Most of us know St. Patrick’s Day as a fun and whimsical holiday involving mischievous leprechauns, rainbows, shamrocks, and, of course, lots of green! However, it’s also a day to celebrate the life and times of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Here are 42 creative St. Patrick’s Day activities and lessons involving ways to incorporate aspects of the March 17 holiday into the different core subject areas and more. Keep your students chasing the end of a rainbow in search of luck, gold, and leprechauns all week long.
Our Favorite St. Patrick’s Day Activities
1. Do a magic milk experiment to create rainbow swirls
Create a chemical reaction using just milk, food coloring, a cotton ball, and dish soap. Your kids will be mesmerized by the swirling rainbow!
Learn more: Magic Milk Experiment
2. Read a St. Patrick’s Day–themed book
Check out this amazing list of our favorite St. Patrick’s Day–related books. Your students will love learning about Ireland, St. Patrick, and, of course, going on adventures with those mischievous leprechauns!
Learn more: Books To Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day
3. Make a leprechaun bookmark
Get crafty while teaching your students how to take care of books with these adorable shamrock bookmarks. Provide each student with a 7 x 2–inch strip of card stock along with a copy of our printable page of different-sized shamrocks. Next, have your students color and cut out the shamrocks. Then glue the shamrocks onto the card stock for a personalized lucky bookmark!
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers and Leprechaun Corner Bookmark
4. Share St. Patrick’s Day facts
Learn all about St. Patrick’s Day traditions, origins, leprechauns, and more with these surprising facts. While celebrating this holiday is full of fun, there are plenty of meaningful reasons behind it.
Learn more: 21 Surprising St. Patrick’s Day Facts To Celebrate the Holiday at We Are Teachers
5. Make friendship bracelets
Need a St. Patrick’s Day craft in a hurry? Then this is the craft for you! This is so easy to throw together since all you will need are some green pipe cleaners and beads. Plus, everyone loves friendship bracelets these days! Find this one and more on our St. Patrick’s Day craft idea page.
Learn more: Magical St. Patrick’s Day Crafts for Kids at We Are Teachers
6. Send your students on a scavenger hunt
Hide small shamrocks around the classroom, each with a clue leading to the next. The final destination could hold a special treasure or treat for the students to enjoy. This activity promotes problem-solving skills and teamwork.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
7. Take a virtual field trip to the Emerald Isle
Explore the beauty of Ireland, from the Giants Causeway and the Cliffs of Moher to mighty museums, historical sites, and much more.
Learn more: Virtual Tours of Ireland
8. Create acrostic poetry based on Irish history
Read a book on Irish history from our book list and share our list of facts to introduce students to the holiday. Then use one of our large, blank shamrocks to create acrostic poem templates with words like “leprechaun,” “shamrock,” and “St. Patrick” for your students to complete. They can share with the class when they are done.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
9. Conduct a hands-on experiment with green slime
Kids love slime, so a St. Patrick’s Day slime science lab will certainly grab their attention! Choose from one of four slime recipes, all made with ingredients that can easily be found at your grocery store (although you may need to look elsewhere for St. Paddy’s Day–appropriate glitter, sequins, and other holiday additions). Have your students hypothesize what will happen when you mix all the ingredients together. Teach them about the states of matter as they work, and ask them to record their observations on the lined printable shamrocks.
Learn more: How To Make Slime: 4 Recipes Plus Free Worksheet and Shamrock Printable Bundle
10. Learn how to say colors in Gaelic
Introduce your students to the ancient Gaelic language by learning how to say different colors. Visit the Irish Community Services YouTube channel and learn seasons, days of the week, and animal names.
11. Study the movement of water molecules with a rainbow walking water experiment
Demonstrate the movement of water molecules (and create a rainbow) through this clean yet colorful experiment. Ask your students to come up with a hypothesis and record the experimentation process in a notebook, or download a free, printable worksheet at the link below. It’s one of our favorite St. Patrick’s Day activities!
Learn more: Rainbow Walking Water Experiment
12. Shamrock secret messages
Print out blank shamrocks and have students write secret messages or positive affirmations on them. Once completed, students can exchange shamrocks with their classmates or hide them around the classroom for a fun surprise.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
13. Make shamrock pencil toppers
Why not spend St. Patrick’s Day spreading a little love? Make these adorable shamrock pencil toppers using shamrocks from our free printable. Color them (or print them on green paper), cut them out, then cut two tiny slits in the center of the shamrock. Insert St. Patrick’s Day–themed pencils into the slits, and attach a sweet message.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
14. Shamrock symmetry
Use shamrocks to teach students about symmetry. Print out a variety of shamrocks, and challenge students to decorate the blank ones to create symmetrical designs. This activity combines art and math in a fun and engaging way.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
15. Shamrock story starters
St. Patrick’s Day is a great time for students to use their imagination. Using our large-sized lined shamrock templates, have students write a story based on a St. Patrick’s Day–themed story starter, like “You discover a leprechaun hiding in your bedroom closet. What happens next?” Then, create a cute shamrock border to display your luckiest writing bulletin board yet.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle
16. Shamrock mindfulness meditation
Print out large shamrocks and write calming phrases on them, such as “Breathe” or “Find your inner peace.” Incorporate these shamrocks into mindfulness meditation sessions, where students can focus on the shamrock imagery to center themselves and promote relaxation.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
17. Think critically about how to catch a leprechaun
Critical thinking? Check. Creativity? Check. Glitter? Check. Ask your students to devise a clever plan to catch a leprechaun by practicing sequence writing and the imperative voice. Using our shamrock templates for writing paper, have students write it out step-by-step. What materials do they need? What would their trap look like? Have them present their ideas to the class and follow up with a class discussion about the best leprechaun-trapping tactics. Take this one step further by splitting your class into groups of three or four students and have them build the traps they imagined.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
18. St. Patrick’s Day secret code worksheet
Check out our special St. Patrick’s Day Crack the Code activity and put your little detectives to work on it! There are eight other free printable secret code worksheets along with it in our seasonally themed bundle. We even included a bonus “Make Your Own” code worksheet so kids can try it themselves.
Learn more: Free Printable Secret Code Worksheets
19. Share St. Patrick’s Day jokes
Add to the fun on St. Patrick’s Day by adding some humor into the day. From leprechauns to four-leaf clovers, we’ve got you covered with these hilarious St. Patrick’s Day jokes. These are guaranteed to make your students laugh!
Learn more: 111 Leprechaun-Approved St. Patrick’s Day Jokes at We Are Teachers
20. Learn about the shamrock life cycle
While we are on the subject of shamrocks and lucky four-leaf clovers, this is the perfect time to sneak in a lesson on the life cycle of a plant. Our free printable bundle includes a life cycle wheel and cut-and-paste diagram, a reading comprehension worksheet, a visual diagram of things plants need to grow, and more!
Learn more: Plant Life Cycle Worksheet Bundle
21. Read St. Patrick’s Day poems
Grab your students’ attention with these whimsical St. Patrick’s Day poems for kids of all ages. Ireland, St. Patrick, leprechauns, and shamrocks are just some of the topics in prose. Your students may even be inspired to write one of their own!
Learn more: 21 St. Patrick’s Day Poems for Kids of All Ages
22. Make a shamrock-themed bar graph
Here’s a sorting and graphing activity that is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. Cut out an assorted bunch of shamrocks of all different sizes from our shamrock printable page. Give each student (or partner groups) a handful, then have them sort the shamrocks by size. Next, provide a simple graph drawn on paper where students can record the number of small, medium, and large shamrocks they find. You can also vary the activity by printing the shamrocks on different-colored paper and have students sort them by color.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
23. Shamrock science activity
Use large shamrocks with lines for a science activity. Have students hypothesize about the growth of clovers under different conditions (light vs. dark, water vs. soil, etc.) and record their observations on the printable shamrocks. Then plant clover seeds and observe what happens. This hands-on activity fosters critical thinking and scientific inquiry.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
24. Look for luck with a four-leaf-clover hunt
What better excuse to get outside on an almost-spring day than going on a four-leaf-clover hunt? If you have a class set of hand lenses, bring those out too!
25. Write St. Paddy’s Day limericks
Watch this teacher explain how to write a limerick and then have students write their own. This activity is great for upper elementary school and middle school students alike. Plus, check out these limericks to share in the classroom.
26. Rainbow reading logs
Reading logs are a great way to keep track of what students are reading at home or at school. Get festive for March by switching things up to these reading rainbow logs. Students can explore a variety of literary genres as they complete this one. This is perfect for grades K-5 and also makes for a terrific classroom display.
Learn more: Reading Log Printable Bundle
27. Learn an Irish step dance
If you’re looking for active St. Patrick’s Day activities, show your students a video clip or two of professional Irish step dancers before breaking down the steps with an easy-to-follow tutorial. This is a great activity for gym class or any time you notice your students getting a bit restless. The steps may be complicated, but your students will enjoy being on their feet and listening to traditional Irish music.
28. Play a game of St. Patrick’s Day Bingo
Who doesn’t like playing bingo? This St. Patrick’s Day–themed bingo set comes with 24 different cards and plenty of shamrock space markers. Instead of calling out Bingo!, have your students call out Shamrock! when they get five in a row.
Buy it: St. Patrick’s Day Bingo
29. Make rainbow flip-books
These fun flip-books will have your students chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This link has everything you need to make these fun St. Patrick’s Day activities for kids come alive.
Learn more: Make Rainbow Flip-Books for St. Patrick’s Day
30. Create a rainbow bulletin board
Find the gold at the end of the rainbow with this beautiful and colorful bulletin board idea. Hopefully, this will attract some naughty leprechauns to boot! Plus, check out all of our bulletin boards for March.
Learn more: Rainbow Bulletin Boards To Brighten Your Classroom at We Are Teachers
31. Get creative with St. Patrick’s Day journal prompts
This list of St. Patrick’s Day–related journal prompts will have your students’ pencils moving in no time! Check out our extensive list for fun ideas.
Learn more: St. Patrick’s Day Writing Prompts at We Are Teachers
32. Shamrock poetry garden
Transform your classroom into a poetry garden. Print out large shamrocks with lines for writing and have students compose their own poems. Encourage students to read their poetry aloud. Then display the shamrocks around the classroom to showcase their talents.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
33. Build a shamrock person
Using our shamrock template bundle, have your students build their own shamrock person! Think snowman/snow woman, but out of shamrocks. Use the larger sizes for the body, and then the smaller ones to build shamrock chains of arms and legs. Students can draw in fun features too.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
34. Pretend leprechauns visited the classroom
Before students arrive to class on St. Patrick’s Day (or on Friday if St. Patrick’s Day falls over a weekend or break), make a mess. You don’t have to go crazy, plus students are always eager to help put things back together. By simply moving the furniture, books, and supplies out of place, your students will wonder what happened! You can go more in depth by sprinkling St. Patrick’s Day–themed confetti around (think mini shamrocks, gold coins, and rainbows), glitter, green silly string, or green beads … you get the point. Leave a silly note on the whiteboard or a piece of paper from those mini green mischief makers. If you have a bathroom in your room, green food coloring and glitter in the toilet is a must!
35. Make a Skittles rainbow
Use Skittles to teach your students about diffusion. By simply pouring hot water onto the candy, the colored sugar coating dissolves, creating a tie-dye rainbow effect! Groovy!
Learn more: Skittles Rainbow Experiment: How-To Plus Free Worksheet
36. Make a St. Patrick’s Day lava lamp
Your students will love making their own St. Patrick’s Day–themed lava lamp! By combining water, oil, green food coloring, and an Alka-Seltzer tablet, students can observe density differences as the oil floats and bubbles move. Plus, it’s just super cool!
Learn more: DIY Lava Lamp Experiment: How-To Plus Free Worksheet
37. Make sidewalk chalk paint in rainbow colors
Sidewalk chalk is always fun for kids of all ages. Step things up a notch by creating your own sidewalk chalk paint. It dries and washes away just like the old-fashioned stuff. Make it in the colors of the rainbow and have your students draw St. Patrick’s Day–related art, including rainbows!
Learn more: Make Sidewalk Chalk Paint (Guide + Printable Reflection Sheet)
38. Drop Mentos in green soda water and watch it erupt
Here is a science experiment that will make your students explode with excitement. Drop a Mentos candy in soda water with green food coloring added to it for a St. Patrick’s Day colored geyser. You can also experiment with different types of soda and see which one causes the tallest eruption.
Learn more: Mentos and Coke Experiment (How-To Plus Free Worksheet)
39. Design your own shamrock
Provide students with a large blank black-and-white shamrock from our shamrock page. Have kids design them any way they would like. Hang them around the room or on your bulletin board for a beautiful, festive display.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
40. Make shamrock chains
Using whatever size shamrocks you would like from our shamrock printable page, have students put together shamrock chains in teams. You can print them on green paper to save time, or allow the students to design the blank ones first. Either way, to raise the stakes, set a timer and see which team can put together the longest chain. This is a great lesson in teamwork while having lots of St. Patrick’s Day–related fun! As a bonus, hang them around the room to create a festive vibe.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
41. Shamrock Charades
Print out some blank shamrocks and cut them out. Write one thing associated with St. Patrick’s Day on each one, creating a stack of Shamrock Charades cards. One person picks a card and acts out the word without saying any clues. Whoever guesses the word correctly goes next. You can also play other variations using teams, just like the old-school Charades game.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
42. Shamrock Pictionary
Print out some blank shamrocks and cut them out. Write one thing associated with St. Patrick’s Day on each one, creating a stack of Shamrock Pictionary cards. One person picks a card and draws the word out on the whiteboard (or interactive board) using pictures. Whoever guesses the word correctly goes next. You can also play other variations using teams, just like the old-school Pictionary game.
Learn more: Shamrock Printable Bundle at We Are Teachers
We promise you’ll have good luck with any one of these St. Patrick’s Day activities. Have any others you’d like to share? Visit our We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook to share your ideas.
Plus, check out our St. Patrick’s Day Jokes for Kids and St. Patrick’s Day Poems for Kids of All Ages.
