Preschoolers may be hesitant to try new foods, but they may be more eager to take a taste if you're cooking up special holiday food. Make a batch of Irish soda bread. Let children take turns measuring and stirring the ingredients. If you have access to a full kitchen, you can cook up some corned beef and cabbage for everyone to taste. For snack time, serve all green foods. Turn a green pepper on its side and slice it. The slices will resemble shamrocks. Get written permission from parents before serving new foods to students.
Cutting and coloring help preschoolers with their motor skills. Trace shamrocks onto green paper for children to cut out. Small curves can be difficult for children, so make the shamrocks fill the entire page. Once they've cut out the shape, have them decorate it with drawings. Laminate the shamrocks to make holiday place mats. You can also give children writing practice by having them make St. Patrick's Day cards for family members. Hang up a sign spelling out the name of the holiday for children to copy onto their cards.
Tell preschoolers that leprechauns are sneaky little Irish creatures that come out during St. Patrick's Day. Ask them to help you come up with a plan to catch any leprechauns that might come through your classroom. Bring in an empty cardboard box for children to decorate and set up somewhere in the room, then have them come up with a plan to trick the leprechauns into going inside. For instance, they might hang a sign that says, "Leprechaun food here!" Overnight, move the box and leave trinkets or candy inside. The next day, explain that the leprechaun got out but left treats for the children.
Play Irish music for children to dance along with. Get CDs from the local library with a variety of Irish music, from uptempo fiddle music to lullabies. You can also play bagpipe music. Ask children to change their movements depending on the type of music that's playing. For instance, they may jump around to faster music and sway to softer tunes. You can also play a DVD of Irish step dancing. Slow the images down and see if the children can mimic the steps.