Thursday, March 9, 2023

How Do You Amuse the Kids on St. Patrick's Day?



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: