How to Be Irish for Just a Day

Not all of us are fortunate enough to be Irish, but if truth be told, the Irish are welcoming folk and love to share their heritage. And so when March 17^th rolls around its pretty darn simple (and oftentimes very inexpensive) to be Irish for just a day.

Some of the simplest things you can do to enjoy the upcoming holiday take believe it or not, minutes to do in make cases and in others, a bit longer. Most of the ideas listed below cost pennies to do and others a little more, but if truth be known St. Patricks Day is such fun that no matter what you budget, you are bound to find something to add to your "loving of the green" on St. Patricks Day!

Being Irish for a day Ideas:

Simple Shamrock:

With either a semi permanent or permanent marker (these may take as long as a week to fade so keep that in mind when you choose your marker) draw a small shamrock on your hand, cheek or any other part of your body. One of the easiest ways to draw a shamrock is to make a figure "8" sideways and then immediately place another figure "8" within the first. This will be a rough approximation of a shamrock and with a stem, it works out great and is a lot of fun too!

Add a little glitter to your shamrock tattoo described above. Add a little bit of glue to the inside of your shamrock and sprinkle some good old fashioned glitter on it or use glittery eye shadow. Be careful though not to use glitter near your eyes and do not use it on your hand if you work around food. Glitter is not edible you know! Real craft glitter should be reserved for older students and adults who understand it's limitations. Do not use this on children under the age of 12 without parental permission and supervision.

Go with Green:

This one is simple. Dig in your closet and wear ANYTHING and everything you can find that is green. It doesn't matter if it matches or if it is even "in fashion". The "wearing of the green" is important here and adds to the fun. Imagine your entire office or group dressed in green and see the fun emerge! Have fun with this one!

Show a Shamrock:

Using simple kids construction paper, Cut out a shamrock shape. This shamrock in order to be more realistic needs to be a bit more polished than the simple figure 8's you used for body tattoos.

Here is a shamrock pattern in 3", 6" and 9" sizes. Be sure to download Adobe if it asks for it. The patterns are good ones and not to be missed

St Patricks ideas for older elementary age kids. This page has some fantastic ideas for writing prompts including one about luck as well as other ideas for having fun on St Pat's day. Give it a shot and see what fun you can find for your kiddos or classroom use.

Greet a friend on St Patricks Day.

Here is a great little card that kids (or adults for that matter) can have fun with, add their own greetings and give to a friend. Easy to copy, it would be a perfect activity for kids of all ages and classrooms too.

Play a Shamrock game for Preschoolers:

This game is fun and educational for preschoolers and even early elementary age students. Find it on preschool printables. Com and have fun. It's well worth the print out.

Geography lesson:

With this map of Ireland, students can see where the Irish originated and with a larger map of the world, the subject of immigration can be easily introduced into the lesson as well. A winner in many different ways, students can simply enjoy the map or use it in a more detailed way and label some of the cities and villages in Ireland on the map.

Reading comprehension:

Here is an interesting reading comprehension lesson about Ireland which can be used in conjunction with any of the other pages listed above or stand on it's own. Great to polish those much needed comprehension skills, it also is chock full of great information about Ireland and it's people.

Make your own Shamrock shapebook:

Shapebooks are a great way to introduce the world of the Irish to students. Use this page for the front, and add pages such as these blank lined pages to encourage students to write their own stories of luck and how it has appeared in their lives.

Or for the younger set, try this shapebook with simple words about being Irish and all it entails. A fun book in which kids learn how words relate to certain heritages and celebrations.

There are many more options out there for Irish appreciation or St Patricks day celebrations. Check out the links above and search for more. The internet is filled with ideas and they are literally a click away. Good luck and have fun learning and enjoying Ireland and her people!