Guest Author - Meg Grooms

Wednesday March 17, 2004 is Saint Patrick's Day and Irish eyes around the world will be smiling. Growing up in an Irish home my siblings and I grew up with warm memories and fun traditions. We always looked for leprechauns and if you didn't wear green on the special day you were treated to a teasing punch. Stories of the Blarney were well known in my family.

Why not make this fun day into a lesson or mini-unit study?

The History of St. Patrick's Day- from the History Channel

Tons of fun crafts and snacks- for the younger kid

Story Starters
"If I had a pot of gold..."
"I ran after a sneaky leprechaun..."
"Early one morning I saw a rainbow..."
"The leprechaun left me a gift..."

Shamrock Hunt
Go for a nature walk and try to find shamrocks/clover.
Play a treasure hunt game, looking for anything green

Make a headband
Cut a piece of green construction paper into strips to fit around child's head and tape together. Cut ears from the extra paper and tape onto the side of the headband.

Lucky Leprechaun Treasure Hunt
Fill a small container or film canister with pennies, beads, small candies, or gold coins. Hide the container and leave a note from the Leprechaun to your children, providing clues as to the location of the treasure.

Make Irish Soda Bread
This easy to make bread came from the upstairs neighbor of my maternal grandmother. They lived in a very Irish neighborhood in Pittsburgh, PA.
3 1/2 C flour
1/2 C sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 C raisins
1 egg
2 T melted butter
2 1/2 C milk
Mix all ingredients together in order given. Bake 1 hour at 375.

Graph It Math!
Seperate the marshmallow pieces from a couple of cups of Lucky Charms cereal.
Record the amount of each charm and graph the results!
Make a prediction about which charm is most prevalent in the box.
Estimate the total number of charms in the box.
Estimate the charms to cereal pieces ratio.

Read and Play!
Visit Shamrock Lane for student friendly poems and games!