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Leprechaun Heads


(Photo submitted by Shell)
  

Green Collage

Allow the children to make a
 green collage by cutting or
 tearing things out of catalogs
 and magazines that are green.
  Also use bits of ribbon and fabric.

  


  

Tissue Paper
Shamrock


(Photo submitted by Shell)

   

  

Hearty Shamrock

Cut three hearts from green construction paper. Form shamrock
 by gluing points of hearts together
 on a piece of paper. Draw stem.

  

   

Cute Lil'
Leprechauns


(Photo submitted by Shell)

   

    

Leprechaun
Forest

Have the children paint a forest
 for the leprechauns to live in.
  You may have to outline the trees
 for some of the younger children.

  

   

Shamrock Over
the Rainbow


(Photo submitted by Jaimie)

  
  

   

Pistachio Pudding
Finger Paint

Mix instant pistachio pudding
 according to the directions and
paint on wax paper. Great for
children who like to eat their art.

 


 

FEATURED PROJECTS
FROM:

Maureen at...

Strong Start

Rainbow
Sponge Painting



(Photo submitted by Maureen W.)

 

Clothes Pin
Leprechauns


(Photo submitted by Maureen W.)

    Check out Maureen's blog HERE
 for more info on these two projects
 and for some more great ideas.
  

 

Fruit Loop
Place Mat

Glue fruit loop cereal
onto a rainbow placemat.

 

         

Tissue Paper
Rainbow


(Photo from Oriental Trading)

 

   

Texture
Shamrocks

Have the children use green
 fingerpaint that has been mixed
 with grits (to give it a texture)
 to cover a shamrock shape.
(Or any other St. Patty's Day
shape you might like to use --
-or have a variety for the children
 to choose from) This gives
 these a very different feel.

   

   

Tissue Paper
Shamrock


(Photo from Oriental Trading)
   
   

 

Simple Tissue
Paper Shamrock

Have the children cover 3 large
 circles with bright green tissue
 paper or bits of paper and place
 them together on a green
 stem to make a shamrock.

 

  

  

 

Clover Wreath

I also make a clover wreath.
 I take a paper plate and cut
 out the inside, have the children
 paint it. Once dry we glue on
 the clovers that I cut out and
 some years they have colored,
 some years they have
painted and put glitter on.

  

   

Shamrock Collage

Provide green items for
collage materials and have
 children collage onto a
 shamrock shaped paper.

 

 

Green Pepper
Shamrock Prints

Cut a green pepper crosswise
 and make pepper prints,
look like shamrocks.

 

 

 

St. Patrick's Day Arts & Crafts Ideas

 

 

Leprechaun Footprint Card


(Photo submitted by Shell)

Let the children dip one foot in green paint to make a footprint onto white construction
 paper. Let dry.  Then give the children a leprechaun head cutout to attach to the heel of
 their foot painting.  Glue this and a pot of gold cutout or a rainbow onto a green piece of
construction paper to create the card.  The leprechaun and pot of gold  cutouts can be
 found on the St. Patrick's Day printable pages.... HERE.

 

Green Paint

Let the children paint with different shades of green paint.

    

Blarney Stones

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in a fun, easy, & inexpensive way. Have the kids gather
 smooth rocks from outside. Wash and dry the rocks, then use a paintbrush to cover
 rocks with white glue. Dip each of them in green or gold glitter and let dry. You now have
 Blarney Stones for good luck! The kids just love the sparkle---& the fact that they made them!

 

Leprechaun Wind Dancers

Have each child glue a black construction paper band to a green leprechaun hat cutout.
  Then have him/her glue a yellow shamrock cutout to the band and print his/her name
 on the hat's brim.  Give him/her six crepe paper streamer lengths - one in each color
 of the rainbow - to glue to the back of the hat cutout.

 

Blend A Rainbow

Drop spoonfuls of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple fingerpaint onto a large
 sheet of white paper.  Be sure the drops of paint are in a line and close together.  Cover
 the paint drops with a large sheet of waxed paper; then press and rub the paint so that
 the drops blend into one another.  When the paint is dry, peel
 away the waxed paper and then cut out the rainbow.

    

Pot Of Gold

Materials Needed:
8-10 iridescent yellow pom poms
yellow curling ribbon
green tissue paper
small baby food jar
white craft glue
water
scissors
paint brush or sponge applicator
M&M's, Skittles or other colorful small candies (optional)

Directions:
Thoroughly wash and dry small baby food jar and lid. Mix 4 tablespoons of white
 craft glue with enough water to bring it to painting consistency. Have children
 cut tissue paper into squares. Starting with small sections, apply glue mixture
 with paint brush or sponge applicator to jar. Stick tissue paper onto glue
mixture and continue all the way around the jar. Apply glue mixture over the top
 of tissue paper layer. Apply a second layer of tissue paper, allow to dry completely.

While jar is drying, apply glue around the outer edge of the jar lid. Adhere the ribbon
 around the lid lip and tie in a knot. Curl the ribbon by sliding the flat edge of the blade
 from a pair of scissors along the ribbon. Glue pom poms to the top of the lid and allow to dry.

When jar and lid are completely dry, fill jar with colored candies and give to the lucky
 recipient! Attach a cute note such as "Kiss me. I'm Irish!" or "A Lucky Pot of Gold for You!".

 

Marble Paint Green


(Photo submitted by Shell)

Place a shamrock cutout in a shallow box. Place a dab of white, green,
 and yellow paint inside the box.  Let the children drop in 3 marbles and roll the marbles
 around in the box by holding the box sides with both hands. Remove the shamrock cutout and let dry.

  

Leprechaun Puppet

Find a St. Patrick's Day greeting card that has a picture of a leprechaun
 on the front. Cut out the leprechaun picture and let your child decorate
 it by gluing on gold glitter. Tape a plastic straw to the back of the picture for a puppet
 handle. Then encourage your child to use his puppet for telling leprechaun stories

  

Leprechaun Puzzle

Draw a leprechaun pot on green construction paper. Cut pot into 4 pieces.
Have child(ren) put back together like a puzzle. Can be pasted to another
piece of paper also, then glue "gold" to top of pot. (can be coins cut from
gold paper, gold glitter glued to top, a rainbow, etc.)

     

Shamrock Puzzle

Cut a giant shamrock shape out of poster board.  Then cut the shape into puzzle pieces,
 one piece for each child. Mark the back of each puzzle piece with a felt tip marker.
  Set out small squares of green construction paper or tissue paper, glue and cotton swabs.
 Give each child a puzzle piece.  Have the children use the cotton swabs to spread glue
 all over the unmarked sides of their puzzle pieces. Then have them cover the glue with
 the green paper squares to create mosaic designs.  After the glue has dried,
 put the shamrock puzzle together on a wall or bulletin board.

  

Shamrock Necklace

Each of your little artists can use this shamrock necklace project as
 an outlet for creative self- expression. To make a necklace, decorate a
 shamrock-shaped cutout with glue, glitter, sequins, colored rice, or any
 other art materials that you have on hand. If desired, cover the shamrock
 with Con-Tact covering and punch a hole near the top. Through the hole,
 thread a green ribbon or yarn, length, and tie the ends. You can also add pcs.
 of green straw to the necklace.

 

Rainbow Bracelets

Cut out six  one-inch wide loops from paper towel tubes.  Have each child paint
 one loop in each of the colors of the rainbow - red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
 and purple.  When the paint is completely dry, ask the child to string the loops
 (in any order) onto a pipe cleaner.  Wrap the pipe cleaner around
 his/her wrist and twist the ends together to secure the bracelet.

             

Green Glitter Shamrock

Give each child an outline of a shamrock. 
Have him/her cover it with glue
 and sprinkle with green glitter or paint it
 green and sprinkle with salt or sugar.
Or if you can find the green cellophane
paper in the grocery store cut holes in the
 shamrock and put cellophane behind it.

 

Green Glitter Shamrock II

Set out green tempera paint, brushes, and glitter. Give each child three white
 paper plates. Let the children paint their paper plates green. Then have them
 sprinkle glitter over the paint. When the paint has dried, staple each child's plates
 together and attach a green construction paper stem shape to make a shamrock.

 

Tissue Paper Rainbow


(Photo submitted by Shell)

For this project, I cut out small squares of different colored tissue paper, the black pot, and yellow
construction paper circles for each child, beforehand.  I drew a rainbow shape outline on white construction
 paper.  Then the children cut their rainbow shape outline out and drew pencil arcs to create the rainbow.
 The pencil arcs assisted them with aligning the colored tissue paper squares correctly.  They glued on
their squares in order by color.   We discussed using ONE drop of glue for each little square so there
wouldn't be large clumps of glue.  While this was drying, they worked on their pot of golds by gluing the
circles onto the pot to form a mountain of gold.  Then they glued gold glitter onto their paper coins. 
I also cut out letters for each of the children's names but they had to find the letters that were in there
 name among a huge pile of letters.  Once they found the correct letters, they glued them onto their
 pot of gold.  When everything was completely dry, we glued the rainbows to the pots of gold.

 

Creating Shamrocks

Give each of your children a piece of white paper along with some green circle stickers.
  Show the children how to attach the stickers to their papers in clusters of threes to
 resemble shamrock leaves.  Then let them use green crayons or markers to add stems.

Variations:
Cut a shamrock from construction paper. Glue pieces of green variegated
tissue paper or scraps of green paper on shamrock.
Decorate with crayons, felt-tipped pens, or paint.
Cover a shamrock with glue. Sprinkle with green glitter. Remove excess.

  

Filter Paper Shamrocks

Precut shamrock shapes out of coffee filters. Mix water & yellow food coloring in
 a small container. Do the same for blue. Have the children use eyedroppers to drip
 colors on the filter shape. The colors will run together & make beautiful shamrocks!

 

Shamrock Fingerprints

Set out green inkpads and have your children make fingerprints on their papers for
 shamrock leaves by attaching the fingerprint clusters together, similar to activity above.

 

Shamrock Potato Prints

Trace shamrock shapes onto potato halves and cut them out to make
 shamrock stamps. Mix equal parts evaporated milk and liquid tempera
 paint. Pour this mixture over several layers of paper towels in a meat tray.
 Press the shamrock potato onto the pad and then repeatedly onto a sheet of art paper.
 The milk/paint mixture clings to the potato better than plain paint, making it stamp better.

       

Shamrock Collage

Purchase a variety of green fabric remnants from a local fabric store.  Then use pinking
 shears to cut the remnants into small squares.  To make a collage, dip the squares into
 a mixture that is half water and half glue; then arrange the scraps on a sheet of of white
 construction paper so that they overlap.  When the glue is dry, use a permanent
 marker to draw a shamrock outline on the fabric.  Then cut out the shamrock
 and glue it to a green sheet of construction paper. 

     

Crayon Shavings Shamrock

Let children use various colors of green crayons with the paper taken off to color a
 shamrock shape on a hot plate. the crayon melts as they draw. when the entire shamrock
 is covered I let them sprinkle gold dust on it. (gold glitter) I display these in the window.

  

Green Whipped Cream Finger Painting

Mix green food coloring with a tub of whipped cream. When you open it, asked
surprised that it is green. Tell the class that the leprechaun must have made it green.
 Give each child a spoonful and let him/her finger-paint with it. Clean up is easy, just lick!

          

Shamrock Magic Wand

Materials Needed:
green construction paper
scissors
glue
stapler
gold glitter
green straw
thin ribbon in both green and gold

Instructions:
Cut three heart shapes from the green paper. Glue the tips of the three shapes
 together to form a shamrock.  Staple the center of the shamrock to the end of
 the straw to make the handle. Decorate the shamrock with gold glitter.
 Cut three or more 3 foot ribbons. Hold the ribbons together and staple
 them to the back of the shamrock at the center so that the ends hang down from the
 shamrock magic wand.  Cut several tiny shamrocks and staple them along the ribbons.

 

Shamrock Wand II

Materials Needed:
 3 hearts, glue sticks, drinking straw,
green ribbon

Directions:
Invite the children to color their hearts green, cut them out. Show them how to make
a shamrock by glue the hearts together. Add the straw for a wand and green ribbon.

   

See The Leprechaun?

Use green paint to color a wooden craft spoon.  When the paint is dry, glue on a
 construction paper head, hat and feet.  Wrap a piece of green pipe cleaner around
 the middle of the spoon to create two arms.  Then use this lucky little fellow as you
 sing the following song.  As you sing the last line, have the children identify
 the body part on which the leprechaun is standing.

(Sung to the tune of: "Do You Know The Muffin Man")

Do you see the leprechaun,
The leprechaun, the leprechaun?
Do you see the leprechaun?
He's standing on my (HAND)!

        

St. Patrick's Day Holiday Card

The shamrock has three leaves and looks like clover. It is the symbol of Saint Patrick
 and Ireland. Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock to explain the idea of the
 Holy Trinity to the Irish people. From green construction paper, cut three 3-inch circles
 and a 3 1/2-inch tall triangle with a 2 1/2-inch base. Fold a sheet of yellow construction
 paper in half. Overlap the circles on the front of the card and add the triangle as a
 stem to form a shamrock. On the inside write "The Luck of the Irish to You!
 Happy Saint Patrick's Day!" or a greeting of your choosing.

 

Leprechaun Finder

Cut out two shapes that look like a hand mirror. Take a piece of green cellophane,
 sandwich it between the two mirror frames and glue.  You can decorate
 the frame with glitter or stickers. Add the following directions:

How to use a leprechaun Finder

1. Be very quiet
2. When you hear a sound tiptoe toward it.
3.Look through the Leprechaun Finder.
4. Say "Leprechaun little, Leprechaun green. Come out where you can be seen

 

Leprechaun Bowlers

This is too cute! Purchase enough sturdy (Chinet is one kind) paper bowls for each
 child to have in. Have the children paint the outside with bright green paint of the
 bowls. After the bowls dry, punch two holes to loop sewing elastic through to
 keep the bowls on their heads. Glued on a feather and an orange strip of felt or ribbon
 just below the lip of the bowl. The kids will LOVE them---use with an Irish music activity!

    

Shamrock Place Mat

Invite your child to make a place mat (or several mats) to use for St. Patrick's Day.
 For each mat, let him fill a piece of white paper with shamrocks by tracing
 around a shamrock cookie cutter, using a green crayon or marker. Also
 give him a few shamrock stickers to attach, if you wish. To preserve the mat,
cover it with clear Contact paper or have it laminated at a copy shop.

   

Rice Shamrocks

Materials:
Oaktag or heavy white paper, rice, green food coloring, brushes,
glue, glue containers, paper towels or pie tins, shamrock patterns.

Preparation:
Prepare rice a day ahead of project. Place rice in a small amount
of water to which green food coloring has been added. Let it soak until
desired shade of green had been reached. Drain off the water and let rice dry
on paper towels or in pie tins overnight. Trace and cut out shamrock shapes.
Have the children brush diluted glue on their shamrocks and sprinkle green
rice over the glue.

(A drop or two of alcohol in a few drops food coloring will color very darkly
any kind of pasta: macaroni, etc. Perhaps this will work with rice too. It
dries much quicker without the water. )

  

Blarney Stones

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in a fun, easy, & inexpensive way. Have the kids gather
 smooth rocks from outside. Wash and dry the rocks, then use a paintbrush to cover
 rocks with white glue. Dip each of them in green or gold glitter and let dry. You now have
 Blarney Stones for good luck! The kids just love the sparkle---& the fact that they made them!

    

Potato Prints

Cut a large potato in half. You will need a cookie cutter that will fit on the potato half.
 Press the cookie cutter into the flat side of the potato. Then, using a knife, cut the
 potato around the outside of the cookie cutter, leaving a shaped potato stamp.
 Supply the children with the potato stamps, different colored paints, and paper.
 Have the children dip the potatoes in the paint and press them firmly onto
 the paper. If the potatoes are not cut evenly the shapes will not appear clearly.

 

Bubble Wrap Shamrocks

Give each child some blue and yellow paint, and have them fingerpaint
on bubble wrap. Then,  cover the bubble wrap with paper and use a
 rolling pin or dowels to roll the paper on the bubble wrap (and maybe
 pop some bubbles in the process). Your shamrocks
will be green, and filled with many little circles.

 

   

Pre-K Fun Theme Pages are for educational reference only! 
No copyright infringement is intended.
I do not claim any of these as my own ideas.  
They are shared from friends and fellow group members.  
Thanks for sharing all your great ideas!

     

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