What is St. Patrick’s day?

• St. Patrick’s Day is a day of feasting and celebration in honor of the anniversary of the infamous missionary’s death in the late fifth century on March 17th. The people of Ireland celebrate this day as a religious holiday and have done so for centuries. Irish families traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate later in the afternoon and evening. Because the holiday takes place during the Christian season of lent, there is a temporary lift on the prohibition on the consumption of meats and alcohol on that particular day. The holiday has grown in popularity in other countries including America with the amount of Irish heritage many Americans have. Christian homeschools may wish to take this opportunity to focus on the Christian aspects associated with St. Patrick’s Day.

Who was St. Patrick?

• St. Patrick is known for his work as a Christian missionary throughout the fifth century in Ireland. The saint first made his way to Ireland as a bit of misfortune as a young man. His family’s estate was raided by Irish pillagers and he was kidnapped and taken back to Ireland where he was held for six years. St. Patrick eventually escaped and made his way back to Britain. During his time in captivity, Patrick held on to his ever-growing religious beliefs to help him endure the trials of his capture. Several years later, St. Patrick returned to Ireland where he began converting the Irish to Christianity, and eventually became the missionary that is known and recognized for his work today. Over the centuries, many myths and legends have came to surround St. Patrick including his ridding the entire country of Ireland from snakes, which is just an exaggerated tale.

Incorporating St. Patrick’s Day into your homeschool projects and homeschool curriculum:

• To kick of the St. Patrick’s Day celebration, at home projects and crafts are a great way to help children learn about St. Patrick and Ireland. Making the traditional Irish four leaf clover out of paper or clay is a fun way to not only learn about some of Ireland’s most popular symbols, but is a great way to decorate in honor of the holiday.
• Encouraging homeschool reading literature about St. Patrick, Leprechauns, a history of the Emerald Isle and other Irish tales is also a great way to help your child discover information about Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day.
• Incorporating the color green into your homeschool curriculum and projects in honor of the holiday is a fun way for kids to celebrate St. Patrick’s day and to make other projects to help decorate.

Homeschool arts and crafts suggestion: The Pot of Gold

• You will need a small, shallow yogurt cup, a 1 foot by 1 foot square of cardboard, scissors, black spray paint and gold spray paint
• First, cut the cardboard into circles
• Second, make sure the yogurt cup is completely washed and cleaned out
• Next, spray each of the circles with the gold spray paint on a flat surface that is covered with newspaper or plastic
• Then, spray the cup inside and out with black spray paint on the same flat, covered surface
• Wait for the paint to dry on both the cup and the cardboard circles
• Once everything is dry, put the gold circles in the cup, and you now have a pot of gold! This is a great homeschool art project for hands-on fun and a way to decorate your home for St. Patrick’s Day.

Sources: crafts.kaboose.com/holidays/st-patricks-day/, history.com/topics/st-patricks-day