Leprechaun Fun in the Classroom

Setting up a leprechaun trap in your classroom can incorporate science (think simple machines), social studies (the history of the legend of the lucky leprechaun), and literature in your lesson plans.

The best part is that they can be as complex or as easy to put together as you like.

It is usually a rarity when I ask parents to get involved in their child’s homework projects because I know the majority of the time, it is really a “parent vs parent” result.  

But, sometimes it is just fun to include families in their child’s learning.  

I never ever take a grade on something like this – it really is just for fun since many students won’t have any help to complete the project.

One huge tip I have learned from being on the receiving end of helping with my child’s own school projects:  Give a long lead time.  At least 2 weeks.  

That gives busy caregivers a chance to collect materials for a few days, plan the project for a few days, and actually put together the project over a few days.

With so many students involved in numerous extra curricular activities, family events, and other busy children, having the flexibility to work on the project as each schedule allows is imperative.

Including parents in the learning with their children is always a way to incorporate STEM lessons at home – and shows students that educational activities do happen outside of the school building too.  

Check out this great guest post today with more ideas…

St. Patrick’s Day is coming, so we have let the “leprechaun” loose at our school.

On Monday, we went around messing up our school with green paper and glitter while the kids were eating lunch.  We used green markers to scribble all over the boards and anything green or gold was put into a crazy spot.

Then, we told the kids about the leprechauns, little mischievous creatures who had lots of gold.  If we catch them, we told the students, maybe we can get their gold, or at least they will stop causing havoc in our school!

All throughout the week, the leprechaun will steal green items and hide them in various places.  When students find them, they will have a leprechaun taped to them.

Meanwhile, we have asked students to go home and build leprechaun traps to see if we can catch a leprechaun.  Students will bring in their leprechaun traps on Monday and present them to the class.

Here are some more pictures of the leprechaun traps from last year:

This family project gives students the opportunity to work on critical thinking and imaginative design as well as fine motor skills. 

Traps can be as simple or as complex as the students desire, so this project works for very involved families as well as uninvolved families.

How to Build Leprechaun Trap Project

Fun leprechaun traps use easy to find materials.  Encourage students to look for the following items around the house to use in building their homemade DIY plans:

• Legos
• Game board pieces, such as options from the game Mousetrap
• Shoebox
• Cereal box
• Popsicle sticks
• Pipe cleaners
• Construction paper

Items you will want to have at school for “catching” leprechauns on St. Patrick’s Day:

• Gold coins
• Pots of gold
• Green glitter
• Lucky Charms cereal
• Green footprints

How to Make a St. Patrick’s Day Leprechaun Trap Videos:

Need some online tutorials for tricking those scoundrels the night before St. Patrick’s Day?  Here are a few good tips videos for creating a trap door that works – and the longest one is only 7+ minutes long, so they would be a good way to introduce the idea to students in class.

This option shows a pretty involved example of a trap and how it works for the family…

This student has materials and supplies to show the making of the trap as it’s done.  Super fun!

Have you ever done leprechaun traps as a classroom assignment?  We would love to hear your thoughts in a comment below!

Hedi – Raki’s Rad Resources

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