Holidays are always a fun and easy time to sneak art into any classroom. St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect time for St. Patrick’s Day Activities. In fact, there is something about St. Patrick’s Day that I think lends itself to fun and creative projects. Today, I have a collection of some of my most popular ideas. These are all things I’ve personally done with kids, and I know they work.
Just remember…
“You don’t have to BE an art teacher to do art in your classroom—you just need to know one—and now that you know me—you are set!”
– Jenny K.
Remember to save this post to Pinterest, and you can refer back to it year after year!
#1 Textured Paper Shamrocks
My students and I had a blast making this shamrock art project using textured paper. We made the textured paper ourselves! Children LOVE to paint – that’s no surprise – but when you give them unusual tools to use (like plastic forks and toothbrushes), they are completely engaged and ready to see what you have in store for them.
This project is essentially broken into two parts. The first is to make the textured paper (a technique you can use for many projects and different times of the year). The second part is to use that textured paper to create these adorable shamrocks – cut like a puzzle and glued down with space in between.
Learn everything you need to know about making your own textured paper shamrocks HERE.
#2 Table Posters
I’m always looking for new ways to help classroom teachers and parents infuse more art into their children’s learning. Recently, I came up with a fun and fresh activity that I call “table posters.”
My table posters are small coloring posters that you first put together and then spread out on a table to have small groups of kids work together to color them. My table posters are great for morning work, stations, early finishers, and many other occasions—basically, whenever you want your students to collaborate and work together.
I put these table posters out on the tables when children arrive—and after some very brief instructions, they get right to work.
And really, the only instructions I give my students are that they need to include their name somewhere on the table poster, and they can (if they want) write things that make them feel “lucky” somewhere on the poster (since these are all St. Patrick’s Day-themed designs).
Plus, as a bonus, the final colored posters make festive St. Patrick’s Day decorations for your room, door, or hallway!
As one teacher said…
“I have never seen my students work together so well! They absolutely loved this activity and I liked that I could put them in small groups.”
I hope you find these table posters useful with your students as I do with mine.
If you want to see more information, here is the link to my St. Patrick’s Day Table Posters in my TPT store.
#3 Free Shamrock Coloring Page
Teachers and parents love my interactive and pattern-filled Pop Art coloring pages. I think mostly because children are allowed to be creative, and the colors aren’t “prescribed.” Instead of children being penalized for making things the colors they “should” or “shouldn’t be,” children are encouraged to use a variety of colors and to make things uniquely their own.
As one teacher wrote…
“I found that my 5th/6th graders come to me and because of the focus on testing, never played with color or design or patterns. Your products give them that opportunity and I’ve seen so much improvement in their attention to detail as well as noticing patterns, lines, etc. It’s so much more than ‘just coloring.'”
I have a great collection of interactive and pattern-filled coloring sheets specifically designed for St. Patrick’s Day in my TPT store HERE. This set also includes a collection of writing prompts to help integrate art into your other studies. I also have a large, all-year set for older children HERE and another specifically designed for younger children HERE.
If you want to give one a try for FREE, I have this sample of a shamrock that is a perfect St. Patrick’s Day activity. You can find that FREE sheet in my Teachers Pay Teachers store HERE.
I know your children will love using my interactive and/or pattern-filled coloring pages in your classroom or at home. Pair it with some writing, and it’s a win for everyone!
#4 Tissue Paper Irish Flag
If you are a classroom teacher and you study Ireland or do St. Patrick’s Day-themed units, this Irish flag art project is a fun and super easy art integration activity that you can use to accompany your lessons!
The basic principle is this…instead of using paint, colored pencils, or crayons like you typically would to color something, give students tissue paper to color their flags instead. Students will “paint” the sections with glue and then put the tissue paper on top. This will create a beautiful solid color with a unique solid texture. You will need 12″ x 18″ white paper, orange and green tissue paper, green construction paper for the shamrock, glue, cup for glue, brush, pencil, eraser, scissors, and ruler.
This Irish flag art lesson is fun for letting kids do some simple math–and in my experience, kids always need to review using a ruler! So don’t give them all the answers–make them think through this real-life problem.
When the flags are complete, display them for all to see. If your class is doing any research on Ireland, their work will look great on display with these flags! I’ve done this project with 3rd & 4th graders, but it would be appropriate for students in grades 3 and above.
You can find my complete set of instructions for painting your own Irish flag using tissue paper on my dedicated blog post HERE.
#5 Celtic Knot Initials
I’ve found that students love coloring and drawing Celtic knot designs, and creating Celtic knot initials is a favorite of theirs. Celtic knots seem like calming designs, and they are so intricate that kids have to figure out how they work. This keeps them super engaged, and they love that.
In this project, I have the kids paint the initial of their last name, employing Celtic knot designs. I think you’ll agree the finished results are really cool! This would be great for any teacher of grades 3 and above…middle school kids would also LOVE this project!
To start this project and get my students excited about and familiar with Celtic knots, I had them practice drawing them. I have a full set of these practice drawing sheets in my TPT store, but if you’d like a free sample, you can sign up to my mailing list (below), and you’ll be able to download it from my subscriber library.
I love to spoil teachers, parents, and administrators who sign up for my emails by sending exclusive freebies, tips, and tricks, as well as special announcements of sales. Not to mention, after you join, you’ll get invited to my “Subscribers Library” of freebies. It’s easy. Simply sign up below (under “share and save”), and you’ll get my free ebook sent right in your inbox (check your spam folder if you don’t see it). Then, a few days later, you’ll get information on accessing my subscriber-only library, where you can download my Celtic Knot Freebie (along with many others). In the meantime, you can enjoy my free ebook content.
After practicing drawing Celtic knots, I then move on to the initial project. The steps are pretty straightforward and produce great results…
If you are interested in trying this project with your kids, you can find my complete set of instructions for creating your own Celtic knot initials on my dedicated blog post HERE.
#6 Celtic Knot Paper Project
Kids absolutely love this project! At first glance, this Celtic knot activity might look complicated—which is why it’s so striking when the students complete it! Using a set of templates that I’ve developed, kids cut out shapes from colorful construction paper and then weave these shapes together to produce a surprisingly intricate-looking final design. The kids are totally engaged and thrilled by the final results.
I have two versions of this project available in my TPT store. I include a complete set of instructions and all the templates that you will need in each volume. My Shamrocks set even includes a full step-by-step instructional video as well!
You will find both of my Celtic knot paper projects on Teachers Pay Teachers HERE.
Thanks for making art with your children!
Jenny K.
