St. Patrick’s Day is a merry holiday of folk tales and fairies, energetic music and dancing, and, at least in my family, loaves and loaves of Irish Soda Bread. It is one of my favorite holidays of the year.
Holidays are always a little difficult to explain to toddlers. With my twins, I took a simple approach. A brief story and a simple art invitation are the perfect introduction to St. Patrick’s Day.
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St. Patrick’s Day Read and Create
Really good picture books about St. Patrick’s Day are few and far between. I’ve been gathering the wonderful ones I can find – this is the list of the ones we own and love – but there are even fewer for toddlers. The picture book below, although not specific to St. Patrick’s day, is related and delightful.
Read: Good Luck Bear by Greg Foley
Bear finds a three leaf clover and begins searching for the luck of a four leaf clover. Monkey, turtle, other animals all have opinions about luck or discouragement for Bear. A fun book about luck and perseverance. Foley’s winning combination of simplicity and softness triumph again.
Create: Green Art 2 Ways
Toddler art is all about simplicity. Instead of making cute products, toddler art should focus on the process of creating and exploring different art materials.
1. Color with Shades of Green
Gather construction paper and green crayons in a variety of different shades. You can set out a paper for each toddler or tape a large piece of paper to a wall or table for a collaborate art experience.
Encourage your toddler to color with the crayons. Talk about the different shades of green with words such as “that one looks much lighter” or “wow, I love your dark green line here.”
2. Green Painting
Gather a large piece of paper and tape it to the wall, floor, or table. You will also need some plastic or paper plates for holding green paint and white paint.
This activity is obviously messier than coloring with crayons, but it can be more or less messy depending on how you set this up.
For less mess: Contain this project to the table. Put art shirts on your toddlers and have a washing station ready to go.
To embrace mess: Cover the floor with paper. Put on old clothes or get toddlers down to their diapers, lay out the paint and have a washing station (or a clear path to the bath tub if you’re at home) ready to go. You can read more tips about doing large gross motor projects with babies and toddlers in this post.
More St. Patrick’s Day Ideas
Super Cute Leprechaun Traps from Play Dough and Popsicles
St Patrick’s Day Nonsense Word Game (FREE Printable) from Crafty Mama in ME
Children’s Books about St Patrick’s Day from The Jenny Evolution
St Patrick’s Day Rainbow Slime from Schooling a Monkey
St Patrick’s Day Outdoor Fun for Kids from FrogMom
