We started out the morning with Lucky Charms and green milk for breakfast. :)
I started my teaching by telling the kids all about why some people celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We talked about how St. Patrick's Day is a holiday that has many traditions. We found Ireland on the map, and we discussed many of the symbols and colors we often see when St. Patrick's Day comes around (shamrocks, the color green, rainbows, leprechauns). I gave them all their own black kettle pot and plastic gold coins. They pretended they were leprechauns and they hid their pot of gold somewhere in the room, and asked a friend to try and find it. :)
Next, I showed the kids two containers (one cube, and one cylinder). I asked them to estimate how many gold coins they thought would fit in each container. The cube held 100 coins, and the cylinder held 60 coins. We discussed that the number 100 is "greater than" 60. I continued to give the kids two numbers at a time, and they were asked to identify which number is greater and which is less by writing the math symbol between each set of two numbers on the whiteboard.
Next, we headed over to the table room for lesson on patterns with Lucky Charms. I called out a type of pattern (ex: AB, ABB, AAB, ABC) and they had to create that pattern using the pieces of cereal.
Next, the kids learned about the shamrock being a traditional symbol for St. Patrick's Day. The pasted their own four leaf clover on their paper using green hearts. We read the poem on their paper, and they had to identify and circle the rhyming words.
My goal by the end of the day was to get each kid to remember the colors of the rainbow in order. We started by making rainbows by gluing Froot Loops cereal on our paper.
We also made a rainbow xylophone with glasses of water!
I even bought a prism so we could go outside and make a real rainbow. :)
For lunch we ate: leprechaun sandwiches, rainbow fruit kabobs, fresh green broccoli with ranch dipping sauce in a St. Patrick's Day shot glass (my favorite), green milk, and chocolate gold coins. :)
For snack I took the easy way out, and just made green cupcakes with white frosting and topped them off with a candy rainbow and a rolo.
On Saturday, leprechauns actually visited our house and set up a scavenger hunt with REAL dollar gold coins! The boys went down for their nap, and were utterly shocked to wake up and find their first clue on the kitchen counter! :)
We followed the clues and eventually found 24 gold dollar coins along with a few other treasures! Here is how the clues went...
Clue #1: Keeping food cold is important you see. This is the place where milk just may be. (refrigerator)
Clue #2: Keys open doors to our home in our town. They also turn "something" so we can get all around. (car)
Clue #3: My shoes stay on my feet the whole day through. "Someone else's shoes" is where you will find the next clue! (shoe)
Clue #4: "Knock Knock" is the sound that comes from this place. It means someone's here and you'll see a new face! (the front entry door)
Clue #5: Here we gather together to enjoy a few meals- go under this place and I just might hear you squeel! (underneath the kitchen table)
Clue #6: If our clothes get dirty, here is where they'll go- Find the next clue and the last treasure you'll know! (the washing machine)
Here is the final note, placed next to the treasure in the laundry room...
You've found all your treasures, gold coins shining brightly.
But I have some news for you that you can't take too lightly.
The secret to good fortune the leprechauns will share.
Is to put your coins together and show someone you care!
Let's look around at the needs we might see -
a neighbor, a friend, or a charity.
Someone to cheer and bring a smile to their day.
We'll do it in secret and that is our pay.
Because we're so fortunate to have what we do,
let's do this together and know that God loves you!
ET and Nathan found real dollar coins at each spot in the scavenger hunt. At the end they also found a couple other gifts (a rainbow lollipop, and a St. Patrick's Day light stick....light saber if you ask ET.) :) ET had learned recently at Sunday School that we should help people in need. After learning this, we talked about people we think that might be in need right now. We both agreed that the people who lost their homes from the tornadoes are definitely people in need. After reading the last clue from the scanvenger hunt, I asked ET if he would like to mail all of the money to these people in need. I was so proud to hear him reply "yes" with so much excitement in his voice. He wanted to get the envelope to mail it right away! He never even asked to keep one dollar! What a guy!
Recently, I started a small group with another family at church. We get together once a month to discuss a virtue with our boys. The woman who started this with me is also a teacher. Her and her husband also have two boys the exact same age as ET, and Nate. This month, we met at our house to do a lesson on conviction (standing up for what we believe is right). In April we will meet again to discuss the virtue of hope. The virtue we teach coincides with what the kids are learning about in Sunday school. This scavenger hunt was something we agreed to do prior to our next lesson. We will gather and collect all the money to send to the Red Cross to send a message of hope to those in need. We will discuss what it means to have hope, and most importantly what it means to have hope in God.
When the group meets, we will do a variety of activities ranging from....community work, team building exercises, games, role playing, etc. It is one more thing to add to our very busy schedule, but is something intentional to do for the glory of God. I pray each and every day that Jay and I are filling our children's lives and minds with productive and rich life experiences that will carry with them through adulthood. I am hoping this small group with grow to at least 4-6 families by the end of the year. :)
Those were some GIANT lollipops! ET thought he was going to eat the whole thing. I thought differently! :)
The boys had gone shopping with me earlier in the week and found these things at the store. They both wanted the lollipop and light stick sooooooo badly! When I asked them to put them back they both listened so well...I was very proud. I told ET that the leprechauns must have been watching us in the store and saw how respectful he and Nate were, so they decided to buy them as a treat! ET spent the rest of the weekend trying to find the leprechauns to say, "Thank you!" :)
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