St. Patrick's Day Preschool Theme Activities
Learn More About Our Online Classes
Celebrate Saint Patrick's Day with these fun preschool ideas. Before kids come in, sprinkle glitter around room, turn chairs upside down and hide gold coins. Tell the children that a leprechaun visited and let them find the coins. You can also check out our Celebrate Green and Rainbow preschool themes.
St. Patrick's Day Songs and Fingerplays
Leprechauns Are Dancing (Tune: Sing a Song of Sixpence)
Leprechauns are dancing,
How they love to play.
Running in the fields and
Playing tricks all day!
you will never catch one,
No matter what you do.
hey sing and dance and play their games,
And run away from you!
Happy St. Patrick's Day (Tune: I'm a Little Teapot)
I'm a little leprechaun
Dressed in green,
The tiniest man
That you have ever seen.
If you ever catch me, so it's told,
I'll give you my pot of gold.
Five Green Shamrocks
1 green shamrock, in the morning dew,
Another one sprouted, and then there were two.
2 green shamrocks, growing beneath a tree;
Another one sprouted and then there were three.
3 green shamrocks, by the cottage door;
Another one sprouted, and then there were four.
4 green shamrocks, near a beehive
Another one sprouted, and then there were five.
5 little shamrocks, bright and emerald green,
Think of all the luck these shamrocks will bring.
St. Patrick's Day Art Activities
Green Glitter Painting
Add glitter to green fingerpaint. When children are done fingerpainting, cut paper in the shape of a shamrock.
Shamrock Collage
Give each child a shamrock cut-out and provide a variety of different green materials (pom-poms, buttons, tissue paper, feathers, felt pieces, etc.) and allow children to make a textured collage.
St. Patrick's Day Math and Science
Lucky Charms Math
Graph Lucky Charms Cereal using this template.
Shamrock Seriation
Get foam cut-outs for shamrocks in different sizes. Have children line them up from smallest to biggest, or allow them to sort the shamrock by size.
Potato Person
Cut a good size raw potato in half, scoop out the potato flesh, fill with soil and sprinkle with grass seed. Place the potato in a small margarine container to stand upright and decorate the front of the potato with eyes, nose and a mouth...when the grass sprouts it will look like a silly leprechaun.
St. Patrick's Day Movement Activities
Irish Jig
Play Irish music and teach children how to do an Irish Jig.
Find the Coin
Select a child to be a leprechaun. Then have all the players sit in a circle with the leprechaun standing in the middle with his eyes covered. Give one child a coin, making the leprechaun is not looking. Play music and have the children pass the coin around until the music stops. The leprechaun opens his eyes and tries to guess who has the coin.
St. Patrick's Day Snacks
Magic Leprechaun Drink
Mix a package of lemonade, add yellow food coloring to make the color brighter. Add a drop of blue food coloring to each child's clear cup, then pour in the lemonade. It will magically turn green!
Leprechaun Dust
Empty a box of lime Jell-O into an empty salt shaker. Cover the shaker with green paper and label it "Leprechaun Dust". Give each child apple slices, making sure they have a little moisture or water on them. Let children sprinkle leprechaun dust on their apples. As soon as the Jell-O hits the apple, it will turn green.