Catch a Leprechaun! A Fun (and FREE!) St. Patrick’s Day STEM Challenge

St. Patrick’s Day is almost here and you know what that means, don't you? It's time for those sneaky little leprechauns to swarm over our classrooms, leaving tiny footprints, glitter, and all kinds of mischief behind.

I'm determined that this is the year we’re going to catch one with even stronger traps than in the past!

Yesterday, (as I've done for the last 15 years!) I sent home pretty much the same VOLUNTARY / OPTIONAL activity letter to make a Leprechaun Trap at home with their families. You can download this Leprechaun Trap Letter and use with your class, too. It invites families to help their child create a leprechaun trap at home using simple household materials and recyclables. It’s an easy, fun STEM activity that gets kids thinking creatively while adding a little St. Patrick’s Day magic to my First Grade classroom!

Sorry for the bad pic but at least you get the idea!  Grab for free!

You may wonder why I don't have the kids make one in school? Honestly, I simply don't have the time and some families may not believe in leprechauns!  Shocking, I know! Each year, I have at least 3/4 of the class make them at home. The kids who don't make them still get to join on in the fun and help set the traps out right before dismissal the day before St. Patrick's Day.  NOTE: It's only been in the last five years that I put a SIZE limit on the traps: not bigger than 12x12 AND I tell kids THEY must be able to carry into school on their own. No drop-offs. 

Students can build their traps using things like:

• boxes

• paper towel tubes

• foil or gold paper

• glitter and stickers

• paint or markers

Umm...is that BEER on that trap?  Eek!

On St. Patrick’s Day, we set all the traps out and wait to see if we can finally catch one. The excitement in the room is priceless! 

Even if the leprechauns escape, they usually leave behind some leprechaun-like surprises!

Most of the mischief is on video but I did manage to find these photos.  I can still hear the kids screaming when they saw the ripped math paper and the scribbling over our chart!

Yep- it's a silly activity but I'm a firm believer that March needs a bit of a reset and this is a fun way to help!

If you’d like to try this with your class, you can grab the FREE family letter and start your own leprechaun-catching adventure.

Happy trapping… and may the creating begin! 🍀

The Perfect Science/ELA/CARES Book

Anytime I find a quality science picture book that I can immediately use and easily intergrate into my ELA lessons, I do a little happy dance! 

I was dancing last year at B&N when I discovered the perfect STEM / STEAM / COOPERATION / TEAMWORK Strong Female characters book...  (REALLY!)

Boxitects!  It's written and illustrated by Kim Smith. After reading it in the store, I had to buy my own copy.

Yep!  One of those must-have books!  

A little bit about the book:

Meg, the Boxitect, goes off to Maker School. She's quite the creative girl! ⁣

She loves meeting all the Blanketeers, Tin-Foilers, and Egg-Cartoners (Tee hee hee!) who admire her over-the-top creations. 

She was the only Boxitect in class until...⁣ Simone shows up. Another Boxitect.

You know what's going to happen next!  Luckily for teachers, this book is the perfect springborad for discussing TEAMWORK and COOPERATION without being didactic. A fun read! 

(We teach CARES at our school and this is the perfect book to jump into a Cooperation Unit.  Read my top 3 CARES books in each category here.

Over the summer, I made a packet to go along with Boxitects becuase I knew I HAD to do a unit with my kiddos when I returned.  (Not sure when that will be!)  

Since Teamwork and Cooperation are highlighted, I made this cute craft with writing prompt activity to go along with the book. The prompt fits perfectly under the box. Print on white paper and have kids color in or print on colored paper.

Differentiate these activities. Most kids in my First Grade class would use plain paper to complete these tasks but I have a few who would be able to fold the 3D papers (included) and create.

I use Poetry Binders so I had to add a poem!  Never having enough bookmarks, I focused on teamwork and cooperation here.  Black and white included.

Take a peek at the family letter below.  I would send this home on a Thursday (for Monday return) after I have made it clear that ONLY boxes that fit inside backpacks can come in to school.  

These are perfect to use, too!  The kids always floor me with responses!  A time for them to "Show What They Know" for sure!

Do I ever miss an opportunity to get a little phonics in?

NOPE!

This can easily be used throughout the year as you differentiate for your class.

If you haven't read it, reserve in the library. You'll be glad you did!

Promise!

BOXITECTS: Great Stem / Strong Females Book

STEM / STEAM / Strong Female character book seekers: BOXITECTS is a must! What a fun, FABO, book written and illustrated by Kim Smith.

                              

Meg, the Boxitect, goes off to Maker School. She is quite the creative girl! ⁣

She loves meeting all the Blanketeers, Tin-Foilers, and Egg-Cartoners (Tee hee hee!) who admire her over-the-top creations.

She was the only Boxitect in class until...⁣ Simone shows up. Another Boxitect.

It does not go well! ⁣

What a fun book with such lively, detailed illustrations. I first saw it at Barnes & Noble last month and immediately put a hold on it in my library. ⁣

After rereading it a second time, I know that Boxitects is now a must-buy for me. ⁣

Bonus: At the end, has simple experiment to try and shows how to build a tunnel and a castle.

           

If you know someone K-2...possible 3rd grade too (I say yes!) then shoot them this link so they can see what the fuss is about or at least be sure to fill them in on this awesome book.

Edited to add:  I made an STEAM/ELA activity packet to support the book.  Take a peek!

Happy reading!

A Great STEM Freebie I Found on TpT

STEM to STEAM Trio has this Freebie up in their store:

Honestly, my class LOVED it!  Kudos to STEM to STEAM Trio (who I don't know!) for designing such a great product that is SIMPLE and offers so many learning opportunities!  My kids (Firsties!) worked so well together and I documented the groups if you want to check out my Twitter posts to see them in action. I thought it would be fun to give the parents an insight to their child's group dynamics/thinking.  (NOTE: the link to Twitter is the first post...I had 14 posts/pictures...)



Here are the end tallies of the length of our links:

I'm off to check out some of their other products! Have a good night and...