The Lucky Leprechaun

By Rachel H

I can hardly believe it after last week’s snow, but St. Patrick’s Day is next week. Here a few fun ideas that you can do at home to get your kids in the St. Patty’s Spirit!

How many of you used the Elf on the Shelf at Christmas this year and said, “I wish the Elf could stay around all year!” Now he can … kind of. This is an idea my friend uses in her preschool classroom, but it can be applied at home. This week, tell the children the story of the Leprechaun. He’s a make believe tiny person who searches for a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. He watches boys and girls and keeps track of their behavior. He promises a surprise on St. Patrick’s Day. If you can find a stuffed Leprechaun, that would be perfect, but they are difficult to find. A picture or print-out from the computer works just as well. The kids can even name the Leprechaun if they choose.

Each night you hide the Leprechaun, and the children have to find him in the morning, but not touch him. He can do lots of tricky things like move things around the house or hide things. The kids will love finding him and discovering what tricks he may have played on them each day.

On St. Patrick’s Day, he is at his best. While the children are sleeping, the Leprechaun really gets a little out of control. As the children wake up they notice green footprints on the floor surrounded by green glitter. This is their first clue that he has really been there. When they wake up, things are quite different than when they left. Chairs are overturned, things are on the floor, the clock is upside-down, the lights are turned out, the toilet water has turned green (food coloring), toys are missing and shiny gold coins are everywhere. Their excitement is just contagious. Enjoy the fun because on this day, the Leprechaun usually disappears until next St. Patty’s Day!

If you are a teacher and choose to do this in your classroom, my friend usually has the Leprechaun “trash the room” when they are on the playground. They come back in to find lunch boxes hidden, the green glitter trail, etc. How fun!

Another quick and easy art activity is "Pepper Shamrocks":
You will need a large bell pepper. Cut it in half and clean out the insides. Use construction paper and let the children dip the pepper half into paint and stamp three connecting pepper shapes to form a shamrock. Have them paint a stem with a small brush. You have a shamrock! They can use this to make cards, too.

One last fun activity is helping the kids “Catch a Leprechaun."
1. Cover a shoe box with aluminum foil using glue or tape to hold it in place.
2. Cut shamrocks out of felt, foam, paper, or use stickers to decorate.
3. The night before St. Patty's Day, put a stick under the box to prop it up and leave it out by your front door.
4. If a leprechaun stops by, he'll leave a surprise for you under the box! (Some green candies or a few shiny pennies.) Unfortunately the sneaky Leprechaun always seems gets away and we can’t catch him!

Enjoy the upcoming holiday and share any ideas of your own with us below!

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Posted by Triad Smarty Pants at 5:00 AM