I always make the classroom a disarray as if a leprechaun visited our room (even in 5th grade they get a kick out of it). I sprinkle their desks with gold glitter, use green paint and create leprechaun foot prints around the room and hide gold coins. Students who find a gold coin are instructed by a letter that has been left by the leprechaun to trade it in with me for class cash. I also have Lucky Clover Certificates (FREE download in my TpT store) that I hide throughout the classroom as well. If students find one of those, they receive a fun St. Patrick's Day pencil or eraser.
In addition to those extra fun things, I also try to tie the holiday into my other subjects. In Religion we always discuss why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day and I show them a quick video from YouTube that talks about the history of St. Patrick's Day. It's interesting and under three minutes. We also discuss the metaphor that St. Patrick drove "out the snakes" in Ireland and how we think that really relates to our religion.
In math class, we typically do our usual math lesson but I also give the students my Shamrock Decimal worksheet which can also be found in my TpT store for FREE. In art class, I love to have my students create a leprechaun of their own for a fun arts and craft project. I found this one here that I really like and they always turn out super cute! She includes all the directions needed to create it and the pattern pieces. 
The project that my students usually enjoy most of all on St. Patrick's Day is our Science Lab that we do. Students create a Silly Putty like substance. I start by putting my kids into groups of 4 and we cover their desks with paper (green of course!). I hand out all the supplies but I do not tell the kids what substances they are working with. Instead they need to use their senses of smell, touch and sight to determine what each ingredient is. As they complete the lab, they work on a three page handout that I give them that correlates with what they are doing. Students love this project and are even more excited when they find out they get to take it home. You can download my St. Patrick's Day Science packet for FREE at my TpT store.
I only ask that if you use any of my FREE St. Patrick's Day products that you leave me feedback. You can see them all here: St. Patrick's Day products
Do you do anything special with your students for St. Patrick's Day? Share below.
Hi~I'm hopping around and connecting with everyone on The Great State Project list so we can all get to know each other. I'm Brandee and I'm the SC girl on the project. your blog is precious. It's nice to meet ya!
ReplyDeleteBrandee @ Creating Lifelong Learners