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March is your time to show your green. Following is a routine that not only
honors St. Patrick, but it also focuses on living a healthy lifestyle that
will guide you into the spring. So get out and enjoy being green!
Warm up Activities
St. Patty vs. the Snakes!
Materials: Book on history of Saint Patrick’s Day
Discuss the myth of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland. Ask the
children to act out the actions of a snake. Lie on the ground and wiggle
around. Pick a child to mimic Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland.
The end of the Rainbow!
Materials: Ribbon and Shamrocks
Run a very long length of ribbon throughout a playground. Weave the ribbon
around trees, under large toys, and around corners, etc. The kids follow
the rainbow path to find treasure -- a leprechaun's pot full of shamrocks.
This activity can also be done indoors around chairs, tables, and rooms!
St. Patrick, Where is Your Shamrock?
This game is a take off on "Doggy, Doggy, Where's Your Bone.”
Materials: Paper shamrock
St. Patrick sits with his eyes closed and a paper shamrock behind him. A
child is chosen to tiptoe up, take the shamrock, and return to his seat.
Then all the children hide their hands in their pockets or behind their
backs and recite "St. Patrick, St. Patrick, where's your shamrock? Somebody
took it, and brought it home. Who took it?” The leprechaun gets three
guesses as to whom has his shamrock. The person with the shamrock is the
next St. Patrick.
Activity Games
Shamrock Rocks!
Materials:
Materials: Cones and paper shamrocks with point values on the back
Spread cones randomly around the gym floor. Place paper shamrocks randomly
under each cone. Place the cones in the gym. Divide the class into teams
of three and line them up behind the starting lines. Explain to the children
that this will be a relay race. The first child on each team will run out,
anywhere in the gym, and look underneath each cone. If they find something,
they will bring it back, and place it in their team’s starting line. If
they do not find anything under the cone they chose, they would run back and
tag the next player. While one team member is looking under a cone, the
other team members are paying close attention to which cones still have
shamrocks underneath. The teams continue until there are no more items to be
found. Once all the items are collected, the teams will “add up” their
findings. Explain that each item has a point value. Point values are on
the back of the shamrocks.
Kick the Green Thing!
( Another version of the game Kick the Can.)
Materials: green can or green plastic glass.
You needed an empty can, and someone to be “it.” The can is placed in the
middle of the playing area. The person who was “it" closes their eyes and
hits the can on the area, and the rest of the groups hides. She counts, with
her eyes closed, to twenty. A player is then captured if she can spot a
player; names them, and the location they were hiding. The players is then
captured. At this point, someone could jump out of hiding and kick the can,
and the caught person is freed. The person, "it", has to tag the runner
before the can is reached. If the can was kicked, those who were captured
hide again, and the person who is " it" has to go through the process of
being “it” again. The game ends when all the people have been found, or
interest is lost in the game. For a variation of this game, try to use
other loco motor movements, such as power walking, jumping, and skipping,
instead of running.
Rainbow Game
Form six equal teams and give each team a color of the rainbow such as red,
orange, yellow, green, blue, or purple. On the signal of rainbow, everyone
beings to walk around the play area so that all the colors are mixed up. On
the signal of freeze, players stop immediately, close their eyes and hold
their arms out in front. Without opening your eyes, slowly walk around the
play area, trying to find the other players in their group. Call out the
color so that the other players can find you. When they have found the
players of their color they link elbows. Together, they continue to call
their color until all the players who have their color are linked. When
everyone is together, they should sit cross-legged and open their eyes
The team that wins is the ones that finds everyone in their group first.
Pot of Gold
Materials: Penny or small object
Have the players gather in one corner of the play area with their eyes
closed. Hide the pot of gold penny somewhere in the play area, close to the
floor. Stand up, scatter, and try to find the pot of gold. When the
players find it, they quietly tell the teacher, whispering its location in
the area. Have the teacher stand in the circle of the playing area. Sit
down and do not tell the others where it is located. Continue to play until
all the children have found the gold, or interest is lost.
Pot of Gold Hunter
Materials: cone to mark off playing area and two green necklaces
The players in this game are called leprechauns. Two students are chosen
to be to be rainbow taggers. Have them each wear a green necklace. On your
signal, the rainbows try to tag the leprechauns ,walking quickly from the
rainbow tagger. When tagged, leprechauns turn into a pot of gold . Pots of
gold must kneel down like a pot and hide their eyes. To become free and
rejoin the tag game, a magic spell must be put upon them by a leprechaun.
This is done by students tagging the person and saying Happy St. Patty Day!
After a few minutes, designate other children to be rainbows. For a
variation on this game leprechaun players may demonstrate other movements
such as jumping, hopping, galloping, or skipping as they maneuver their way
from the rainbow taggers.
Who is St. Patrick?
Materials: chute, paper shamrock
Have the children stand around the chute. Put the shamrock on the chute
edge or in the middle. At a regular pace start passing the chute, chant
St. Patrick was a special man, special man, special man, St. Patrick was a
special man. Where is he?” ( This is sung to the tune of Mary, had a Little
Lamb.) The child who has the shamrock in front of him hops under the chute
to another place. Then have the children say “ There he is! “ Lower the
chute. Put the shamrock on the edge of the chute. Pass the shamrock and
raise the chute, sing the song again and see where the shamrock lands next.
Over the Rainbow
Materials: Rope or volleyball net, two balloons
Students throw balloons over a volleyball/rope net. They score a point if
the balloon does not touch the net when it goes over.
Standing Shamrock Jump
Materials: Shamrocks
Students perform a long-standing jump. The shamrocks mark the distance that
they have jumped.
Snakes from Ireland
Materials: Jump rope
Have two children hold a rope and wiggle it close to the ground. See if
other children can hop over the wiggling rope without touching it. The last
person who is left, wins!
Cool Down Games
Shamrock Score
Materials: green packing peanuts
Various shamrocks to throw at
Students throw overhead at the shamrock targets. Then can earn one, two,
or three points depending on the number that they hit.
Patty’s Pots
Materials: Buckets and small ball
Have the students small balls into the shamrock bucket. This is done in the
Bozo-bucket styles.
Heave Ho
Materials: Spatula or large plastic spoon, light ball or sponge, crossbar or
clothesline
In this version of the classic hay sack toss, use a spatula or large
plastic spoon and ball. Put the ball up and over a clothesline or makeshift
crossbar. Whoever succeeds the most times out of ten is the winner. If the
line cannot be put high in the air, have the children toss the ball on their
knees with eyes closed.
References
Dublin Games
http://users.bigpond.net.au/kirwilli/games/games.htm
Family Fun
http://familyfun.go.com/parties/
Landry, Joanne M. and Landry, Maxwell J., Ready-to-Use P.E. Activities for
Grades 3-4, Parker Publishing, 1992
Landry, Joanne M. and Landry, Maxwell J., Ready-to-Use P.E. Activities for
Grades1-2, Parker Publishing, 1992
PE Central
http://www.pecentral.org/lessonideas/ViewLesson.asp?ID=5403
http://www.pecentral.org/lessonideas/ViewLesson.asp?ID=1258
Perpetual preschool
http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/stpat_games.html
Wiles, Liz and Dick. Parachute Play. Elgin, Illinois: Building Blocks, 2000
Wnek, Barbara, Holiday Games, and Activities, Champaign, IL Human Kinetics,
1992
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