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St. Patrick is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland.  St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in the US since 1737.  Traditional icons of the day are the shamrock, leprechaun, the color green and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In Chicago, they city celebrates with a parade and the Chicago River is dyed green.

Fun activities to do with children:

Torn Paper Shamrocks
Draw a shamrock shape on a piece of paper. Have the children tear pieces of green construction paper, and glue them inside the lines for the shamrock shape.

Creating The Color Green
Ask the children what colors you need to make green.  Then supply them with blue and yellow paint and white paper.  You should start with your yellow and add a little amount of blue. Ask the children to mix the colors to get their favorite shade of green.  Discuss  how all the colors of green are a little different.

Shamrock Search
Cut out many shamrock shapes and hide them around the room. Have the children search for them like an Easter Egg hunt.

Shamrock Sequencing
Cut out many different sizes of shamrocks. Four or five will be fine. Have your child arrange the shamrocks in order of size, largest to smallest, or smallest to largest.

Treasure Hunt 1
Draw a simple map of your house. Hide a “treasure” somewhere in your house, something like a snack, or maybe a treasured toy. Explain the map to your child. Tell them where each room is. Next say there is a hidden treasure in the house, and the map is going to help them find it. Draw an X on the map where you have hidden the treasure. Help your child look for the treasure

Don’t miss the St Patrick’s Day Parade in DC: http://dc.about.com/cs/familyactivities/a/StPatsParade.htm

Happy St Patrick’s Day!