Awesome Ideas for Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Your Homeschool

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Growing up I attended a parochial school with nuns from Ireland. Because of this, Saint Patrick’s Day was more of a week-long celebration at school. The big holidays were Christmas, Good Friday and Easter, and St. Patrick’s Day. This one day in March holds a tender place in my heart and I love bringing in some of our celebrations from when I was younger into our homeschool.

The History of St. Patrick’s Day

With any holiday, I like to take some time to teach my kids about its history. Many times, the reason for celebrating a holiday gets forgotten or overlooked in favor of the celebration. For many, St. Patrick’s Day is just about wearing green, leprechaun’s, and if you’re old enough, an excuse for drinking beyond reason.

But St. Patrick’s Day actually has a beautiful history that is about none of that. It’s actually about how Christianity came to Ireland.

Unlike they did in England, the Romans never invaded Ireland. The rough seas off its coast kept many from invading it. Christianity reached Ireland sometime around the fourth century, but it didn’t really catch on. Most of the Irish before Christianity participated in a form of pagan nature-worship. However, that all changed when Saint Patrick came to Ireland.

Who Was Saint Patrick?

Patrick was born in Scotland to Christian parents. One night when he was around sixteen years of age a group of pirates captured him and took him to Ireland to sell in the slave market.

Patrick was sold to a man who sent him into the fields to feed swine. While homesick, Patrick would spend his time praying and thinking about the lessons his mother had taught him about God.

After about six years as a slave, Patrick felt prompted by God to return to his home country. Patrick ran away and was able to get passage on a ship sailing for Britain.

After being home for a while, Patrick once again felt a calling from God that he was to return to Ireland to teach them about Christianity.

Consecrated as a bishop, Patrick, with his clergy and helpers, returned to Ireland to teach the people about God.

Upon his arrival, he quickly found favor with one of the chief men of the land, who was eager to hear his message. Patrick traveled all over Ireland teaching people about his one true God. It became customary for the chieftains to give Patrick a piece of land to build a church on. So, as Patrick traveled through Ireland spreading his message, he was able to leave churches and monasteries with people to teach in as he journeyed to the next place.

He would often use a shamrock to teach a principle to the pagan people.

How Can We Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Our Homeschool?

We love celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day in our homeschool. Now that you know a little about the history of St. Patrick’s Day to share, here are some ways you can celebrate it in your own homeschool.

Read Books About Saint Patrick

Books are a great way to get kids engaged while learning about St. Patrick and the history of St. Patrick’s Day. Here are some great read-aloud books to include in your homeschool about Saint Patrick and St. Patrick’s Day.

Start a Tradition of Sharing Your Testimony of Christ for St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day was originally a Christian holiday honoring Saint Patrick and his work to spread Christianity to the people of Ireland. A great way to honor his work is to share your own testimony of Christ with others. Here are some ideas for having your child share their testimony:

• Have your children write down their testimony of Christ. If you keep them from year to year, this can be a great keepsake that shows the growth of their testimony. It can become an awesome St. Patrick’s Day tradition.

• Have a family testimony meeting. Each person can take a turn testifying of Christ and what they know to be true.

• Invite a friend to church or a church activity.

Create a Leprechaun Trap for St. Patrick’s Day

While its roots may be in Christianity, that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun as well. Leprechaun traps are a great STEM activity that begs for creativity, imagination, and fun! You can find instructions and worksheets for creating your own leprechaun trap in my St. Patrick’s Day Activity Pack.

Have a “Lucky” Breakfast or Traditional Irish Dinner

Or both! Food is always a great way to celebrate holidays.

We like to start our day with Lucky Charms cereal. If I’m really “lucky,” then I will have bought the special edition Lucky Charms they usually have during March.

For dinner, I like to prepare a traditional Irish dinner. Usually, it consists of corned beef, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes. Sometimes, I make pasties, which are a favorite of my husband.

Learn About Ireland in Your Homeschool

March is a great month to learn more about the country and culture of Ireland. Here are some ideas for learning about Ireland in your homeschool:

• Locate Ireland on a map.

• Do a unit study on Ireland. This Exploring Ireland Activity Pack from Hess UnAcademy lets kids take a pretend trip to Ireland while learning about the country and culture.

• Read books about Ireland or Irish fairy tales or folklore. Here are a few suggestions:

Have a “Wearin’ O’ the Green” Contest

St. Patrick’s Day conjures up images of the color green–and of pinching! It can be a lot of fun to have a contest in your homeschool to see who can wear the most green. Make-up, nail polish, and hair color can be included to spice it up. Have even more fun by inviting friends to join in!

Have a prize of leprechaun gold for the person with the most green.