It all started with a glittery, green path outside the front door of our classroom, left by–who else?–leprechauns! Just that little infusion of imagination and magic, and the kids turned our St. Patrick’s Day activities into a whirlwind of fun!
Children got right to work collecting treasure the leprechauns left in our sensory table.
Some of the treasure found its way into other curious hiding places…like the playdough!
Next, children fashioned leprechaun houses out of cardboard boxes, styrofoam trays, egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, & tissue paper.
And the crucial finishing touch to every leprechaun house was, of course…GLITTER!!!
(Check out the blur of those little hands vigorously shaking out the glitter!)
Children were quite thoughtful and intentional in their leprechaun house design, making sure there were soft places for the leprechauns to sleep and shiny things to lure them home. Aren’t they inviting little houses?
Next, children set to work finding any other treasure those sneaky leprechauns might have hidden around the classroom.
In the 3 day class, some children decided to draw maps that would lead to the treasure.
In the 2 day class, a rollicking treasure hunt ensued, with the aid of special leprechaun-spying glasses! Children gathered (and hid and gathered and hid again) a sack full of leprechaun treasure!
For a special cooking project, our 3 day class made Dutch babies! The leprechauns got the last laugh, though: when we pulled the beautifully puffed Dutch babies out of the oven, they were green!! The kids didn’t seem to mind too much…
I’d like to end this post with some of the children’s words, in response to the question:
How do you catch a leprechaun?
“We make a cage attached to a rope attached to a tree. When the leprechaun goes under it, it falls on him. He gets captured. I would take all his money.”
“Get a leprechaun house and make a treasure map for him. He goes to his house at night time. Then you catch him.”
“A cup is hanging on a string and it falls on him when he steps on a clear button. It traps him.”
“You catch him with a big net. You bake him and eat him.”
“You tiptoe up to him and then you sneak up to him. Then you catch him, but quietly. You keep him in your house in a bird cage so he can fly around. Then I let him go.”
Thanks for all of the creative commentary for the photos, it is as though you are doing all of our work for us, trying to remember and capture the memories of our childrens preschool days!!!!1