Leprechaun Mischief in the Classroom

St. Patrick’s day is one of those holidays that seems to sneak up on me. After the crazy that is all of February’s holidays, I tend to find myself a little unprepared for this one – have you ever tried to find rainbow colored snacks at 10pm the night before St. Patrick’s day, or is that just me? This usually means that some traditions related to this particular day get pushed aside. For me, that’s typically the mischief and shenanigans that the Leprechauns cause. This can be so much fun for the kids, though so finding ways to incorporate it can make the day even more magical.

I try to find the middle ground – funny little pranks that don’t cause any actual chaos or extra messes for me to clean up. One time I did go all in and mess up my room, that ended up being the day that child care licensing showed up for our annual visit and my room was a disaster! After that I’ve kept it a little more low-key. Here are some of the favorite ideas that the children have really loved over the years.

• Green dye in the toilets
• Little treats in a bowl or basket
• Chocolate coins hidden around the room
• Green streamers strung across the room
• A path made of gold glitter
• Fruit Loop necklaces on the coat hooks
• Dry erase marker footprints on the table
• Shamrock confetti all over
• Leprechaun jokes written on shamrocks and left around the room
• Green lightbulbs in the light fixtures
• Pieces of leprechaun costumes strewn around the room
• Leaving temporary tattoos for the children

My plan for this year is to leave a trail of green or rainbow ribbon coming from the leprechaun traps, with a note from the leprechaun on the end. I’m also hoping to do a gold coin scavenger hunt, but those chocolate coins have been harder to find this year! Another gold-wrapped candy like Rolos or Werthers might work instead.