Differentiated Kindergarten’s St. Patrick’s Day Survived!
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It’s one of my most favorite times of the year, but it’s also so darn exhausting. Seriously, being a trickily leprechaun is no easy task. And keeping the magic of the season alive for little ones, while so incredibly fun, can poop a poor kindergarten teacher-mom right out. But I couldn’t let the year go by with at least giving you a bit of a pictorial tour of all the shenanigans happening around my class and home. So pull up a chair and check out our St. Patrick’s Day fun!
Of course, with a name like McGuire, I have had my own leprechaun for years now. It never fails. He finds a way in. A way to get his little feet dirty and a weigh to mess the place up despite all the best laid plans of kindergarteners.
Oh, they plan on trapping them. They have enormously complex and very glittery traps with sequence, gold and green things that they assume a leprechaun will love. They are gorgeous contraptions aren’t they? Completely their own creations. I love this open ended activity and just setting back and watching them create.
But they never catch him . . .and he continues to taunt them with footprints and evidence of his existence.
Footprints here . . .
. . .there . . .
yes . . . and even there!
He leaves them notes. . .
and messages . . .
. . . in the most unusual places.
He causes havoc . . .
. . . and messes with our orderly things…
and he even uses our sink to take a bath! And despite it all, my own children love Seamus and so do my kinder friends. In fact, the day after, all I heard was, “I miss Seamus.”
But in the end, Seamus loves these little guys too and makes sure everyone gets a special note and gift of their very own which helps make the fact that they never catch him, not so bad.
Here’s hoping you had a fabulous St. Patrick’s Day.
I have always used feet stickers. For the last couple of years, I found green footprints on google images and ran them on sticker paper. My leprechaun starts coming the first of March so the stickers work great. I tell the children he came from IReland in my great great grandfather’s suitcase and he always leaves stickers. We had amazing traps too but we didn’t catch him either. I love the leprechauns and so do my kinders!!
With nearly 20 years of experience as a full-time kindergarten teacher, I’m committed to creating a classroom where learning is joyful, engaging, challenging, and fun. Each day, I work to ensure that my students feel successful through instruction that considers their unique interests, learning profiles, and readiness levels. I believe that students should be excited to come to class and enjoy a myriad of hands-on activities that encourage exploration and discovery.
While I continue to teach full-time, I find so much joy in connecting and building friendships with teachers worldwide. It’s why I started this blog back in 2012. My hope has become a reality as I have been able to forge relationships with teachers, sharing ideas and building friendships beyond my little neck of the woods through professional development sessions and this blog.
So by all means, take some time to look around and explore A Differentiated Kindergarten. Gather some new ideas, fun tips, and most importantly, don’t forget to reach out and say, ‘Hi!’
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