Last Updated on February 18, 2024 by Sheryl Cooper
Inside: We found lots of fun ideas for our toddler and preschool St. Patrick’s Day theme, plus we explored mixing blue and yellow to make green. It’s a fun way to expose children to color recognition in playful ways!
Our classroom has lots of green in it this week as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!
We are mixing colors at the art table and at the science table, learning what makes green.
There are gold coins and shamrocks tucked in every area of the classroom, too, and we will be going on a gold coin hunt!
Once again, we kept our activities as open-ended as possible, with plenty of opportunity to explore.
More to read: March Theme Ideas
Setting Up the Classroom for the St. Patrick’s Day Theme
Classroom Set-Up Videos for the St. Patrick’s Day Theme:
Light Table: Green Magnatiles, Crystal Climbers, and Gnomes
We love building with our Magnatiles on the light table, so I simply only put the green ones on it for St. Patrick’s Day. I also added some of our Crystal Climbers and some gnomes.
Related: Ultimate Collection of Light Table Activities
Dramatic Play: St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
Gold plates, green cups, little leprechaun hats … it’s time to have a St. Patrick’s Day party!
Oh, and we needed green felt hats that the children could wear, too!
Related: 25+ Dramatic Play Activities
Sensory Bin: Gold Coins and Treasure Chests
Filling treasure chests with gold coins and other shimmery pieces is always fun!
Related: Big Collection of Sensory Bin Activities
Playdough: Green and Gold
We added shamrock cookie cutters and gold coins to our play dough fun!
Related: Playdough Learning Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Fine Motor: Transferring Pom Poms
I found this silicone shamrock pan from Michael’s Crafts and knew it would be perfect for this fine motor activity!
Science and Exploration: Mixing Yellow and Blue to Make Green
I put some yellow and green washable finger paints in a gallon plastic freezer bag, sealed it, and then taped it carefully to a tray. As the children press on the bag, they will watch the colors mix and make a third color, green!
Read more about this activity: Simple Color-Mixing Idea
Block Area: Leprechaun, Treasure Chests, Gold Coins, and a Rainbow
We put our rainbow stacking blocks on top of a map that showed where the leprechaun has traveled, as well as the gold coins he left along the way. Filling treasure chests is always fun for this age group, too!
Related: The Best Blocks Activities
Art: Painting on Foil to Make Prints
I placed some foil on our In and Out Activity Table, along with yellow and blue washable finger paints. We then pressed our shamrock paper on top of the paint to make a print. You can see more, and grab the free printables here.
More St. Patrick’s Day art ideas:
- St. Patrick’s Day Toddler Art
- Color-Mixing St. Patrick’s Day Craft
- Spin-Art Shamrocks
- Easy Fine-Motor Shamrock Activity
Writing Table: Shamrocks
Using the same printable as we used in our foil shamrock prints, I added some blue, yellow, and green Do-a-Dot markers for some colorful fine motor fun.
Related: Setting Up the Writing Center
An Invitation to Find Green Objects
I placed a green tray on top of one of our shelves along with some books that featured the color green. I invited the children to place green items on the tray as they found them in the classroom.
Music and Movement
Check out our St. Patrick’s Day and rainbows music playlist:
Books
Colors: A First Discovery Book
Science: Can You See a Rainbow?
We put our prisms on our window sill and watched for rainbows!
Related: Hands-On Spring Science Activities
More themes:
Free Printables
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