St. Patrick’s Day isn’t too far away now! Here are some activity ideas you could use with your class. I hope one of these will inspire you to celebrate Ireland’s national holiday!
All About St. Patrick’s Day
This Powerpoint from Twinkl gives a very brief overview of St. Patrick’s Day. Just as a head’s up, the Powerpoint mentions the story of St. Patrick and how he brought Christianity to Ireland so if your school does not want any mention of religion, make sure to take a look and see what you can and can’t use.
Read Aloud for St. Patrick’s Day
The Very Naughty Leprechaun is a story for the class to listen to and it has some nice rhymes throughout.
St. Patrick’s Day Leprechaun Trap Activity
This was a very popular activity which links in perfectly with The Very Naughty Leprechaun. It ended up becoming a whole school activity for a few years. Due to COVID, timetabling, etc. students normally partially did this at home. A lot of parents enjoyed it and got involved.
That said, it could still be done in school however it can take a bit of time for the younger ones in particular to get going. We scaffolded it by putting in a planning activity the day before. This gave students and parents an opportunity to bring in household materials (shoe boxes, tin foil, scrap paper, large water bottles, empty toilet paper roll, popsicle sticks, etc.). Coffee Fueled Classroom has some very nice resources which might save you some prep time and give you some inspiration. Click here to view her TPT store.
Furthermore, we also came up with stories to talk about how to catch leprechauns using the traps made to extend the learning even further.
St. Patrick’s Day Slime
I did this activity with a 5th Grade class a few years ago and they absolutely loved it. I used this Powerpoint from Twinkl and the slime lasted for a few days. My students did say if they did it again, they would add more food colouring to make the slime even greener!
Comprehension Activities
We taught The Very Naughty Leprechaun during COVID as an online lesson (suitable for KS1/Grade 1 and 2) but obviously it can be done in person, too. Lucy and the Leprechaun is another comprehension you can use which would be more suitable KS2/Grades 3, 4, and 5. Head’s up for any readers outside of Ireland, Gorm-Glas means Blue-Green in Irish!
Colouring and Decorations
Colouring is always nice for morning work, choice time, indoor recess, decorations, etc. Check out these St. Patrick’s Day Mindfulness Colouring Pages, St. Patrick’s Day Stained Glass Window Colour by Number and St. Patrick’s Day Greeting Cards. In China, the students all find green hats hilarious because if you wear one it means your partner is cheating on you! Personally, I’m a big fan of these St. Patrick’s Day Badges because they take me right back to childhood.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
The parade is a massive part of the day. If you have permission, organising a parade at school could be a fun opportunity for your class to dress up in costumes, perform and walk along a parade route. A few years ago we organised one and every class designed different banners, performed, etc. One of my students gave me face paint which ended up being so strong I had an orange face for a few days. The joys of the job!
St. Patrick’s Day Brain Breaks
Leprechaun Jump Battle and Can You Find the Leprechaun? are two which will certainly keep your kids moving. I haven’t had any luck finding any which have shamrocks (Ireland’s national symbol) which I would personally prefer to use instead of clovers. If you find any, please share it in the comments below!
Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Duit! Wondering what that means? In Ireland, we have two official languages: Irish and English. This video will give you a few phrases for St. Patrick’s Day.
Take care and enjoy your St. Patrick’s Day celebration if you decide to do one!
