Giving students a hands on lesson is probably the most beneficial way they can learn because it creates an experience for them that they will remember. Combine a hands on lesson with a holiday and the excitement and enthusiasm is at an all time high! St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate.. both in my classroom and personal life. I’ve created a TpT resource with multiple hands on activities to do in your classroom for St. Patrick’s Day.. starting off with a Poem from Lucky the Leprechaun himself. Click here to check out my St. Patrick’s Day resource.
Inside the Resource
Growing Shamrocks
To begin our St. Patrick’s Day celebration, students plant shamrocks in little pots of gold. We do this a few weeks before the actual day so we can take our plants home on the 17th. I order the plants and pots from Amazon. After a few days, students begin to see progress on their lucky plants and we write and draw what we observe.
Leprechaun Traps
Another tradition in my classroom is building leprechaun traps. I start this activity off with a poem from Lucky the Leprechaun. (Click here to get the poem for free.) Students love creating leprechaun traps and setting them out on the 16th. When they come to school the next day, we find destruction in our classroom, yet no caught leprechauns.. the leprechauns are usually kind enough to leave gold coins or Carmel candies in each of the traps though! To prepare for this activity, students brainstorm how they’d like to create their trap and draw a blueprint. Then they create a list of what materials they’ll need. The lists of materials that the students write help me get parent volunteers to donate the needed materials so my kinders can best create their visioned trap.
How to Catch a Leprechaun Writing
Then I have students write about how they plan to catch a leprechaun with their trap. After students see if they caught a leprechaun, they reflect through a writing prompt. I love finding ways to incorporate cross-curricular lessons while having fun and celebrating a holiday. Click here to check out this resource!
I’d love to hear what kinds of activities you do in your classroom for St. Patrick’s Day. Leave a comment below!
