Homeschool St. Patrick’s Day

Christina (almost 6) with her St. Patrick's Day parade and party for her dolls and stuffed animals, 1996.

We always loved St. Patrick’s Day in our family. St. Patrick’s Day is two days before my son’s birthday and four days before my daughter’s. Just before the start of spring, St. Patrick’s Day was always a perfect time for our family to begin a time of celebration.

How We Celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in our Homeschool

When Will and Christina were little, for a week or two before the holiday, I typically put out a few Montessori-inspired holiday activities similar to those in my Montessori-Inspired St. Patrick’s Day Activities post. Like our other homeschool holidays, St. Patrick’s Day itself began with our reading of books related to the holiday. Whether we dressed for St. Patrick’s Day before or after our reading, we always wore something with green in it. We often made a St. Patrick’s Day craft or art project as well.

St. Patrick's Day parade with Will (almost eight) and Christina (almost three), 1993.

Then, if there happened to be a St. Patrick’s Day parade where we lived, we attended that. Whether we attended a parade in the community or not, Will and Christina often had a St. Patrick’s Day parade of their own. If you’ve followed my blog for long, you know we were big on parades! We ended our St. Patrick’s Day celebration with a special treat, which varied a bit each year.

Will (almost 11) helping Christina (almost 6) with her St. Patrick's Day parade, 1996.

As Will and Christina grew older, our St. Patrick’s Day celebration primarily consisted of wearing something green and having a special St. Patrick’s Day treat. Still, St. Patrick’s Day was always a fun, festive day that added some brightness to our end-of-winter homeschooling.

What We Would Do Differently if We Were Homeschooling Today

Will and Christina are married adults now, so I’ll have to wait until I have grandkids to try out some new St. Patrick’s Day ideas. Still, I’ve had a great time researching family St. Patrick’s Day ideas online. It’s so easy to find fun holiday activities online that I probably would have added more St. Patrick’s Day activities throughout our homeschool years if we would have had so many resources readily available.

At least one year, I might have planned a whole St. Patrick’s Day party. Most years, though, I probably would have added one or two new activities to our regular homeschool day. I would experiment with new activities unless an activity became a family favorite that my kids requested we do each year. Most likely, I would just choose an activity that caught my eye as something fun for that year.

I think it’s important to not over plan or obsessively look for the very best activity if you want to have a fun, stress-free holiday. There are LOTS AND LOTS of St. Patrick’s Day activities listed in our Living Montessori Now Community. Please check them out and choose one or two activities (and/or videos) that catch your eye as fun activities for your family. If you’d enjoy doing more, go for it! But don’t worry about having the “perfect” St. Patrick’s Day – just use the holiday to inject a little fun and variety into your homeschool.

Have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!! 🙂

This post has been added to Helpful Homeschool Hints.

And be sure to check out the St. Patrick’s Day Blogging Carnival hosted by JanMary from Northern Ireland!