St. Patrick's Day Trays

This week's trays focus on a St. Patrick's Day theme.  We will be learning about Saint Patrick, as well as enjoying some fun learning activities.

What's on the Tray??

Alphabet Match

Take a lowercase letter tile from the white bowl and place the duck on the matching uppercase letter shamrock.

~letter recognition, one to one correspondence~

Counting Beads

Place the correct number of beads into each section of the ice tray.

~counting, number recognition, fine motor~

 Button Threading

Thread each shamrock button onto the pipe cleaner.

~fine motor~

One to One Shamrock Match

Place one small shamrock from the bowl onto each larger shamrock.

~one to one correspondence~

Spooning Gems

Spoon the gems, one at a time, into the second dish.

~fine motor~

Balancing Hats

Balance one hat onto each of the sticks.

~fine motor, one to one correspondence~

Sorting Leprechauns by Size

Place each leprechaun onto the correct place on the sorting mat.

~size differentiation~

 I printed this activity and the one below it last year from Musings of Me.  Her blog is now listed as private, so it appears that the printables are no longer available.

St. Patrick's Day Counting

Count the St. Patrick's Day objects on each card and place the clothes pin onto the correct number.

~counting, number recognition, fine motor~

St. Patrick's Day Patterning

Use the objects in the bowls to complete each pattern.  Then, use the blank pattern sheet (printable available below photograph) to create your own patterns.

~sequencing & patterning~

Alphabet Sounds
This is honestly not my favorite toy, as it does not accurately say each sound for each letter, but it is fun for Super Tot and allows me some uninterrupted teaching time with Princess.

Books for this week:

Of course, we will be reading many more books, but these are our St. Patrick's Day theme books for the week.

For lots more inspiration, be sure to check these sites:

1+1+1=1

Sun Scholars

No Time for Flashcards

Homeschool Creations

Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

ABC & 123

Living Life Intentionally

Read, Explore, Learn

Living Montessori Now

Homeschooling on the Cheap

Homemade Piggy Banks

Super Tot loves the gold coins in our St. Patrick's Day Sensory Bin.  They are the first thing he plays with when we get it out, so I thought I would make him a little bank to go with them. I started off making a standard pink pig.  

I used an empty plastic container I had on hand and simply glued on a button nose, google eyes, and some ears & a tail cut out of pink craft foam.  I glued the same foam around little wooden blocks (I only had primary colors, so paint wouldn't work), then glued them onto the bottom.  Lastly (though I should have done this first), I cut a slit using a craft knife.  I wasn't being careful, so the plastic actually split, but I put a dab of glue over the split and it was fine.  

Super Tot was having so much fun with it, when Princess asked if I would make one for her, too.  I decided I would make another, but that I would make this one green, to go along with our St. Patrick's Day bin! 

For the green pig, I found another empty container that just happened to have a green lid!  It was perfect!  I used a green button for the nose, the same google eyes as the first pig, green craft foam ears/tail, and blocks for the legs that were already green.  I was more careful cutting this slit, so it was perfect.  

I love that the green pig has a twist off lid for Super Tot to open and close!  The pink pig's just presses into place.  Super Tot really enjoyed it, too!  I now have the green pig in our Sensory Bin, but will keep it with our regular Tot Tools once we switch out the Sensory Bin.

These were super easy to make and only took me a few minutes each.  

For more fun ideas, click on the button below!

St. Patrick's Day Sensory Bin

We've had so much fun exploring with our Valentine Sensory Bin these past few weeks!  It was our first one, but it didn't take me long to realize that it was a hit.  I plan to keep a Sensory Bin made at all times.  It looks like changing them out every 2-3 weeks is going to be about right for our family.  

Since we've had the Valentine one out for about 3 1/2 weeks, I decided it was time to change it.  I decided, naturally, on a St. Patrick's Day theme.  

I found a few St. Patty's Day items at Target's Dollar Spot, and a few at Michael's.  The rest are items I already had on hand.  I love the different textures that the glitter and various materials bring to the bin.  There is also a lime scented squishy ball, which is surprisingly strong when you open the box (in a good way).  

Just like with the last one, even Princess enjoys exploring it with Super Tot.  She's such a good big sister!!