Program: St. Patrick’s Day

Come share the luck o’ the Irish as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (or Lá Fhéile Pádraig). We will play games, make crafts, have snacks, and learn some Irish words.

March 11, 2009 from 4-5 p.m.

Grades: K-5

Snacks: Green kool-aid (leprechaun juice, of course)

Prizes: Shamrock pencils and notepads

Crafts

Leprechaun Hats

Materials: Green bowls (plastic or paper), yarn (green, white, or yellow), glitter, stickers, glue, hole-punch, scissors, feathers or other decorations

Prep: Hole-punch (two holes, on opposite sides of bowl rim) bowls. Tie a piece of yarn to each side.

Kids: Decorate bowls with glitter, feather or pom-pom, and stickers. Tie yarn under chin. Hat!

Windsock

Materials: Cardstock in a variety of colors, streamers, yarn, markers, glue, stapler, tape, hole-punch, stickers or other decorations

Prep: Cut streamers (6 per child) about the same length. Cut pieces of yarn (1 per child) long enough to tie to windsock and attach to something.

Kids: Pick paper, decorate (horizontally). Glue, tape, or staple streamers to bottom of paper. Glue, tape, or staple short sides of paper together. Punch two holes, one on each side of the windsock. Tie yarn through the holes. Windsock!

Activities

Coin Search

Hide a bunch of coins around the room. Line up the kids and then send them off to find the coins. Keep some coins to hand out to good sports (to discourage pushing, shoving, etc.). Winner gets a prize.

Language learning/Leprechaun juice

Teach the kids how to say “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” in Irish. Teach them how to say “Cheers”, then pass out leprechaun juice in pairs. Make each pair say “Slainte” to each other. Post-juice, anyone who remembers how to say “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” (or almost) wins a prize. Then everybody gets a lollipop.

Books!

Remind them about the St. Patrick’s Day display and our many books about St. Pat’s, Ireland, and leprechauns.