St. Patrick’s Day is a wonderful day to be Irish and show what it is to belong within your local community and the wider society. It’s a day to showcase how proud you are of your Irish roots, heritage and culture. It’s a day to share and celebrate with your family, friends, neighbours and your local community. Preparing for St. Patrick’s Day provides a wonderful opportunity to focus on children’s sense of identity and belonging.
Within both Preschool and Afterschool the activities you incorporate in the lead up to St. Patrick’s Day will reflect children’s learning through your own pedagogical ethos underpinned by Aistear, The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework. Aistear is based on 12 principles of early learning, Child’s Uniqueness ‘each child has his/her own set of experiences and a unique life-story. He/she is an active learner growing up as a member of a family and community with particular traditions and ways of life’ (NCCA) is one of which is particularly relevant to St. Patrick’s Day. Links to Síolta, The National Curriculum Framework, in both Standard 14: Identity and Belonging and Standard 16: Community and Involvement are also clear.
St. Patrick’s Day activities can be used across your curriculum for example; circle time, have a variety of props relating to St. Patrick’s Day, such as; shamrock, flags, pictures of parades which will start conversations, in the art area have green junk and art materials, in the book corner incorporate books that focus on St. Patrick’s Day or the children can also make their own books about St. Patrick’s Day. Why not develop a float for your local parade or host your own parade in your service. Remember to listen to the children’s own ideas which probably will be a lot better than these.
Make sure to document your activities with stories, drawings, photos and videoing. This will assist you in planning effectively for children’s current and future learning. A key aspect of documenting is it will also enable you to share these learning experience with parents.
St. Patrick’s Day is a wonderful day out so make sure to come out in support of all those taking part in your local parade.
Some Parades local to you:
Longford Town, March 17th, starting 1pm
Lanesborough/Ballyleague, March 17th, starting 2pm
Ballymahon, March 17th, starting 4pm
