Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! There are many ways to celebrate this Christian holiday; corned beef cabbage, green foods and drinks, or a fun lesson on St Patrick complete with crafts. I am giving you the latter. This lesson can be for children of any age and will give them a better understanding of why we celebrate and how we can celebrate while honoring the real person, not a myth.
Things you need:
This lesson
Markers (or crayons or paint)
Paper
Scissors and some ability to cut
Lastly, an attitude of grace bc lessons are hard and kids like to move. Sitting still isn’t the going to make or break a lesson
Lesson:
*Before you begin cut out or draw a shamrock to use toward the end of the story*
Saint Patrick was a real person. He lived a long long time ago in Ireland. Patrick was not Irish but he spent most of his life there. Patrick loved God and wanted to share his love of God with the people of Ireland.
Understanding who God is can be hard, Patrick knew that. Patrick used nature, God’s creation, to explain about who God is. One piece of nature that Patrick liked to use was the shamrock. A shamrock is a clover with three leaves. All three leaves are a part of the plant. You need all three to have a whole, healthy shamrock. God has three parts too. God the father; this is the part of God we read most about in the old testament Bible. God the Holy Spirit; that has come to dwell among us and live in us when we choose to follow God. The third part of God is Jesus. God sent his son Jesus to earth so that we can be with God forever. All three parts are important. All three parts are needed for us to have a healthy relationship with God.
*Take a minute and ask for questions*
The name for the three parts of God is called the Trinity. We celebrate Saint Patrick, his teachings and his love for God on March 17th. People all over the world, not just Ireland, celebrate! Many people celebrate by wearing green. Some people go to parades and have parties. You can celebrate by coloring a shamrock or a rainbow (another way nature teaches us about God).
Craft Time:
Let kids draw a shamrock and talk about the pieces.
OR
Have the kids cut out 3 hearts and a rectangle. As they glue them together they make a shamrock.
OR
Let the kids make a rainbow and talk about God’s promise to Noah. Rainbows are used frequently as a symbol for St Patrick’s day as well.
