Operation Catch a Leprechaun
We were never afraid of being pinched on St. Patrick's day when we were kids. No sir! We were Irish! That's right, we were a whole 1/4 Irish (and 3/4 Italian) and proud of it! We dressed head to toe in green on St. Patrick's Day and happily gobbled down our annual feast of corned beef and cabbage! So when I had my first daughter, I proudly continued the tradition. Until ....
. . . I became obsessed with researching our family history and got the results of my Ancestry DNA test. (Insert sound of screeching tires here) Yep! That's right! You guessed it! We are exactly zero percent Irish! Z-E-R-O!
Irish or not, we will still be wearing green and eating our corned beef and cabbage this St. Patrick's Day, and every St. Patricks day! After all, it's our family tradition. This year, I proposed we try something new. I was inspired by the only St. Patrick's Day book that we own, The Night Before St. Patrick's Day by Natasha Wing.
and these adorable lines-
"They decked out the den
from ceiling to floor
with streamers and rainbows
and shamrocks galore.
Later the carefully made traps
with gold charms and rings.
'I bet we catch a leprechaun.
They love shiny things.'
For if they caught one-
so the legend told-
they'd find where he buried
his big pot of gold."
How cool would that be?!!! To catch a real live leprechaun and have him lead us to his pot of gold!!!!
So, I filled the family up on pancakes and threw my idea at them this past weekend. "We are going to build leprechaun traps!" I proudly announced. I was not prepared for so much enthusiasm and excitement. Not only was Miss 4 super excited about it, but daddy was too! Neither one could stop talking about their ideas. You guys, I can already tell we are going to do this every year! I can see and hear the wheels turning in Miss 4's head. She can't stop talking about it! And we love that!
This activity has STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) written all over it! My teacher brain is drooling! Daddy, and his business/analytical brain, started throwing out words like budget, timeline, resources, brainstorming, pre-planning...... and mama started throwing out words like science, technology, engineering, art, and math. We're going to tag team this thing! And it's going to be AWESOME! Our girls are going to learn so much and have so much fun while doing it! We might just catch a leprechaun yet!!!!
So here's the plan..... Check back often as we will be updating daily.
Objective: To build leprechaun traps using our knowledge of simple machines and leprechauns.
Budget: $10 or less.
Supplies: Collect various items from around the house and garage that will be suitable for building leprechaun traps.
We have already collected the following:
*oatmeal container
*Cool Whip container
*colored craft sticks
*Kleenex box
*clothespins
*paper towel tube
*toilet paper tube
*chocolate gold coins
We found the following fun items at Dollar Tree.
*plastic gold coins
*shamrock stickers
*green shredded paper
*rainbow colored craft sticks
*rainbow colored pipe cleaners
*colored tissue paper
Resources:- Collect and read various books on leprechauns to gain a better understanding of who they are and what they like. We have the following books on reserve at our local library. Check back soon to see which ones we think are most helpful. Please share any of your favorite leprechaun books with us in the comments below. We would love to add to our list.
*Jamie O'Rourke and the big potato: an Irish folk tale by Tomie DePaola
*The leprechaun who lost his rainbow by Sean Callahan
*Shannon and the world's tallest leprechaun by Sean Callahan
*That's what leprechauns do by Eve Bunting
*Too many leprechauns; or how that pot o' gold got to the end of the rainbow by Stephen Krensky
*How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace
*How to Trap a Leprechaun by Sue Fliess
We purchased the following book from Amazon and can't wait for it to arrive. We are going to try not to look at it until after we have designed our own traps. We don't want to influence Miss 4's creativity. We will use this book as a resource for next year. But it just looked too good not to buy!
*How to Build a Leprechaun Trap by Larissa Juliano- gives ideas for building 15 traps with 13 bonus activities, including STEM.
Simple Machines: Learn about and discuss simple machines. Simple machines make work easier by changing the direction or the size of a force applied to it. They only have one or two parts and don't have motors. There are 6 simple machines:
*Pulley- uses a wheel and a rope to lift or lower an object. Examples: flagpole, crane
*Wedge- two inclined planes joined together back to back. They are used to split things. Examples: knife, ax
*Lever- a rigid bar with a support called a fulcrum. It is used to lift or move objects. Examples: shovel, fork, seesaw, scissors
*Wheel and Axle- a circular object that turns around an axle. It is used to lift or move object. Examples: door knob, bike, steering wheel. Click here to see what we did to learn about the wheel and axle.
*Screw- type of inclined plane that is used to hold objects together or lift objects. Examples: stairs, bottle cap, light bulb
*Inclined Plane- a slanting surface that works by lifting things more easily up to a higher level. Examples: slide, ramp, roof
Check out this Simple Machines Unit for elementary Students. It contains definitions, worksheets, assessments, a crossword puzzle, and a board game.
*** We will be sharing ideas and activities for learning each of the simple machines in separate posts.
Rainbows: Learn about the colors of the rainbow. Here are a few resources and activities:
Rainbow Facts for Kids from Science Kids
Make Your Own Rainbow Experiment from Science Kids. This is a really fun and simple experiment that teaches all about primary and secondary colors. Check out our Walking Rainbow!
Rainbow Patterns with free template from Life Over C's. They have an entire rainbow unit with tons of great ideas and activities!
Make a puffy paint rainbow by Learning 4 Kids
Make a rainbow using Fruit Loops and marshmallows.
Make a pipe cleaner rainbow. Pictures coming soon!
Make a fruit rainbow.
Make a recycled rainbow. Check ours out here!
Make a rainbow push fine motor activity for your littlest leprechaun hunter. Check ours out here!
Make rainbow shoots and ladders. Check ours out here!
Math:
Leprechaun and Fairy Word Problems- Check it out here!
Gold Coin Math- activity coming soon!
Fine Motor Skills:
Rainbow Push
Gold Coin Push
Brainstorm: After collecting supplies, learning about the six simple machines, and reading about leprechauns, brainstorm ideas for possible traps. Try to incorporate one or more simple machines into your designs.
Since we will be building our traps as a family, this is a good opportunity to teach about cooperative learning. Cooperative learning promotes:
*awareness of others
*positive interaction with others
*sharing ideas and opinions
*taking turns
*caring for others
*listening skills
*learning how others think and react to problems
Sketch: Make sketches of the groups' favorite trap ideas. Gather any other supplies needed to construct these traps.
Construction and Decoration: Construct leprechaun traps making sure to include one or more of the six simple machines. Decorate your traps, keeping in mind everything you learned about leprechauns. Remember: You are trying to lure a leprechaun! Make it bright! Make it shiny! Use rainbows and shamrocks!
Testing: Test your traps to make sure they work like you want. Make any modifications that are needed.
Set Your Traps: Set your traps the night before St. Patrick's Day. Be on the look out for trickery! With any luck, you'll catch yourself a leprechaun and he'll lead you to his gold!
See all of our Catch a Leprechaun posts:
. . . I became obsessed with researching our family history and got the results of my Ancestry DNA test. (Insert sound of screeching tires here) Yep! That's right! You guessed it! We are exactly zero percent Irish! Z-E-R-O!
Irish or not, we will still be wearing green and eating our corned beef and cabbage this St. Patrick's Day, and every St. Patricks day! After all, it's our family tradition. This year, I proposed we try something new. I was inspired by the only St. Patrick's Day book that we own, The Night Before St. Patrick's Day by Natasha Wing.
and these adorable lines-
"They decked out the den
from ceiling to floor
with streamers and rainbows
and shamrocks galore.
Later the carefully made traps
with gold charms and rings.
'I bet we catch a leprechaun.
They love shiny things.'
For if they caught one-
so the legend told-
they'd find where he buried
his big pot of gold."
How cool would that be?!!! To catch a real live leprechaun and have him lead us to his pot of gold!!!!
So, I filled the family up on pancakes and threw my idea at them this past weekend. "We are going to build leprechaun traps!" I proudly announced. I was not prepared for so much enthusiasm and excitement. Not only was Miss 4 super excited about it, but daddy was too! Neither one could stop talking about their ideas. You guys, I can already tell we are going to do this every year! I can see and hear the wheels turning in Miss 4's head. She can't stop talking about it! And we love that!
This activity has STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) written all over it! My teacher brain is drooling! Daddy, and his business/analytical brain, started throwing out words like budget, timeline, resources, brainstorming, pre-planning...... and mama started throwing out words like science, technology, engineering, art, and math. We're going to tag team this thing! And it's going to be AWESOME! Our girls are going to learn so much and have so much fun while doing it! We might just catch a leprechaun yet!!!!
So here's the plan..... Check back often as we will be updating daily.
Objective: To build leprechaun traps using our knowledge of simple machines and leprechauns.
Budget: $10 or less.
Supplies: Collect various items from around the house and garage that will be suitable for building leprechaun traps.
We have already collected the following:
*oatmeal container
*Cool Whip container
*colored craft sticks
*Kleenex box
*clothespins
*paper towel tube
*toilet paper tube
*chocolate gold coins
We found the following fun items at Dollar Tree.
*plastic gold coins
*shamrock stickers
*green shredded paper
*rainbow colored craft sticks
*rainbow colored pipe cleaners
*colored tissue paper
Resources:- Collect and read various books on leprechauns to gain a better understanding of who they are and what they like. We have the following books on reserve at our local library. Check back soon to see which ones we think are most helpful. Please share any of your favorite leprechaun books with us in the comments below. We would love to add to our list.
*Jamie O'Rourke and the big potato: an Irish folk tale by Tomie DePaola
*The leprechaun who lost his rainbow by Sean Callahan
*Shannon and the world's tallest leprechaun by Sean Callahan
*That's what leprechauns do by Eve Bunting
*Too many leprechauns; or how that pot o' gold got to the end of the rainbow by Stephen Krensky
*How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace
*How to Trap a Leprechaun by Sue Fliess
We purchased the following book from Amazon and can't wait for it to arrive. We are going to try not to look at it until after we have designed our own traps. We don't want to influence Miss 4's creativity. We will use this book as a resource for next year. But it just looked too good not to buy!
*How to Build a Leprechaun Trap by Larissa Juliano- gives ideas for building 15 traps with 13 bonus activities, including STEM.
Simple Machines: Learn about and discuss simple machines. Simple machines make work easier by changing the direction or the size of a force applied to it. They only have one or two parts and don't have motors. There are 6 simple machines:
*Pulley- uses a wheel and a rope to lift or lower an object. Examples: flagpole, crane
*Wedge- two inclined planes joined together back to back. They are used to split things. Examples: knife, ax
*Lever- a rigid bar with a support called a fulcrum. It is used to lift or move objects. Examples: shovel, fork, seesaw, scissors
*Wheel and Axle- a circular object that turns around an axle. It is used to lift or move object. Examples: door knob, bike, steering wheel. Click here to see what we did to learn about the wheel and axle.
*Screw- type of inclined plane that is used to hold objects together or lift objects. Examples: stairs, bottle cap, light bulb
*Inclined Plane- a slanting surface that works by lifting things more easily up to a higher level. Examples: slide, ramp, roof
Check out this Simple Machines Unit for elementary Students. It contains definitions, worksheets, assessments, a crossword puzzle, and a board game.
*** We will be sharing ideas and activities for learning each of the simple machines in separate posts.
Rainbows: Learn about the colors of the rainbow. Here are a few resources and activities:
Rainbow Facts for Kids from Science Kids
Make Your Own Rainbow Experiment from Science Kids. This is a really fun and simple experiment that teaches all about primary and secondary colors. Check out our Walking Rainbow!
Rainbow Patterns with free template from Life Over C's. They have an entire rainbow unit with tons of great ideas and activities!
Make a puffy paint rainbow by Learning 4 Kids
Make a rainbow using Fruit Loops and marshmallows.
Make a pipe cleaner rainbow. Pictures coming soon!
Make a fruit rainbow.
Make a recycled rainbow. Check ours out here!
Make a rainbow push fine motor activity for your littlest leprechaun hunter. Check ours out here!
Make rainbow shoots and ladders. Check ours out here!
Math:
Leprechaun and Fairy Word Problems- Check it out here!
Gold Coin Math- activity coming soon!
Fine Motor Skills:
Rainbow Push
Gold Coin Push
Brainstorm: After collecting supplies, learning about the six simple machines, and reading about leprechauns, brainstorm ideas for possible traps. Try to incorporate one or more simple machines into your designs.
Since we will be building our traps as a family, this is a good opportunity to teach about cooperative learning. Cooperative learning promotes:
*awareness of others
*positive interaction with others
*sharing ideas and opinions
*taking turns
*caring for others
*listening skills
*learning how others think and react to problems
Sketch: Make sketches of the groups' favorite trap ideas. Gather any other supplies needed to construct these traps.
Construction and Decoration: Construct leprechaun traps making sure to include one or more of the six simple machines. Decorate your traps, keeping in mind everything you learned about leprechauns. Remember: You are trying to lure a leprechaun! Make it bright! Make it shiny! Use rainbows and shamrocks!
Testing: Test your traps to make sure they work like you want. Make any modifications that are needed.
Set Your Traps: Set your traps the night before St. Patrick's Day. Be on the look out for trickery! With any luck, you'll catch yourself a leprechaun and he'll lead you to his gold!
Come catch a leprechaun with us by building your very own leprechaun trap! Follow along with us as we continue to post learning and activity ideas, share our sketches and pictures of our finished traps. We would love if you shared yours too!
- Recycled Rainbow and Other Rainbow Activities
- Can You Catch a Leprechaun Using a Wheel and Axle?
- Leprechaun and Fairy Math
- The Inclined Plane
- Walking Rainbow
- Make Your Own Rainbow
🌈Happy Learning and Happy Hunting! 🌈
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