(540) 722-2020

19 West Cork Street
Winchester, Virginia

Directions

19 West Cork Street
Winchester, Virginia
Directions

(540) 722-2020

Below are activities that all have a St Patrick’s Day theme. These activities include things that will help your child develop fine and gross motor skills, problem-solving and engineering skills, and can help them engage in cooperative play, while fostering creativity and perseverance. Each theme also comes with recommended literature and movie connections. Feel free to throw in your own activities that might relate, and don’t forget to post your results to social media and tag @discoverymuse to share with everyone else!

Shamrock Artwork

For this activity, you’ll need to get out those crayons, paper, and shamrocks (also known as clovers) from the backyard.

  • Place your clovers flat on the table (this may be tricky for little fingers).
  • Gently lay the paper on top of the clovers.
  • Use an unwrapped crayon to rub across the clover. You should see the image of the clover appear!
  • This strategy can be used to get the impression of lots of other things. Try it on your other flower petals and leaves, legos, or any other textured surface.
You can also play with symmetry (clover are typically symmetrical – if you cut it down the middle it would be almost exactly the same on both sides). Using some paint, paint on one half the paper and then fold it over. The paint should transfer to the other half, creating a symmetrical image. You can use a mirror to play with symmetry, too! What other things can you find in your house that are symmetrical?

Science Experiment – Make Rainbows!

Usually we only see rainbows when it rains. We are going to try to create our own rainbows inside today! For this activity you will need a glass of water, and a flashlight.

  • Fill your glass about halfway with water.
  • Turn on your flashlight and shine it at the cup of water. Watch the light shine through the cup.
  • Play with the angle of the flashlight. When you shine the flashlight at about a 40 degree angle, it should create a rainbow!
  • A rainbow is created when light bends. Light is white, because it is made up of all the colors. When it bends, you can see all the colors that make it!

Physical Activity

The best way to enjoy St Patrick’s Day is with a little music! Put on some Irish Jig Music and dance around. Watch some Irish Step Dancing videos to do a proper jig!

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf8U9Z3XUIw

Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7hDNG1duLk&feature=youtu.be

Conversation Starters and Research Questions

  • Where is Ireland on a map? How far is it from your home? Check out the Blarney Stone, a special stone located in Cork, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone gives the kisser the gift of the gab (or ability to speak flatteringly). This is also rumored to be where the phrase, “Kiss me, I’m Irish,” comes from.

Kitchen Capers:

  • Consider baking something green, adding green food coloring to your milk, or using this as an excuse to incorporate some green veggies into your meal!
  • You could also make some Irish Soda Bread, which doesn’t require any fancy ingredients, no yeast, and doesn’t need time to rise (and if you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can make some by adding 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup regular milk). https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/16947/amazingly-easy-irish-soda-bread/

Literature Connection:

Because we know you’re stuck at home with limited access to movies and books, we tried to compile a list that connects to today’s theme that you might already have in your collection or be able to access online. These include:

How to Trap a Leprechaun by Sue Fliess https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUp8iurcjv8

Did you enjoy this activity? Let us know here.

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