St. Patrick’s Day
Supplies: Popsicle sticks, markers, cotton balls, glue, Popsicle stick puzzles (rainbow, leprechaun, and pot of gold), treasure with coins, clues hidden in the forest, 5 paper shamrocks.
Welcome to nature school today!! We are going to have so much fun!
Let’s sing our welcome song to everyone-
Our letter of the day is “S” for St. Patrick’s Day, which is this week.
Game:
Let’s play a game called “Hiding the Shamrock”. I’m going to call on a child to be it. He or she will hide the shamrock while the rest of us close our eyes. When the child is done, I’ll say “shamrock” and everyone tries to find it. If you find it, you get to be the next to hide it and so on.
Hike:
Leprechaun treasure hunt:
Today I have a very special adventure for you. First, I have to tell you a little bit about leprechauns. Does anyone know what a leprechaun is? Leprechauns are little Irish fairies that look like little old men. They wear a red or green coat and they enjoy being a little bit mischievous. Leprechauns spend all their time busily making shoes, and store away all their coins in a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If ever captured by a human, the leprechaun has the magical power to grant three wishes and they will tell you where their treasure of gold is, in exchange for their release.
Well, I was lucky enough to catch a leprechaun and talk to him. He told me that his treasure was hidden here in this forest! He gave me some clues. So we are going to work together to find his treasure today! We will all share the treasure once we find it. It won’t be easy. We will have to search deep in the forest to find it. Are you ready?
Clue #1:
Cross a bridge
Over the creek
On the other side
A clue you will seek
Clue #2
Use your legs
To climb up the hill
You’ll have to work hard
To find a clue still
Clue #3
Left or right
Which way to go?
Head uphill
where the tall trees grow
Clue #4
Here is a place
where the path splits in two
Look for my footprint
of a leprechaun shoe
Clue #5
You are getting closer
You are almost there
If you go downhill
You’ll not find it anywhere
Clue #6
Look near a tree
Around at the ground
Near the base of its trunk
My treasure will be found
Song:
FIVE LITTLE SHAMROCKS
Place 5 paper shamrocks on the felt board or on the floor.
5 little shamrocks growing outside my door,
(child's name) picked one, and then there were 4.
4 little shamrocks, green as green could be,
(child's name) picked one, and then there were 3.
3 little shamrocks, sitting by my shoe,
(child's name) picked one, and then there were 2.
2 little shamrocks, enjoying the sun,
(child's name) picked one and that left 1.
1 little shamrock for Saint Patrick's Day fun,
(child's name) picked it, and that left none.
(Author unknown)
Group activity/problem solving
Popsicle Stick Puzzles:
Make up three of four Popsicle stick puzzles ahead of time. I made one with a leprechaun, a pot of gold, and a rainbow. Ask the children to split into groups of three or four and solve the puzzles as they work as a team. Then have the groups swap puzzles, until the children have has the chance to do every puzzle.
Game:
Who’s Sitting on Gold…
A gold coin- chocolate foil covered, plastic, or a quarter wrapped in foil. Have the children sit on the ground in a circle or line. One child is designated as the leprechaun. Ask him/her to sit with back facing the children and gold coin sitting on the ground behind him/her. Signal for one child to run and pick up the gold coin and sit on it. Then have the children say:
“Leprechaun, leprechaun where is your gold.
Someone stole it from your home”
The leprechaun has three guess to reveal the child. The child who stole the gold than becomes the leprechaun.
Craft:
Popsicle stick rainbows. Give each child a popsicle stick and markers. Let them color a rainbow on it, you can tell the the color order or just let them be creative. I made an example ahead of time but I’ll encourage them to color theirs whatever way they would like. At the end of each popsicle stick, glue on two cotton balls.
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