Print out the following pictures and use them to tell the story of St. Patrick.
(Hold up picture/puppet of St. Patrick) "This is Patrick. He was born in Britain, a country that is all the way across the ocean, in Europe! When Patrick was 16 years old, some pirates came and took him away from his family and his home. They took him to a different country called Ireland. The pirates found a man in Ireland, and told him that if he gave the pirates some money, they would give Patrick to him to be his slave. A slave is someone who does all your chores for you, but doesn’t get paid for it.
The man gave the pirates some money, and Patrick became his slave. Patrick’s main job was to watch over the sheep. (Hold up sheep). A person that watches over sheep is called a shepherd. Sometimes Patrick was lonely and sad without his family, so he started studying about church, and about God.
Patrick stayed in Ireland for 6 years working as a slave, and finally he escaped and went back to his home in Britain. While he was there, he became a priest, which is someone who studies and teaches people about God. He had dreams that the people in Ireland needed to hear about God, so he decided to take a trip back to Ireland and teach these people what he had learned.
He taught a lot of people, and showed them the Bible. Many of the people started to believe what he said about God, and about the way they should live their lives. People who believed the things that he taught became ‘Christians.’ Patrick taught the people in Ireland for about 30 years. He died on March 17, which is the day we celebrate St. Patrick’s day!"
Activity: Ask,“What kind of things do we do in America to celebrate St. Patrick’s day?”
Discuss the different symbols that are associated with the holiday : Leprechauns, clovers, color green, rainbows, etc.
Talk about parades and other ways your town celebrates this holiday.
Talk about foods used to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day: Corned beef and cabbage, shepherd’s pie, and Irish soda bread! Go visit this site. if you'd like to try some of them.
Music/Dance
Introduce children to bag pipers and Irish step dancing. Sit them down in front of the computer to watch the following videos on you-tube:
Go visit Riverdance on You Tube.
Click to watch more River Dance
Click to watch Celtic Thunder.
Click to watch Bag Pipers.
Craft: Make a rainbow out of colored fruit loops, leading to a pot of gold!
Go visit this site for instructions.
Stories:
Good luck!: A St. Patrick's Day Story
by Joan Holub
The Luckiest St. Patrick's Day Ever!
by Teddy Slater
Snack: Any food colored green (Jell-O, pancakes, cupcakes, macaroni) or any of the Irish recipes listed above.
Enjoy your holiday!
