Did you know that there are 34 million people of Irish ancestry in the US?  That's almost 9 times more than the population of Ireland (3.9 million). It's no wonder that St. Patrick's Day is such a widely celebrated holiday in the US!  The St Pat's Day Parade in the New York City is the largest in the world, with 150,000 marchers and 2 million spectators.

Here are some great ways to celebrate this holiday in the classroom, incorporating Social Studies, art, reading and writing:

•    Rainbows - use a prism to show how the white light bends into the colors
•    Traditional Irish music - the fiddle and the harp
•    Learn the Legend of Saint Patrick
•    Learn about Ireland - the Emerald Isle
•    Plant shamrocks
•    Read alouds -- one of my favorite is Harp 'O Gold, by Teresa Bateman. Other titles  include: Jack and the Leprechaun, Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato, Leprechaun Luck, Look What Came from Ireland.
•    Last but not least - check out the song, Everybody's Irish on St Patrick's Day -- my original song about a St Pat's Day parade in new York City.
•    Have fun!

Listen to Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day in the audio player, below.