What are Some St. Patrick's Day Crafts?

St. Patrick's Day crafts are simple to create with a few items found around the house. Construction paper and glue are craft tools that any kid loves to use and can create many kinds of projects. When using basic St Patrick's Day shapes like leprechauns, shamrocks and rainbows, imagination is the only limit.

Leprechauns are a staple of St. Patrick's Day crafts. Basic shapes cut out of construction paper can make a cute leprechaun face. Use a red oval for the nose, an orange triangle for the beard, and white circles for the eyes. A green rectangle and green square together create a hat, while a black rectangle and smaller yellow square make the band and buckle on the hat. Kids love to make puppets, so these shapes can also be used to make a paper bag puppet by gluing them to a paper bag, using the flap as the mouth.

For a lesson in plants and growing, create a grass seed leprechaun. Take a simple Styrofoam™ cup and punch a few holes in the bottom. Have the child decorate the side of the cup with a leprechaun face. Fill the cup with soil and place a few grass seeds on top. Within a week, the cup will grow green "hair" on top of the leprechaun face.

Shamrocks are a versatile shape for creating St. Patrick's Day crafts. They can be used to make wreaths by gluing groups of them in a circle pattern, or they can become the "leaves" on a tree. They can even be used as the basis for a shamrock boy or girl. Use a large shamrock for the body and a smaller one for the head. Draw a face on the head and add some arms and legs made from string. Use small shamrocks for the feet and hands.

Rainbows make an excellent group project for large wall art. Cut out the kids' handprints in many colors. Make rainbow-colored rows out of the groups of hand prints. At the end of the rainbow, make a large black "pot" cut out of black paper. Use chocolate gold coins to "fill" the pot by taping them to the wall and enjoy these treats with the kids on St. Patrick's Day.

Hanging St. Patrick's Day crafts provide a fun atmosphere, especially in a classroom setting. Little hats can be made by gluing an upside down Styrofoam™ cup to a a small paper plate. Kids can glue them together and paint them green. Add a black strip of paper and a gold buckle for decoration and string a hanger from the top of the hat.

Mobiles are an excellent way to combine all of these popular St. Patrick's Day crafts together. Use a rainbow as the top of the mobile and hang various shapes from it. Leprechauns and pots of gold are particularly appropriate since leprechauns are the protectors of the gold at the end of the rainbow. Using imagination and basic shapes, anyone can make a house full of Irish spirit with their kids to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.