Calling all teachers and parents:
Lads and lassies, get ready to celebrate a “wee-bit of fun” this March 17th on St. Patrick’s Day.
Doing the shamrock stomp: (baby & toddler)
Put on some music (like an Irish jig or McNamara’s Band) and
invite your child to dance along with you. For young babies, hold them in your arms while you
dance. Encourage him to come up
with a variety of ways to move to the music. To do the “Shamrock Stomp”, cut out large shamrock shapes
from green construction paper.
Tape these to the floor.
Start the music and have your child move and jump from shamrock to
shamrock. This is a fun way for
your youngster to express himself on St. Patrick’s Day and great for practicing
large motor skills. Masking tape
on the floor can be another entertaining movement game. Stick the tape on the floor to make a
design, such as a zigzag, a circle, triangle or a star. Let your child move along, over and
around the lines as they please.
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How about the shamrock shimmy? (preschool+)
Here’s a fun locomotion game to play with your child. It’s even better if you can gather
other family members or friends.
Cut several small shamrocks from green construction paper. Write instructions on the one side
like: hop like a bunny, gallop
like a horse, crawl like a snake, walk like an elephant, whistle like a leprechaun, skip, walk backwards,
etc. Place these instructional
shamrocks in a container on the other side of the room. Play this like a relay race, as the
first person runs to the pile, takes a shamrock and does what it says while
returning to his/her team, then sits down. Station an adult to help read the
instructions. The next team member
proceeds the same way until everyone has a turn. Another fun St. Paddy game is “Irish Hot Potato.” Sit all players in a circle. Hand one child a potato. Explain that when the music begins, they
will pass the potato to the person on their right. When the music stops whoever’s holding the potato scoots out
of the circle and playing resumes. Who will end up in the circle alone with the
potato? Play some Celtic or Irish Jig music to get into the spirit, although
any music will do.
Cover photo courtesy of Tumisu, CC0 Public Domain, pixabay.com
Quick shopping for materials you will need for these activities:
