St. Patricks Day: A Waldorf Homeschool Celebration

Legend has it, finding a four leaf clover is lucky and St. Patrick attributed the three leafed clover to the Holy Trinity.

Before creating circle times or putting holiday activities together, I first meditate on the subject. During the meditation phase, I ask myself, "What are the main teaching points? Can any of them be compacted for economy in teaching? What is the spirit of the activity or what kind of environment should be created? The spirit of St. Patrick's Day seems to be colorful, playful and a bit mischievous. Here's what I came up with.....

A Waldorf Homeschool St. Patrick's Day Celebration

A few circle time verses:

Beams of Love Finger Play:

Round the golden dome above (Bring arms above head in a circle.) 

Sends to me its beams of love (Bring arms slowly down and cross over heart.) 

As I go about my day (Move arms back and forth like “walking.”) 

Beams of love unfold in play (Start with hands crossed over heart and slowly bring arms down and outward.) 

Take these beams I give to you (Hands outstretched showing palms, move them outward more.) 

And pass them on in all you do (Bring hands together in front of you.) 

—Eileen Straiton

Little Cobbler:  A rascal little elf is he Who taps on shoes each day. Hee hee! He laughed, Disappeared, when asked, Could he come out to play.   —Sara Wilson

Homeschool Baking: No Icing Sugar Cookies

While we were waiting for the sun to warm us up in the morning, we baked clover sugar cookies. I have had this recipe tucked away for awhile. Best sugar cookie the West side of the Mississippi. It's actually for Christmas, but we just used our clover cutters. The best thing about it … it doesn't involve messy icing. The cookies are colored by brushing on egg yoks that are colored with food coloring. You can find the recipe here: Pioneer Woman's Christmas Sugar Cookie

Foraging for Clovers

Since the children are so little, we were happy to just find clovers. Before going out to look for clovers. I read them the following.

Five Green Shamrocks

(A simple children's St Patricks Day poems)

One green shamrock, in the morning dew,
Another one sprouted,
and then there were two.

Two green shamrocks, growing beneath a tree;
Another one sprouted,
and then there were three.

Homeschool Games: Leprechaun's Bag of Gold 

Leprechauns often carry a bag of gold with them. So, I used yellow construction paper to cut ten circles that represented gold coins. I numbered them 1 - 10 and put them in a bag. For fun, the children ordered them in ascending and descending order. We had the most fun taking one or two out of the bag and letting the others guess which one was missing. 

Hidden Shamrocks

Before circle time pre cut several shamrocks. Hide them arround the room or if it is warm enough outside. Everyone had a turn hiding and finding. This was the activity the twins learned to guide people by saying "Hotter or Colder" <3

A hidden shamrock, under our classroom table.

A Homeschool Story for Wet on Wet Watercolor Painting

The Sunbeam's Visit by Cornelia Fulton Crary

This is a great story to tell whilst painting it with the children.

One day, as the glorious sun came up to bid the world "Good morning," one beam of light came out with all the rest, and went to give its part of rightness to the people of the world. In this beam of light were six little rays; but they all had on white cloaks, and they went along so close together that they looked like one clear, white ray. 

It was early in the morning, and as the beam of light went on its way straight from the sun, to take its message of love and brightness to the world just as well and quickly as it could, it went through between two of the slits of the blind in the window of the room where little Johnny was snugly tucked in bed fast asleep; and it shone right on the top of a glass inkstand which Johnny's mother kept on the table. As the beam of light went through the sharp edges of the clear glass, all the little rays took off their white cloaks, and went and stood hand in hand in a streak of colors on the white ceiling. 

Each one of the six rays that made the beam of light was a different color. Three of them were strong, and able to take care of their little brothers and help them to be bright as they were, just as little children who are bright and happy help others to be bright and happy too. These three strong rays were red and yellow and blue.

The red and the yellow rays had between them another ray who held tight to both of them, and the red and the yellow ray each gave him some of their brightness; so he was an orange ray. 

And the yellow and the blue had fast hold of the little green ray which was between them, sharing the brightness of the yellow and the coolness of the blue ray, and very happy and bright himself while he was standing close to them.  

Then, at the end of the line, close to the blue, stood another ray. He was something like the red ray at the other end of the line, who gave him some of his red glow; but he was more like the blue, because he stood close to him and shared his color, which, mixed with the red, made him a purple ray. 

So there they stood, the red and the orange, the yellow and the green, the blue and the purple rays, holding each other's hands and looking at Johnny.

And all this didn't take as long to happen as it takes to tell about it; for as they looked at him, Johnny felt their brightness against his eyelids, and opened his eyes to see what it was, and said: "Why, there is the light; it must be morning." So he got up right away, and washed his face and hands very clean, and dressed, so he would not be late to breakfast. He opened the blinds to let more of the sunshine in, and then the six little rays ran back through the glass and put on their white cloaks again, and went with all the other beams of light to make the day bright. And Johnny stood before the window and said "Good morning" to the sun, which had sent the beam  of light to visit him and make him glad.

A St. Patrick's Day Song

For the tune ...

Saint Patrick was a gentleman, he came from decent people

He built a church in Dublin town and on it put a steeple
His father was a Gallagher, his mother was a Grady
His aunt was an O'Shaughnessy and his uncle was a Brady
Success to bold Saint Paddy's fist he was a saint so clever
he gave the snakes and toads a twist and banished them forever.

Final Thoughts

“Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known.”  —Garrison Keillor  

We have so much to be thankful for. Happy St. Patrick's Day. I'm off to set a leprechaun trap.

For information about Homeschooling or Homesteading products Ancient Path offers, we would love it very much if you took a look around our Etsy Shop. Our family is so grateful for all of you who have supported us over the years. Thank you!