured toy. Explain the map to your child. Tell them where each room is. Next say there is a hidden treasure in the house, and the map is going to help them find it. Draw an X on the map where you have hidden the treasure. Help your child look for the treasure.

Treasure Hunt 2
Make a list of items you would like your child to find on a walk. Like a stick, leaf, fire hydrant, or blue car. Explain to your child that you are going on a treasure hunt and go over the list with your child. At first the items should be very easy to find.. and later can increase in difficulty. Go on the walk with the paper and mark of the items as your child finds them. This is really fun. Some more difficult ideas... Find an item that is: taller than you, can fit in your hand, is too heavy to lift, as long as your arm, is three different colors. Etc.

Four Leaf Clover
Cut out four, three leafed clovers, and one four leafed clover. Set all five clovers on a table and ask the child to find the four leafed clover.

Four Leaf Clover Sizing
Cut out five different sized clovers. Have the child arrange the clovers by size.

Green Day
Send a letter home, ask the parents to dress the children in green clothing on a certain day.

Hunt for Green
Ask your child to look for things that are green. Write down what they find.

Shamrock Fishing Game
Tie 3 feet of string to a wooden spoon. Attach a magnet to the end of the string. Cut and laminate many different colored, and sized shamrocks from construction paper (not too big though). Attach a paper clip to each shamrock. Spread the shamrock shapes on the floor and let your child try to catch the shamrock. Have them try to catch the red shamrock.. or the biggest shamrock. For a twist, label the shamrock with letters or numbers. Ask the children to catch a specific shamrock, or ask them which shamrock they caught.

Rainbow in a jar
Take a large glass jar, fill it 3/4 with water. Drop a single drop of food coloring into the jar from about a foot above the jar, so the coloring makes it's way almost to the bottom. Try different colors.

Prism fun
You can find a prism at many science stores or teachers store. Show your child the prism, and how to see all the colors of a rainbow in the prism.

Which color is missing?
Draw several different rainbow on small pieces of paper. Each one, exclude a color that should be in the rainbow.. so the first exclude red, second orange... etc. Then make a rainbow that has all the colors. Show the children the rainbow with all the colors on it. Ask what colors do they see. Then show each card to the children and ask them if they can guess what color is missing Variation: Put the colors in the wrong order. See if the children can see which color is not in the right place.

Sand and Water Table Ideas:
- Add a little green food coloring to water
- Add green food coloring and soap to the water
- supply the children with green colored pasta noodles
- hide plastic gold coins in the sand for them to hunt for


The Hunt for Gold:
You can buy plastic gold coins or just make some from yellow tagboard. Hide them around the room and have the children hunt around the room for them.

Pot of Gold Toss
Supply the children with yellow bean bags (gold) and a laundry basket, the pot and have them toss the gold into the pot

Shamrock Hop
Place shamrock shapes on the floor. Have the children hop from one shamrock to the next.

Shamrock Match Up
-There are many ways to set this up depending on the skill level or the particular skill you wish to work on. Try these different set ups:
-Cut out Shamrock shapes from different colors of paper. Give each child one Shamrock. Ask the children to find one person with the same color Shamrock.
-Cut out Shamrock shapes from different colors of paper. Cut the Shamrock in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Give each child one half of a Shamrock, and ask them to find the person with the other half. Or Give the children two pieces and have the children make a circle, with one child that has one match on one side and the other match on the other side. You may end up with 2 or more circles depending on how the Shamrock pieces are distributed.
-Cut out Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Cut the Shamrock in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Give each child one half of a Shamrock, and ask them to find the person with the other half. Or Give the children two pieces and have the children make a circle, with one child that has one match on one side and the other match on the other side. You may end up with 2 or more circles depending on how the Shamrock pieces are distributed.
-Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Label one set of Shamrocks with numbers, i.e. if you have 20 children, label the Shamrocks with the numbers one to ten. The other half, draw one dot on one, two on another, and so on until ten. Give each child one Shamrock and have them find the child with their match.
-Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Place matching stickers on two Shamrocks. Give each child one Shamrock and have them find the child with their match.
-Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Cut the Shamrock in half using a puzzle type cut, like zig zag or interlocking pieces. Place matching stickers on each half of a Shamrock. Give each child one Shamrock half and have them find the child with their match.
-Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Label one set of the shamrocks with upper case letters and another set with lower case letters. Have the children find their match.
-Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Label one set of the shamrocks with letters and another set with stickers that show an item that starts with that letter.. i.e. a apple, b ball. Have the children find their match.
-Place matching Shamrock stickers on separate index cards. Give each child a card and ask them to find the child with their match.
-Try all the above, but in a file folder format. Glue one part of the Shamrock to the file folder and laminate it's match.
-Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Label nine shamrocks with the numbers 1 through 9. Have the children place the shamrocks in numerical order.
-Cut the Shamrock shapes from one color of paper. Label nine shamrocks with the 1 to 9 dots. Have the children place the shamrocks in numerical order.

Shamrock Fishing Game
Tie 3 feet of string to a wooden spoon. Attach a magnet to the end of the string. Cut and laminate many different colored, and sized shamrocks from construction paper (not too big though). Attach a paper clip to each shamrock. Spread the shamrock shapes on the floor and let your child try to catch the shamrocks. Have them try to catch the red shamrock.. or the biggest shamrock. For a twist, label the shamrock with letters or numbers. Ask the children to catch a specific shamrock, or ask them which shamrock they caught.

Leprechaun Steps
Cut out footprints from green shelf liner and place them on the floor. Have the children follow the footprints around the room.

Group Time

Shamrock Seat Markers
Cut out and laminate big shamrock shapes to be used as seat markers for the children to sit on during story and circle time.

Green Song
Sung to "Bingo"
by chicky
There is a color
That I say
Represents St. Patrick's Day
G-R-E-E-N
G-R-E-E-N
G-R-E-E-N
And Green is that color

The Clover Song
Sung to "The More we Get Together"
by chicky
If I could be a clover,
A clover, a clover
If I could be a clover
I would have 4 leaves
One leaf for luck and one leaf for fun
If I could be a clover
I would have 4 leaves
One leaf for wisdom and one leaf for love
If I could be a clover
I would have 4 leaves

Where oh Where?
Sung to "Where oh Where has my Little Dog Gone?"
by chicky
Where, oh where has my pot of gold gone?
Oh Where, Oh Where could it be?
It's black and big and full of gold,
Oh Where, Oh where could it be?

My Gold Lies Under a Rainbow
Sung to "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"
by chicky
My Gold Lies Under a Rainbow
My Gold Lies Under a tree
My Gold is Under a Leprechaun
Bring back my gold to me.
Bring back, bring back
Bring back my gold to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Bring back my gold to me, to me.

Leprechaun Song
Sung to "I'm a little teapot"
by Chicky
I'm a little Leprechaun
Quick as can be
I hide my gold
Under a tree
If you see a rainbow
You may find
Where I left
My gold behind

Did you ever see a lassie?
Did you ever see a lassie, a lassie, a lassie
Did you ever see a lassie go this way and that?
Go this way and that way and this way and that way
Did you ever see a lassie go this way and that?

Who is Wearing Green Today?
Who is Wearing Green Today?
Green Today, Green Today?
Who is Wearing Green Today?
All Day Long

(Child's Name) is Wearing Green Today
Green Today, Green Today?
(Child's Name) is Wearing Green Today?
All Day Long

Leprechaun, Leprechaun Where's Your Gold?
Chanted and played like "Doggie Doggie Where's your Bone?"
by Chicky
Leprechaun, Leprechaun Where's Your Gold?
Somebody stole it, they are bold,
Under the rainbow, Behind a tree
Find your gold as quick as can be!

What time is it Mr. Leprechaun?
This is a fun game to play outside. You can change the name to suit any theme. The children all line up against a wall or fence. And one child, Mr. Leprechaun or the teacher faces away from the children, a good distance away from the children. The children yell, what time is it "Mr. Leprechaun", Mr. Leprechaun answers 1 o'clock, and the children all take one step toward Mr. Leprechaun. The children yell again, what time is it "Mr. Leprechaun", Mr. Leprechaun answers (fill in the blank) o'clock, and the children all take same number of step toward Mr. Leprechaun. This continues until all the children are very close to Mr. Leprechaun, then Mr. Leprechaun will answer it's midnight, and chases the children back to the fence or wall that they started at. The first person Mr. Leprechaun touches will be the new Mr. Leprechaun.

Leprechaun Song
by chicky-ma-ma
Sung to "Mary had a Little Lamb"
I'm a little Leprechaun
Leprechaun
Leprechaun
I'm a little Leprechaun
Who likes to hide the gold

What's under the Rainbow?
Find a very colorful sock. Place something in the sock, like a block, or a toy. Let the child feel the object and try to guess what it is.

Color Graph
Count the number of children wearing green. Record. Repeat with red, orange, yellow, blue and purple. Create a graph that represents the number of children that were wearing each color. Children could be repesented in each of the colors if they were wearing all of the colors.

Potato Fun
Let a potato sit out in the class and observe what happens.

Shamrocks
Grow shamrocks in the classroom from seeds or transplant some from outside.

Foods and Snacks

Shamrock Cookies
Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe and a shamrock shaped cookie cutter. When the cookies are cool, let the children place green icing and green sugar on top.

Irish Stew
Serve an Irish Stew for lunch.

Kool Aid
Serve green cool aid.

Green Milk
Add a drop of green food coloring to the milk and serve green milk.

St. Partick's Day Ice Cream
Add a drop of green food coloring to vanilla ice cream, or serve chocolate mint ice cream. Both are great with green sprinkles.

Green Foods
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Serve different types of green foods, such as grapes, muskmelon and kiwi. Serve in shamrock shaped dishes (optional).

Make it Green
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You can add green (or blue and yellow) food coloring to whipped cream, sprite, milk, white grape juice, cream cheese, sugar cookie dough, muffin or bread dough to add a little excitement to the St. Patrick's Day snacks.

Handprint Rainbow
Have children create a large handprint rainbow mural. Painting the children's hands will create a better print, rather than dipping.

Fingerprint Rainbow
Have each child make their own fingerprint rainbow buy creating arcs of different colors. The children can use non-toxic ink pads or paint to create the fingerprints.

Paper Maché Pot of Gold
Inflate a large balloon and tape 3 sections of an egg carton to the bottom in a triangle shape so the pot will stand on it's own. Use paper mache to cover 1/2 of the balloon and the egg carton feet. When dry, paint the paper mache black or rainbow colors. You can decorate with stickers or gold glitter as well. You can fill the pot with gold chocolate coins. When you are outside, have someone hide the chocolate coins and leave leprechan foot prints behind. Have the children search the room for the coins.

Lucky Charms
Have the children sort the Lucky Charms shapes using egg cartons, each space is for a different shape.

Play Hot Potato

Rainbow Spaghetti
Cook spaghetti noodles, drain and cool. Fill a gallon Ziplock bag one quarter of the way with water. Add food coloring to the water. Add part of cooked spaghetti and mix around in the ziplock bag until noodles change color. Drain, repeat with other colors. Place the noodles in seperate bowls.
Children can take one noodle from each color to create a rainbow on a plate for a snack.
Children can take one noodle from each color, dip it in glue and place it on a piece of paper to create a rainbow.

Colored Rice Rainbow

You'll need:
uncooked white rice
food coloring
white vinegar
non-toxic glue
cardboard or paper

Place 1/2 cup rice into a clean bowl (either glass or one that you don't care about). Add 5 drops of food coloring and 1/2 tsp. vinegar to set the color. Mix around until the rice has absorbed the color. Repeat the process with other colors. Spread rice evenly (keeping the colors seperate) onto a baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake at 200 degrees for 45 minutes, this dries the rice. After the rice has dried and cooled, place each color in a ziplock bag and seal.

Rice Play
Place the colored rice in your sand/water table. Let the childred explore the rice using measuring cups, containers, funnels, and other items.

Rice Rainbows
Have the children create a rainbow by glueing the colored rice onto paper in arc shapes. You can use a rainbow coloring page as a guide.