Preschool St. Patrick’s Day Centers
St. Patrick’s Day is such a fun holiday for little ones because it’s all about magic and mischief. This is the perfect day to get right into the fun with the children!
Let’s take a look at some of the materials that I use for our St. Patrick’s day centers.
Shamrock Observations – This set is designed to help children focus on small details, which is perfect when it comes to shamrocks and finding that elusive 4-leaf clover. There are images of a variety of different shamrocks, and then zoomed in images of the same shamrocks so that children can see if they can match these. There are also two paint-chip color gradients, children can see what shades of green show up in these images. This is an easy activity to extend too – head outside and find some clovers, then use the paint-chips to do the same with your real shamrocks.
Plastic Coins – There are so many things to use these for, my favorites are simple sorting and patterning. I’ve also had children stack them (great for fine motor, and you can predict how many each child can stack), and hide them for scavenger hunts. I found these at the Dollar Tree, but here’s a similar bulk set (affiliate link).
St. Patrick’s Day Memory – Memory is a classic game for a reason. It promotes memory (obviously), spatial awareness, attention to detail, and basic matching. This is a printable set with a variety of shamrocks, because let’s face it sometimes you just need to be able to print a really easy activity. Memory is one of my favorites because children are familiar with it, so they can often use it independently.
Juggling Leprechauns Counting – How cute are these little leprechauns?! Each one has a number on it’s leg, and the set includes a sheet of gold coins that children can count to match the number. You could also put out some of those plastic coins to count with these.
St. Patrick’s Day Numbers – I just flipping love these numbers! Being able to look right at the numeral, count the objects, and match them with a 10-frame creates so many connections! You can use these with clothespins (clipping a clothespin on each shamrock) if you want to add a little fine motor work too.
Making Predictions with Leprechaun Traps – I’ll preface this one by saying that it isn’t an activity you can print and put out in your centers, this one takes a little extra planning and group discussion. The class get’s a note from a leprechaun encouraging them to try and make a trap that will catch him. Each day they follow the notes and make predictions about what will happen next. This gets them thinking about cause and effect, and using some problem solving skills. I love that it takes the leprechaun trap idea a step further and introduces the prediction piece.
Leprechaun Dress Up – Who wouldn’t want to be a leprechaun?! Chasing rainbows and searching for gold sounds like an amazing adventure, and children can use these materials to act that out. I’ve got tutus, bow ties, feather boas, fun glasses, and headbands. I’ve also included top hats, blazers and vests, and messenger bags in the past.
Shamrock Cupcake Letter Match – These cupcakes are just the cutest, and sometimes that’s all it takes to get a preschooler to practice their letter recognition skills. I’m all about using materials that will attract and engage, and cupcakes are always a good bet. Matching capital and lowercase letters can build recognition and understanding of how written language works.
Stickers – This is the easiest activity to prep, but preschoolers LOVE to have free reign with stickers, and it hits some serious fine motor skills. If you’ve ever watched a young preschooler try to peel stickers off a sheet like this, you can see the concentration, care, and effort that goes into it. Encouraging children to practice these skills will support the same care and effort in future writing, while also building those finger muscles. This set is kid-friendly and school-appropriate, and so are these! (affiliate links)
St. Patrick’s Figurines – These were a dollar spot find that have been popular with my littles year after year for storytelling. They can be used with block towns, or to act out St. Patrick’s day books. Here’s a cute set of similar gnomes, and if figurines aren’t available I’ve also used felt shapes (this set is amazing!) and even copied book pages and cut out the paper characters. (all links are affiliates)
St. Patrick’s Day Alphabet Book – If you really want to get into the holiday and explore Irish heritage a little more then this book is perfect. In an effort to find words for each letter of the alphabet, I’ve included a number of Irish town names, along with vocabulary that might not be as common for preschoolers, like emerald, jig, and bagpipes. These alphabet books are really effective at helping children listen to letter sounds using new words – giving them the opportunity to really apply their understanding of these sounds.
Sticky notes and green writing utensils – I seem to have an unusually large collection of green sticky notes, is that just me? I don’t know what it is about tiny little pieces of paper, but these are like magnets for preschoolers. Putting out sticky notes is a surefire way to get them writing and drawing (and then decorating the classroom with their work). These can also support storytelling if you encourage children to draw or write one piece of the story on each sticky note, and then posting them all like a comic strip or story board. I’ve included some green pens and green and gold pencils to go with the theme. Here are some solid green square sticky notes, and some larger lined rectangular sticky notes (affiliate links). I really like to ask for donations from parents too, because that can give you a great variety for children to choose from.
Leprechaun mini books – I used my Leprechaun Story Starters for these. Instead of printing the full pages, I changed the printer settings to print 4 pages on one page, giving me smaller images of each page. Then I cut the pages out and stapled them into books. This means each child can create and illustrate their own leprechaun book.
St. Patrick’s Day Vocabulary Cards – These are a staple on my writing centers. I love that they help children write independently, and that children have an opportunity to create their own sets. Since I use these so often, children regularly build a large collection of their own vocabulary cards that they can use in the classroom or take home and use there.
Cozy space – I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have a ton of St. Patrick’s Day books, but there are still so many things that children can use this cozy space for. Most importantly, it’s inviting and homey – that’s something that I’m always trying to build into the classroom.
When it comes to St. Patrick’s day, anything green goes – but don’t forget about the gold too! Throwing in those little gold touches makes everything more magical.
