If you don’t live in Boston (a known center for those St. Patrick’s Day loving Irish), you may not be aware of how popular St. Patrick’s Day really is. However, St. Patrick’s Day is a fun celebration for kids of all ages. More and more people are joining the fun of celebrating “the green”. Craft projects are a great way to bring in the fun of the holiday. Best of all these crafts don’t require a lot of experience, materials or crafting skills. If you want to throw a St. Patrick’s Day party for some children, or need a craft for a preschool celebration, these projects just might bring you the “luck of the Irish!” Here are some St. Patrick’s Day crafts for preschoolers-
Leprechaun Paper Bag Puppet-This easy to make puppet will delight your young crafters!
What you will need:
Paper bag (lunch size works best)
Crayons
Scissors
Glue
Construction paper or cardstock
Optional:
Big wiggly eyes
Glitter
Green paper
Instructions for the project-Begin by printing a template of your choice, of a leprechaun. Then you may need to familiarize your crafters with the direction that the paper bag should be. Have the children start with the paper bag laying flat on the table with the flap part, facing them. The first step is to color the template of the leprechaun that you have for them. Then they should cut it out and and begin gluing the pieces on. Keep in mind that the younger the child doing the project, the simpler the template should be. The mouth of the leprechaun should be glued over the flap of the bag, so that when the child moves the puppet, it can “speak”. When all of the pieces are glued on you can have the kids add on wiggly eyes, glitter or additional green paper, to decorate their puppets.
Handprint rainbow-Parents will be delighted to see their little darlings handprints made into a rainbow. You can also have the kids add a pot of gold at the end of this one of a kind rainbow, as well.
What you will need: There are different ways to do this craft you can use-
Rainbow colors of paint
Rainbow colors of paper (construction paper)
Rainbow colors of craft foam
White craft paper
Craft glue
Instructions for the project-Have each child trace seven handprints. Keep in mind that smaller children may need help with this step. Then they can cut out the handprints, from the construction paper, or craft foam. If the child is using paints they can paint their hand with each color, and then press it firmly on the paper. After the paint is dry they can then cut it out. Keep in mind that if you are working with the paints, you will need to have several adults on hand to supervise. When you are finished each child should have a handprint in each of the following colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet).They will then glue the handprints in a rainbow shape across their white craft paper.
Preschoolers Pot of Gold-The youngest crafters find this an easy craft to do. This would make a great project for a preschool St. Patrick’s Day party.
What you will need:
scissors
glue
construction paper
Optional:
gold and/or silver foil (old wrapping paper works very well)
Glitter pens
Instructions for the project: You will need to have a template of a “pot of gold” already cut out and ready to go. The kids can color this if needed. Have the kids then cut out, and glue on the gold and silver coins. When they are finished they can use the glitter pens for added sparkle.