Massapequa Elementary Schoolers Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day With On-Theme Educational Activities

MASSAPEQUA, NY. — St. Patrick’s Day is a day of traditions the world over: The Chicago River is dyed green, parades bring some color to city streets and the annual feast of corned beef and cabbage or shepherd’s pie is served on kitchen tables. For Massapequa elementary school students, a different entry into the list of St. Patrick’s Day traditions came Tuesday, as kindergartners teamed up with fifth grade “buddies” to build a better leprechaun trap and first graders graphed marshmallows from a box of Lucky Charms.

"Students wore green, tapped into their imaginations and got a little smarter," district representatives said. "The holiday was filled with learning activities that were both engaging and festive."

The leprechaun trapping exercise was inspired by the book, “How to Trap a Leprechaun,” by Sue Fliess. In her book, Fliess tells readers that legends say they could have a wish granted if they catch a leprechaun, bringing them on a tour of magical creatures before ending the book with a crafting challenge. That challenge? Catch a leprechaun and earn the wish.

District officials said the kindergartners used cardboard boxes, construction paper and wooden sticks to build their traps, but did not report the successful catching of any leprechauns Wednesday.

As for the first graders, it was a holiday celebrated in mathematic style, graphing the frequency with which they found moons, rainbows, shamrocks and unicorns out of the magically delicious breakfast cereal.

In third grade, it was a creative writing exercise that brought St. Patrick's Day to life, with students writing about what makes them lucky.

Finally, for fourth graders, it was a team exercise that pitted students against each other in a race to find the factors of a number, dubbed, "Multiplication madness."