Thinking Theme: St. Patrick's Day

Letter of the Week:  Gg

Number of the Week:  17

Bible Verse of the Week:  "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." 2 Corinthians 13:14 (focusing on The Trinity this week)

Books:

Lesson 1: What is St. Patrick's Day? Handprint Craft
Objectives:
* To understand what St. Patrick's Day is and why we celebrate it
(The Legend of St. Patrick, The History of St. Patrick's Day for Kids)
* To recognize the special, godly characteristics of St. Patrick and discuss how we can display these same qualities to those around us
* To understand what the Trinity is and who is in the Trinity (God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit)
* To recognize what a clover/shamrock is
* To create a 3 leaf clover craft to use as a reminder for this holiday and a reminder of the Trinity
* To use the fine motor skills involved with painting

Materials:
* construction paper
* green paint
* paintbrush
* markers
* paper plate

Procedure:

1. Review the story of St. Patrick and what he did to spread the word of Christ to Ireland.  Talk about how we can share the good news of Jesus with people around us.

2. Talk about the Trinity.  Of course, they will not completely grasp the 3-in-1 concept at this age, but explain each "person" in it and some characteristics of each one.

3. Put a few drops of green paint onto a paper plate.  Let your child paint their hand green using a paintbrush to make sure each part of their hand is covered in paint.

4. Place three handprints in a 3 leaf clover shape on a piece of construction paper.  You will probably need to re-coat with paint each time.  (I put Happy St. Patrick's Day on the top of our paper.)

5. Let your child paint a stem for the clover.  Then have them name each person in the Trinity while you write the names beside each "leaf".  Use this picture throughout the week to remember who St. Patrick was and why he was important, as well as to remember the names in the Trinity.

Lesson 2: Lucky Charm Graphing - 2 Teaching Mommies
Objectives:
* To sort Lucky Charms marshmallows into categories
* To graph the number of marshmallows in each category
* To analyze the results of the graph including which has the most, least, etc.
* To use the fine motor skills involved with sorting, coloring, and writing

Materials:
* Graph Printable from 2 Teaching Mommies
* box of lucky charms (with marshmallows divided out)
* pencil
* crayons/markers

Procedure:
1.  Have your child pick out a handful of marshmallows from the Lucky Charms box of cereal.  They might have to dig a little to find each kind. :)

2. Have them place each marshmallow in the correct column on the graph.

3. Once all of the marshmallows are in place, count the number in each column and help your child write the numbers at the bottom of the graph.  Then, have them point out the columns with the most and least marshmallows.  Put a star under these columns.  Talk about which categories had the same amount, as well.  You could even place the categories in order from least to most or vice versa.

4. Remove the marshmallows from the graph, and let your child color in the right amount of squares for each column as a visual representation of the Lucky Charms graph.

Lesson 3: Pot O' Gold File Folder Game - File Folder Fun

Objectives:

* To learn what a noun is (person, place, or thing)

* To learn what a verb is (something you do)

* To understand the difference between nouns and verbs

* To recognize and categorize words as nouns or verbs

Materials:

* Printable from File Folder Fun

* file folder

* scissors

* glue

* ziploc bag

Procedure:
1. Cut out each part of the file folder game from the printables.  Glue the pieces on a file folder like this:

2. Explain what a noun is and what a verb is.  Give a few examples of each type of word.  Then, have your child sort the clover words into nouns and verbs by placing them in the correct pot of gold.  (Note: Some of the words can actually be both, depending on the way you use them in a sentence.  Make sure you are clear when you are telling them the word on the card.  For instance, the word "cook" can be used both ways.  "I cook in the kitchen." (verb) or "John is a cook at a restaurant."(noun))
* Place the clover cards in a plastic bag to save.

Lesson 4: I'm Lucky Because...

Objectives:
* To explore and search for clovers

* To recognize and state the blessings we have in our lives
* To understand what the term "lucky" or blessed means
* To understand what a lucky charm is and the tale of the 4 leaf clover
* To use the fine motor skills involved with writing

Materials:

* magnifying glass
* construction paper
* pencil

Procedure:
1. Go outside and have your child search for clovers using a magnifying glass.  Talk about the characteristics of the clovers (color, shape, size, etc.)

2. Explain the legend of the 4 leaf clover and how some people think they are lucky.  Talk about ways that you are lucky or blessed.  Explain that luck isn't necessarily real, but it is God that blesses us and that is why we are lucky.  Help your child write their thoughts on a piece of paper.  (I just typed up a little writing page, but you can create your own however you wish.  Feel free to let your child decorate it or even glue the clovers they found onto the page.)

Lesson 5: Shamrock Cookies

Objectives:

* To recognize the shape of a shamrock/clover
* To understand how to read and use a recipe
* To use the measurement skills involved with baking
* To watch and analyze the chemical color change of the frosting
* To use the fine motor skills involved with mixing, rolling dough, cutting with cookie cutters, and spreading with a knife

Materials:
* ingredients for your favorite sugar cookies
* clover cookie cutter (I couldn't find a clover shape, so we just used a flower...looks pretty much the same!)
* vanilla frosting
* green food coloring
* cookie sheet
* small bowl
* knife
* spoon

Procedure:
1. Make your favorite sugar cookie dough and roll it out.  Let your child use a shamrock (or flower) cookie cutter to cut out the cookies.

2. Place the cut out dough on a greased cookie sheet.  If you used a flower cookie cutter like we did, you will need to add a small rectangle piece to each cookie for the stems.  Then place them in the oven.

3. While the cookies are baking, place some vanilla frosting into a bowl and have your child add drops of food coloring to make it green.

4. After the cookies have cooled, let your child spread the green frosting onto the cookies.  Enjoy eating yummy shamrocks with your kiddos!

Extras:
Three Pre-School St. Patrick's Day Packs
* 2 Teaching Mommies
* Over the Big Moon
* Mommy School - G is for Green