May your St. Patrick's Day be touched by some Irish luck ... or at least by some St. Patrick's Day-themed crafts to keep those kids engaged and happy. Our Macaroni KID publishers have got your pot o' gold in terms of projects for the kids this St. Patrick's Day — green glitter slime, a rainbow of modeling dough, and ... let them get uber creative by building their own leprechaun trap!
Read on for all the details then get to mixing, playing, and building ... and have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Easy Glitter Green Slime
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Are you searching for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow this month? Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with green slime and gold glitter, a STEM project from Jennifer So, the publisher of Macaroni KID Birmingham-Troy. Kids of all ages will enjoy making this themselves and playing with it for days.
Ingredients:
- 4 oz. clear glue
- 4 oz. water
- 4 oz. liquid starch
- Green food coloring
- Gold glitter
Instructions
- Mix 4 oz. of clear glue with 4 oz. of water until well blended.
- Add food coloring and glitter and mix thoroughly.
- Add liquid starch last and mix until slime begins to form.
- Knead and mix with your hands until everything is well combined.
- Store in a sealed bag or airtight container.
St. Patrick's Day Modeling Dough
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Make green, black, and gold play dough, then add rainbow ribbon to make this homemade modeling dough recipe a St. Patrick's Day charm.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of flour
- 2 cups of water
- 1 cup of salt
- 2 Tbsp. of vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp. of cream of tartar
- Food coloring in colors of your choice
- Glitter (optional)
Instructions:
Note: If making multiple colors, cut the above recipe in half or thirds and do each color in separate batches.
- Add all of the above ingredients (except the glitter) to a stainless steel pot and stir continuously over warm heat.
- Continue stirring until it begins to form a ball (it will only take 3-4 minutes). It may still feel wet, but after kneading, the dough will be fine.
- Pour your dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Be careful, as it may be hot!
- Once it's cool enough to handle, add glitter and knead.
Then it's time to play!
Build a Leprechaun Trap
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Leprechauns are notorious troublemakers. Kyrie Collins, the publisher of Macaroni KID Highlands Ranch-Parker-Castle Rock, Colo, tells us: "One year we woke to discover that a leprechaun had snuck in to our house and tossed my boys' shoes all over their rooms. It was quite a mess, but the leprechaun made up for it by leaving a couple of games for my boys!" The next year Kyrie and her boys built a leprechaun trap to try to catch the naughty little visitor. How do you build a leprechaun trap? Any way you like! But if you need inspiration, here's how Kyrie and her boys did it:
Materials:
- A shoe box
- Wrapping paper, tissue paper, or construction paper in various shades of green
- Gold coins
- Craft sticks, paper, and a marker to make a sign
- Glue and tape
Instructions:
- Wrap the shoebox with green paper. Tissue paper works well because it is thin and folds easily. You can also use wrapping paper or construction paper!
- Cut out some shamrocks to decorate the inside and outside of the box (or cut sets of 3 small hearts to glue together to form a shamrock).
- Add your "pot of gold." Novelty gold coins work great, but one year we used double-sided tape to adhere a paper muffin baking cup to the box and then added gold Mardi Gras beads. You could also use foil-wrapped chocolate coins, Rolo candy, or Hershey's Almond Kisses for the "gold."
- Since leprechauns love gold, make a sign to let them know there's gold inside your trap! Put double-sided tape all around the pot of gold so when the leprechaun tries to steal the gold, he'll get stuck!
Good luck catching your leprechaun!
