With Saint Patrick’s Day just around the corner, why not add a touch of magic to your classroom? These engaging early finisher ideas themed around leprechauns, shamrocks, and pots of gold can keep your upper elementary students motivated and excited. In this blog post, we’ll explore seven delightful Saint Patrick’s Day-themed ideas that will not only entertain your early finishers but also reinforce important skills. Let’s get ready to spread a little luck of the Irish!
7 Saint Patrick’s Day Early Finisher Ideas:
St. Patrick’s Day Math Puzzles:
These FREE St. Patrick’s Day Number Puzzles are great early finisher ideas for practicing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and number while massaging those critical thinking muscles at the same time! Just print the puzzles, cut apart the pieces, shuffle them up, and let your early finishers work on putting them back together.
Leprechaun Writing Prompts:
Provide your students with a list of writing prompts related to Saint Patrick’s Day and encourage them to showcase their creativity! Here are a few prompts to get their ideas flowing:
- You wake up one morning to find a mischievous leprechaun in your room! Write a story about the adventures you have together throughout the day.
- Imagine you stumble upon a hidden pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. What would you do with it? Write about the exciting things you’d do and how it might change your life.
- Describe a day where everything turns green! What does the world look like? How do people react? Write about the magical day from morning to night.
- Your breakfast cereal magically transports you to a land filled with talking marshmallows and colorful rainbows. Write about the adventures you have in this enchanting world.
- Imagine you have the chance to interview a real-life leprechaun. What questions would you ask? Write a dialogue between you and the leprechaun, and share the fascinating answers you receive.
Task Card Treasure Hunt:
More early finisher ideas include utilizing Saint Patrick’s Day-themed task cards to review previously taught skills. Students can embark on a “treasure hunt” to find the correct answers. Task cards provide an excellent opportunity for review and reinforcement of essential skills. This collection of St. Patrick’s Day themed task cards includes a wide selection including math and language arts skills perfect for 3rd and 4th grade. Find a set or two to keep your early finishers engaged and learning. To make it even more festive turn the activity into a scavenger hunt by hiding cards around the room for your little leprechauns to find and complete.
Leprechaun Math Glyphs and Crafts:
Download a just-right skill from this collection of St. Patrick’s Day math glyphs that results in an adorable leprechaun craft. Students will love seeing their leprechauns come to life and they’ll get plenty of math practice at the same time. These glyphs come in a ton of skills! With everything from 2-digit addition and subtraction to multiplying fractions, your sure to find just the right skill for your early finisher to work with. Plus, the finished project can be proudly displayed on a bulletin board making these early finisher ideas worth their weight in gold!
Celtic Knots Art:
For more early finisher ideas try introducing the art of Celtic knots with your students. Provide them with worksheets or show them tutorials to create their own Celtic knot patterns. This early finisher activity taps into your students’ creativity and they’ll get hands-on practice with symmetry at the same time.
Saint Patrick’s Day STEM Challenge:
Create a STEM challenge related to Saint Patrick’s Day, such as building a leprechaun’s house using toothpicks and marshmallows or building a leprechaun trap using some sort of chain reaction. These early finisher ideas are a great opportunity to introduce basic engineering concepts and encourage creativity at the same time!
Rainbow Reading Challenge:
Tap into the rainbow theme of Saint Patrick’s Day and set up a listen to reading tech station where early finishers can listen and watch stories from Reaing Rainbow.
Infusing Saint Patrick’s Day into your early finisher ideas not only adds a festive flair to your classroom but also provides opportunities for meaningful learning. These engaging ideas are designed to captivate your upper elementary students while reinforcing important skills. May the luck of the Irish be with you and your students as you embark on these fun-filled learning adventures! Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!