March is filled with all things spring, rainbows, insects, and our favorite little green guys, leprechauns. March can be a tough month, and it’s not quite warm enough to fully enjoy spring, and students are starting to get a bit stir-crazy. Luckily, St. Patrick’s Day falls right in the middle, and it’s a fun holiday to celebrate in elementary classrooms. Plus, it’s a great time to introduce a bit of history and a cultural lesson. And, there are some really fun activities you can do to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!
St. Patrick’s Day Activities
Below is a list of some of my favorite activities to incorporate throughout the month to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with my first-graders.
Leprechaun Writing Activity
What better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than to become a leprechaun. A writing activity that allows your students to get creative and silly while coming up with all the tricks they would pull if they were a leprechaun, this activity includes a topper that they can color as well. My students always love turning this into a sharing activity because they come up with the name and traits of their leprechaun. It is an entertaining activity to celebrate the holiday, and you can display them around the classroom, too!
I Got the Gold
We all know leprechauns are notorious for having all the gold. But, how did they get it? Another one of my favorite activities that requires my first-graders to get creative in developing and executing a plan. Another fun and simple writing activity for St. Patrick’s Day!
Mystery Pictures
I love having easy no-prep materials for the holidays that I can pull out for either quick fillers or early finisher activities. Mystery pictures are definitely a favorite in my classroom because they involve coloring, obviously always a hit! But, they are also an excellent activity for spiral review- yay!
Build a Trap
Is it even St. Patrick’s Day if you don’t build a leprechaun trap? Honestly, though, this is one of my favorite things about the holiday. It’s super fun and such a great STEM activity. You can either do this in groups, individuals, or partner projects. We usually set it up over a few days so that my students can sit down to develop a plan and then begin to build their traps. It is seriously so fun to watch these traps come to life. And, then the night before St. Patrick’s Day, I always add the little green footprints and leave gold chocolate coins.
Minute to Win-It
Holidays are the best time to include some minute to win-it games, and it’s a great way to celebrate the holiday while doing some friendly competition. Students compete individually, in pairs, or larger groups. Some of my favorite games to include are:
- Fruit Loop sort, students are given a cup of fruit loops and have to sort
- Thread Fruit Loops, each student gets Fruit Loops and a pipe cleaner. They have one minute to thread as many as they can. The winner is whoever has the most.
- Skittle Scoop: Students are given a pile of Skittles, a cup, and a spoon. Using no hands, they have to scoop the Skittles into the cup.
- Skittles Sort: Choose a designated color and give students chopsticks. They have one minute to pick up the chosen color and place the Skittles into a cup. This is definitely a great fine-motor activity. Chopsticks can be tough to use!
- Penny Stack: Students have one minute to create the highest tower of pennies.
The best part about St. Patrick’s Day is that there are so many themed foods. Fruit Loops, Skittles, and Lucky Charms, can all be easily incorporated into the classroom for activities and games!
Snacks
Making snacks can be tough with students due to rules, regulations, and allergies, but if your school allows it, you can make some easy and fun snacks for a special treat. Rainbow sticks are simply marshmallows and fruit-loops, for a quick no-bake option. Or, you can make a leprechaun snack mix with Lucky Charms, pretzels, chocolates, and mini-marshmallows.
History Lesson
St. Patrick’s day is full of clovers, rainbows, and leprechauns but let’s not forget to remember the history behind the holiday. This is a great time to research the history behind the holiday. I always make sure to include books, passages, and resources to help my students learn more about St. Patrick’s Day and the traditions of Ireland. Use this opportunity to grab some books from the library.
And, Books!
Is any holiday complete with read-alouds? I have included a few of my favorite books to read throughout the week of St. Patrick’s Day. These are fun, silly, and even historical books to read with your elementary students.
Pete The Cat: The Great Leprechaun Chase
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover!
Escape Room
I’ve created an escape room for literacy and math and it’s a fabulous way to add excitement to your primary classroom.
Students are given a challenge to find the leprechaun’s treasure by collecting shamrocks. Once they collect all 4 shamrocks, they get the leprechaun’s treasure.
They must read about St. Patrick’s Day and complete a comprehension activity. Next, they have to complete a writing activity.
Then, students have a money game and activity to do followed by fraction activities and a game.
Students love Escape Rooms and so do I. Check it out in my Tpt shop or my blog shop.
St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate in the classroom because it’s fun, and my students always enjoy all the different activities and games that we play. March can be a tough month in the classroom but incorporating some of these ideas definitely adds some excitement into the month. Let me know your favorite St. Patrick’s Day activity in the comments below.
