St. Patrick’s Day is finally here and this year we are all free again and back to parades and parties! We all know this is the holiday which honors the patron saint of Ireland. As time passed, the holiday has grown into a beautiful celebration of Irish culture, history and people. On March 17th, it’s common for people to wear green and take part in various St. Patrick’s Day games or DIY some festive crafts. Whether you celebrate by attending a Mass or going to a parade, here are some fun activities you can do in your classroom in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.
Learn the History Behind St. Patrick’s Day
Nothing like starting with the question your preschoolers might ask: why do we celebrate this day?
Understanding where the celebration comes from and how it started, is also exploring the foundations of the history and culture in which we belong. We need to start by getting to know our culture and society to get to know ourselves better!
How about a book to induce the dialogue between the children we have in our classroom. I suggest Hooray for St. Patrick’s Day by Joan Holub and Paul Meisel. This lift-the-flap book with cute illustrations and simple text is a perfect introduction to St. Patrick’s Day for young readers.
For older children we can open up the dialogue with other issues:
– do you celebrate this day at home?
– what do you do as a family to celebrate it?
Plan a Costume Parade
Get the children excited about building masks and organizing the parade with their costumes! There is nothing more fun than doing a parade around the school.
So here’s a list of tasks you can do:
- Decide with the children what masks and props they want to build. What materials they need to gather. Will they be made entirely by the children? Will they have a predefined base? I can give you a little extra help with this task. See the mask suggestions you can print HERE.
- Start building! During some weeks you can set times to accompany the children in this creative task.
- Schedule the day of the parade. At this stage you can share with other school classes and families! Schedule the event through our calendar. See how here.
- On the day of the parade don’t forget to have fun and record EVERYTHING.
ChildDiary tip:
Use the calendar to let all parents know the parade´s date and time. They’ll be notified on their ChildDiary app and no one will forget the costumes at home! Also, don´t forget to share videos and pictures with parents on ChildDiary app.
Play Some Bingo
Get the children together in small groups and organize a Bingo tournament. But with a special bingo, the St. Patrick’s Day Bingo that we have made available for printing. Download HERE
This ageless game allows children to develop some learning, such as:
- Become familiar with and associate symbols (pictures, numbers, letters, and words) with the things they represent
- Understand and take part in routines, customs, festivals, and celebrations
ChildDiary tip:
Use our app´s observations template which allows educators to register this kind of activity with Aistear and Síolta . Go paperless and impress inspectors with our curriculum tools!
Plan a Scavenger Hunt
This one really needs to get the kids outside!
Gather or build some of the elements that symbolize this celebration and hide them outside in the garden. Next to each hidden symbol add a clue to the location of the next one.
Happy hunting!
Plant Shamrocks
Let’s bring the garden into the room!
You will need the following materials:
– Shamrocks seeds
– Cotton wool or soil
– Sprinkler
– Transparent glass
Step 1 – Place the cotton wool in the base of the cup
Step 2 – Insert the seeds on top of the cotton and make sure they stay on top
Step 3 – Spray the cotton every time it is dry
Step 4 – Find a place with light to place the cups
Step 5 – Wait and observe
No matter what you do this St Patrick, don´t forget to have fun with your children and let them play and get back this Irish tradition to our lives, free again!
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