Leprechauns are up to their old tricks now that St. Patrick's Day is around the corner! Having a classroom leprechaun is a great way to keep students engaged throughout the month of March. Be careful, however, to keep an eye on your leprechaun as he often has a number of tricks up his sleeve that he's waiting to use on your students. A classroom leprechaun is a great addition to incorporate into your daily instruction while promoting positive classroom management strategies and increasing student engagement. Let's grab our supplies before our leprechaun gets into anymore mischief!
Introducing your classroom leprechaun is rather easy. I purchased a small, wooden fairy door from a local toy store and I adhered it to the wall of my classroom. The students noticed it right away as they entered the classroom. The questions started rolling in as students wondered what could live in the little door on the wall. Could it be a mouse? A monster? The guessing did not stop. I had to remind the students that we would have to wait and see if we could find anymore clues to help us find the answers to our questions. It was not until after lunch that my students finally realized what was behind the door... 
It was a LEPRECHAUN! Although my students did not physically see the leprechaun, a secret DIY Message in A Bottle provided my students with some valuable information from our leprechaun named Pippin. Although Pippin the leprechaun liked to spoil my students with Rainbow Crayons, Mini Bottled Luck Charms, and Gold Coins Chocolate Candy in Black Candy Buckets, he also liked to cause mischief, too! Here are some fun, harmless activities that your leprechaun can participate in with your students:
- Sprinkle glitter around the classroom and tables. However, be sure to help your janitors clean it up at the end of the day!
- String Green Jumbo Paper Streamers all around the classroom
- Put green food coloring in the toilet
- Have your leprechaun write daily messages to your students in a DIY Message in A Bottle
- Allow your leprechaun to reward your students for working hard or to promote positive behavior
- Have your students build a leprechaun trap out of blocks or other materials around the classroom. You can see that my students worked really hard to create a large Lego trap to catch Pippin the leprechaun.
One day my students received a message from Pippin the leprechaun. Pippin lost his hat in the classroom! Students used various clues that Pippin provided to identify the location of his hat. These Happy St. Patrick's Day Hat Bottle Toppers are the perfect size for this activity. The next day Pippin rewarded my students with their own Mini St. Patrick's Day Hats for all their hard work finding his hat. 
Our class also incorporated Pippin the leprechaun into our reading, writing, and mathematics block. Since my students always wondered where Pippin could be hiding, we decided to use it as a writing prompt. My students loved the Leprechaun Stories Craft Kit for this. The St. Patrick's Day Rainbow Paper Chain Craft Kit was also a huge hit at our art center. There are so many ways to incorporate a classroom leprechaun into your daily routine and activities. It is definitely something that my students will remember and cherish, too! Be sure to check out all the St. Patrick's Day products and supplies to get even more ideas for your classroom leprechaun.
