Free St. Patrick's Day Word Scramble Printable for Kids

This free printable St. Patrick's Day word scramble game is perfect for kids of all ages.

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March is filled with holidays that play into my son's interests. There's Mario Day on the 10th. Then Pi Day on the 14th. Then St. Patrick's Day on the 17th. These holidays check his boxes for video games, Nintendo, math, numbers, and his favorite color, which is green. All things he loves.

While I haven't created a word scramble game for Mario Day or Pi Day (why didn't I?!), I did create a St. Patrick's Day word scramble just in time for St. Paddy's Day.

So if your kid is into word games like mine is, then you're going to love this word scramble. It's a perfect no prep St. Patrick's Day activity. Just print and play.

Why Word Scramble Games are Good for Kids

Word scramble games are a great way for kids to work on vocabulary, spelling, language skills, working memory, problem-solving skills, writing, and so much more! There's a wide range of skills you could target here. Just get creative.

You can use free printable word scramble games like this one at home, in the classroom, or even on the road. Or you could use them in Zoom meetings for online learning (tips on how to do so here). They'd even make a great rainy day activity too!

Also, if you've been looking for other ideas on how to use your hyperlexic child's interests in letters, then word scramble games are a great fit. They definitely build off of a hyperlexic child's interest in letters. I mean the game is literally just a bunch of letters. Besides, using your hyperlexic child's interest to teach new skills is definitely something you should be doing - and something you'll hear me say a lot around here!

So anyway, if you're looking for a quick St. Patrick's Day activity, then give this St. Patrick's Day word scramble for kids a try.

Download the Free St. Patrick's Day Word Scramble Game

This printable is three pages long. Two versions of the word scramble game are included (one with a word bank and one without the word list). Each game contains 12 St. Patrick's Day themed words. An answer key is also included.

To get your copy of the St. Patrick's Day word scramble, click the link below:

>> Click here to download the free printable

 

St. Patrick's Day I Spy Game {Free Printable for Kids}

This free printable St. Patrick's Day I spy game for kids is a perfect way to work on a variety of skills!

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Looking for a quick and easy St. Patrick's Day activity to do with the kids?

Then try this free printable St. Patrick's Day I spy game!

Featuring shamrocks and rainbows and more, this I spy game is a great way to work on math, fine motor skills, and more on St. Patrick's Day. There are lots of other great benefits to playing I spy games with kids, as you'll learn below.

I Spy Games are Versatile!

I spy games are tons of fun and great for kids of all ages. You can use them with toddlers or preschoolers or even preteens and teens. I know that lots of people have even used my I spy games with elderly people and those with dementia.

What I love about I spy games is how versatile they are, even beyond appealing to various age groups. There are lots of different ways to use them (there's a section below with some ideas) and they can also be used in different settings.

For example, I spy games are perfect to use as a quick boredom buster activity at home when the kids are saying, "I'm bored!" Or to keep kids busy while you're cooking supper.

They can also be used in the classroom as part of a learning center or included in a specific lesson or unit. You could also use them as filler activities for those kids who finish their classwork quickly.

You could also print off a bunch of the I spy games, package them up into a binder, and create a busy book for road trips or plane rides. You could even laminate them first (here's the laminator I use and love) or put them into sheet protectors and use a dry erase marker so that the book could be reused over and over.

I spy games are also a great activity to use in speech or occupational therapy since they can be used to target a variety of skills, which we'll touch on in the next section.

The Benefits of I Spy Games for Kids

There are lots of benefits to playing I spy games like this St. Patrick's Day themed one.

For instance, they're great for developing visual tracking skills and improving visual discrimination. After all, these printable games require kids to visually scan through the objects, compare and contrast them, and find all the ones that are the same.

Then there's obviously the math benefits. I spy games are a great way to practice and develop math skills such as sorting, counting, comparing, etc.

You can also work on fine motor skills using I spy games. You might cross off items, cover them in play dough, or use tongs to place pom poms to cover the items (see the next section for other ideas for how to use I spy games).

Furthermore, you could work on handwriting skills with I spy games. After all, there is an answer sheet to record your answers and kids can practice writing numbers or drawing tally marks.

Playing I spy games with your kids is also a great way to work on speech and language skills. You could target articulation and vocabulary for instance. All of my I spy games include written words to accompany the images to aid in comprehension, especially for hyperlexic learners.

I spy games can also be a great way to work on executive functioning related skills and working memory.

See, lots of benefits! Now, let's take a look at some different ways to use this I spy game.

How to Use this I Spy Game

The most obvious way to use this I spy game is to simply print and play (you'll be able to download your copy below). Just grab a pencil, start counting, and record the number of items you found on the answer key (write the number or use tally marks, if you'd prefer). 

Maybe you also want to cross off or circle items on the game sheet with a pencil as you find them.

Another option would be to use bingo dabbers or dot markers. You could also use pom poms or counters to cover the items as you count. You could even pair pom poms with tongs or tweezers to target different fine motor skills.

You could also laminate the I spy game first to make them reusable. Simply use dry erase markers to cross off the items as you find them and fill in the answer key. 

You could also use play dough instead of dry erase markers to cover the items on the laminated game sheet. That way you add an additional sensory component.

Finally, you can go digital by playing this I spy game right on the computer or tablet. You can also pull it up during a Zoom meeting, teletherapy session, or similar using the screenshare function. Then use the annotate tool to cross off the items.

Download the Free Printable St. Patrick's Day I Spy Game

This St. Patrick's Day I spy game has three pages: a game sheet, a page to record the answers, and an answer key. Both the answer sheet and answer key include the image as well as written words to describe the object.

To get a copy of this I spy game, click the link below:

>> Click here to download the free printable

 

Want More I Spy Games?

You'll find even more themes in the I spy games bundle!

Click here to get your copy of the I spy games bundle

St. Patrick's Day Sensory Bin

Simple St. Patrick's Day sensory bin activity for toddlers and preschoolers.

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I recently stocked up on some St. Patrick's Day items from the dollar store, which I basically tossed all together to create this simple St. Patrick's Day sensory bin.  A sensory bin, which I might add, that is great for a wide variety of ages, from babies and up.

In this sensory bin, you'll find sparkly shamrocks, lucky coins in green and gold, and so much green that you might think Kermit the Frog was hanging out in there. Sadly, no Kermit, but there's still tons of sensory fun to be had.

So if you're looking for a quick and easy St. Patrick's Day sensory activity for toddlers or preschoolers, then look no further!

St. Patrick's Day Sensory Bin: What You'll Need

I really love that this sensory bin uses non-food sensory bin fillers (see here and here for more non-food sensory bin ideas).

I also love that this sensory activity is low prep and uses items from the dollar store. As an added bonus, each of the materials can easily be reused for other St. Patrick's Day activities.

Here's what you'll need to recreate this St. Patrick's Day themed sensory bin at home:

• Green flexible mesh tubing, cut into short strips (see why below)

• Foam shamrocks - Some were even glittery, which is fun.

• Fabric shamrocks - The ones we used were stickers found at Dollarama

• St. Patrick's Day themed plastic coins

First, I cut up the mesh tubing for this sensory bin because otherwise it gets really tangled. And, honestly, I'm tired of untangling it. Especially after it has been wrapped around and around and around an exercise bike. Because that totally happened...(#LifeWithKids)

Anyway, this sensory bin is green, festive, and easy to put together. (Assuming you don't have to untangle the mesh tubing first, of course).

Playing in a St. Patrick's Day Sensory Bin

This sensory bin provides a lot of different textures from the smooth foam to the puffy fabric shamrocks to the stretchy, albeit slight scratchy, tubing. And the green mess tubing makes me think of big fat spaghetti noodles or long worms or something. Needless to say, four year old K could hardly resist digging in.

The mesh tubing is so much fun to play with. It was probably K's favorite element in this sensory bin! 

K also used the tubing to work on some fine motor skills practice by sliding one end of the tubing into the other to create a loop. You could also supply some scissors alongside this sensory bin to encourage some scissor skills practice, if you'd like.

So there you have it: a super simple St. Patrick's Day sensory bin that's perfect for toddlers and preschoolers and uses materials from the dollar store.

St. Patrick's Day Sensory Soup

Looking for sensory soup activities? Try this fun St. Patrick's Day sensory soup bin activity! It's great for toddlers and preschoolers.

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Someone in my house has been looking forward to St. Patrick's Day for months, simply because green is his favorite color. So I knew that six year old J would love this St. Patrick's Day sensory soup bin.

I knew it would be a hit with both of my boys since they both love playing with water sensory bins like this.

But what they really loved doing was scooping and pouring the coins! So let's take a closer look at how I put together this St. Patrick's Day sensory bin. It's super easy, I promise.

Water Sensory Activity for St. Patrick's Day: Here's What You'll Need

We've done a lot of sensory soup activities in the past and my boys just absolutely love them. So obviously we need to do one for every holiday and season, right? (Of course, we do).

Here's what we used for this St. Patrick's Day water sensory bin:

• Water - Wouldn't be a sensory soup without it!

• St. Patrick's Day themed plastic coins

• Green liquid watercolor (you could use green food coloring as an alternative)

• Kitchen utensils - I always add a whisk, ladle, large spoon, and a plastic bowl to water sensory bins like this, but other things such as measuring spoons and measuring cups can be added. Just use whatever you have on hand.

Add a generous amount of green liquid watercolor (or food coloring) to some water in a large plastic container and mix until it's the color you desire. Then add the coins. That's it!

One of the reasons that I love sensory soups like this is that you can simply dump the materials in a bin and that's it. No fancy set up required! Yet, still incredibly engaging for little ones.

Kids Love Scooping & Pouring with this St. Patrick's Day Sensory Soup Bin!

By providing a variety of spoons to scoop, pour, and stir, the kids get lots of opportunities to work on their fine motor skills. And, honestly, my boys love scooping and pouring water!

The addition of a bowl is great for exploring mathematical concepts like measurement, volume, and estimation. It also allows for imaginary play. My boys always love to cook up fancy soups or cookies or cakes whenever we do water sensory soup bins like this one. They will often narrate a recipe and its steps like, "Add one scoop of coins and stir."

Like I mentioned earlier, this St. Patrick's Day sensory soup bin was a huge hit with both of my boys. Plus, it's easy to set up and clean up. I hope your kids love it as much as mine did!

Easy Shamrock Suncatcher Craft

Shamrock suncatcher that kids can make for St. Patrick's Day.

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When it comes to crafts, I love using contact paper. The sensory experience of using contact paper by itself is awesome (just ask my three year old). 

But we I love to combine it with transparent materials to make quick and easy suncatchers.

Here's a super simple (and great last minute) shamrock craft for St. Patrick's Day that's perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Easy Shamrock Craft Idea: Make a Shamrock Suncatcher!

Contact paper suncatchers are seriously fun to make. Versatile too! I mean we've made a Pokeball, a shark, giant Christmas lights...the list goes on and on.

So obviously we need to cover every season and holiday, right? haha

The full tutorial for this shamrock suncatcher is over on CBC Parents and you can easily substitute the green material we used (psst...read the full tutorial to find out what it is exactly) for tissue paper instead.

{Click here to read the full tutorial on CBC Parents}

St. Patrick's Day Math Activity Tray

Looking for St. Patrick's Day math activities for preschool or kindergarten? Try this simple St. Patrick's Day math activity tray!

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I love putting together simple math trays for my boys, especially since they're always such a hit with them. I mean of course they are when you have a child with hypernumeracy where math and numbers are a huge passion and special interest.

This St. Patrick's Day math activity tray was no different. My youngest son loved it. And I know my oldest, who has hypernumeracy would have loved it too!

This math tray lead to lots of counting, addition practice, stacking, sorting, and so much more for my four year old. It's really simple to set up as well!

St. Patrick's Day Math Activity Tray for Kids: What You'll Need

This math tray was designed to encourage counting, addition, exploration of tally marks, and measurement using St. Patrick's Day themed materials. Here's what we used:

• Dice - Use as many or as little as you. The dice can be of any shape or size too. You decide!

• Measuring tape (optional) - Always a fun addition!

• St. Patrick's Day themed plastic coins

• Shamrocks - Ours are from the dollar store

• Green transparent cocktail stirrers - Also from the dollar store

• Tray of some sort to put all the materials - We used a wooden one that has four compartments.

Simply place all of the materials onto a tray. Since we had a tray with four compartments, I put the coins in one section, the shamrocks in a second section, the cocktail stirrers in a third, and the dice and measuring tape in the final compartment. I think that this tray looked divine and inviting. Math has never looked so pretty and engaging!

A Simple Preschool & Kindergarten Math Activity for St. Patrick's Day

What I love about math activities like this are how open-ended they are. Some kids might measure using the measuring tape. Others might build things using the materials, such as tally marks or shapes. Some might roll the dice. Others might explore in totally unexpected ways! It's fun to watch how things unfold.

As for four year old K, he loved to roll the die and count out the appropriate number of materials. Sometimes he would roll a couple of dice and add the materials accordingly.

Here is an example of his counting, showing how the number four could be represented by four coins, four shamrocks, or four sticks.

I think the thing that K was most fond of was the coins. He stacked them into towers and then separated/sorted them by color (there were gold coins and green coins). You could even make this into a little game where you roll the dice and add that many more coins to the stack.

Like I mentioned before, there are lots of ways to explore mathematical concepts with these materials. It's really open-ended! You could even consider writing numbers on the shamrocks so they could match coins with the number they see on the shamrock or have them match the shamrock to whatever number they roll on the dice. So feel free to expand on this idea as you see fit.

What do you think your child would do with this St. Patrick's Day math activity tray?

Shamrock Deep Breathing Exercise {Free Printable Poster Included!}

Looking for some deep breathing exercises to teach the kids? Try this St. Patrick's Day themed technique and grab a copy of the free printable poster too!

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This shamrock shaped deep breathing exercise for kids is a great way to work on mindfulness, coping skills, and deep breathing during the month of March and in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.

The free printable mindfulness poster that's included below makes it easy for kids to practice. And using visual supports is beneficial for lots of kids.

A Simple Breathing Exercise for Kids that's Perfect for St. Patrick's Day

Shamrocks are a given at St. Patrick's Day.

So if one was going to make a St. Patrick's Day themed deep breathing technique, it had to feature a shamrock in some way, shape, or form. That's a given, right?

This exercise gives kids the chance to perform three big deep breaths. But they can always repeat more as needed, obviously.

About the Free Printable Shamrock Shaped Deep Breathing Exercise Poster

This one page printable offers a simple deep breathing technique using a shamrock theme (as you could probably guess by now, right?).

As for how to do the actual deep breathing technique, simply trace the shamrock and follow the instructions. Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Repeat a few times. Pretty easy really.

Download the Free Shamrock Deep Breathing Poster

This one page printable outlines how to use this deep breathing technique. It includes written instructions and visual guides/cues to help you or your child use the technique.

I highly recommend laminating the poster for durability. Then feel free to include it in a calm down kit or calm down corner.

To get a copy of this printable, click the link below:

>> Click here to download the free printable

 

St. Patrick's Day Slime

For an easy St. Patrick's Day inspired sensory activity for kids, you'll want to try this DIY St. Patrick's Day slime recipe.

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St. Patrick's Day is easily one of my oldest son's favorite holidays simply because green is his favorite color. So when it comes to making St. Patrick's Day sensory activities for the kids, of course, it has to be green.

This green St. Patrick's Day slime is filled with sparkly glitter and lucky leprechaun gold and provides an amazing tactile sensory experience for the kids!

DIY St. Patrick's Day Slime

This slime recipe is super easy to make and it is so so stretchy (as you can see)! 

The best part is that it uses materials I already have on hand. 

However, if you don't have a craft stash hoarding problem like I do, then you might want to zip to the dollar store to pick up a package of St. Patrick's day themed coins to bury in this slime.

You can customize it however you'd like with glitter and lucky coins from the dollar store. My kids, especially my youngest K, especially loved to add coins, burying them deep into the slime, just so he could pluck them out a bit later.

{Click here to get the full slime recipe on CBC Parents!}

St. Patrick's Day Perler Bead Patterns

Looking for perler bead patterns for St. Patrick's Day? Try this simple leprechaun hat and shamrock perler bead pattern.

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Our entire family recently got into perler bead crafts over the Christmas break. It's been kind of fun and relaxing to do together as a family.

While most of our creations so far have been letters (shocking when you have a kid with hyperlexia, right?), Pokemon characters, and Super Mario characters, we have been branching out to create some fun holiday and seasonal themed ideas lately.

For instance, we recently made these St. Patrick's Day perler bead patterns. They would be great to turn into magnets, a keychain, or even a pin to wear on St. Patrick's Day. Want to make some too? Continue reading...

A version of this post originally appeared on the CBC Parents website.

St. Patrick's Day Perler Bead Patterns: What You'll Need

To make your own leprechaun hat or shamrock perler bead pattern, you will need:

• Square perler bed pegboard

• Perler beads in green, back, and yellow

• Iron - Honestly, the only reason I use an iron these days is to melt perler bead projects like these...

• Ironing paper - You'll need two sheets.

Other than that, all you need is an inspiration photo of the pattern that you want to create, which you will find in the next two sections.

Shamrock Perler Bead Pattern

To make the shamrock, you will need only green perler beads and the photo below. Simply recreate the design in the photo below on a pegboard.

When melted, it will look like this:

Leprechaun Hat Perler Bead Pattern

For the hat, you will need green, yellow, and black perler beads. Again, use the photo below as a pattern for the design.

When melted, it will look like:

How to Melt Your Perler Bead Projects

Once you have completed the designs, cover the perler beads and pegboard with a piece of ironing paper. Then place a warm iron on top, moving in circles, until the beads are melted together. It only takes like 10-20 seconds usually. Adults should complete this step. However, older kids may be able to do this part under adult supervision.

When you lift the iron, you can see how the beads start to stick ever so slightly to the ironing paper. You can gently peel back the ironing paper to check if the beads are fusing together properly. If not, put the ironing paper back down and continue to iron for a few more seconds.

Once the beads are fused together on that one side, then you can flip the design over to melt the other side. To do so, place the ironing paper back on the beads and place your hand on top. Then flip the pegboard over so that the design releases from the pegboard. You should now see the non-melted side.

Place a second piece of ironing paper on the non-melted side and begin melting the non-melted side with the iron.

Once both sides are melted, I always like to place a heavy book on top to help the designs stay flat while cooling. This tip is especially handy for larger designs that are more prone to curving or bending.

Turn Your St. Patrick's Day Perler Bead Projects into Fun Accessories or Art!

There are lots of different things you can do with your finished perler bead projects. You could:

• Make magnets by adding a magnet to the backside of the project

• Turn it into a keychain

• Mount it on paper in a picture frame for some fun festive art or home decor

• Add it to a necklace

• Add a pin backing to it so you can wear it as a pin

Personally, my kids just like to play with the designs that they make, as you can see with K and one of his finished St. Patrick's Day perler bead patterns below.

St. Patrick's Day Gross Motor Math Activity

Combine math and gross motor skills with this simple St. Patrick's Day gross motor game.

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Looking for an easy way to get the kids moving and exploring math? Then this super simple St. Patrick's Day gross motor game and math activity is the perfect way to do that!

Not only do the kids get a chance to work on their math skills by counting, but you can sneak in additional learning, such as sight words, into this activity. 

This activity also works on balance, giving kids some vestibular sensory input.

St. Patrick's Day Gross Motor Game & Math Activity for Kids

For this simple gross motor game, we used:

• Foam shamrocks

• Large foam dice

Create a huge "game board" by arranging the foam shamrocks on the floor. I went with a straight line, but you could create an kind of shape you'd like.

For additional learning, you could label the shamrocks with sight words, letters, numbers, math problems, etc. and have your child identify the word or number or letter, etc. when they land on that shamrock. We left ours plain though.

How to Play this St. Patrick's Day Gross Motor Math Game

Starting at one end of the game board, have your child roll the die and move the corresponding number of steps.

Since our shamrocks were arranged in a straight line, our game board was sort of like a balance beam. Balancing on those shamrocks is good for vestibular sensory input!

What a simple and engaging way to play!

Other St. Patrick's Day Activities You'll Love

St. Patrick's Day Activities for Kids

St. Patrick's Day Math Tray

Shamrock Shootout