St. Patrick’s Day is a great opportunity to combine math and fun activities. After all, it’s a holiday based on numbers, right? This day brings sheer joy and excitement to many kids. They get to dress up as their favorite leprechaun characters, sing songs about the famous Irish saint, make crafts related to this special day, and of course, eat plenty of green treats. However, how can you make it even more special by adding some math activities that will challenge your child at the same time as helping them practice important skills? Let’s take a look at some ideas that might give you inspiration for your own child or class.

An array is simply a group of items that are arranged in a certain order. For example, you may arrange your pencils in a particular order each day in the morning at the office. Also, you may order different types of drinks at a coffee shop. In math, an array can be used to solve problems related to ordering and sequencing. You can also use arrays for multiplication problems. For example, you may come across a sequence of numbers in a word problem and have to arrange them in the correct order. You can create arrays to practice sequencing, ordering, and problem-solving skills. You can also use them to help your child practice mental math skills and improve their ability to estimate numbers. To create an array, you need to create a grid with rows and columns. You then fill in the grid with items or numbers in any order you like.

 

Since we are talking about using arrays for St. Paddy’s Day math, I want to talk about what items you can use to help your students build hands-on arrays. I would print out clovers, pots of gold, rainbows, leprechauns, etc. Have your students arrange these different pictures into arrays. If you don’t want to waste paper or don’t have time to cut out all the pictures you can also get mini erasers. These from amazon are perfect. These items would also be perfect to work with 10 frames to solve different math problems.

Many kids love their math practice, but others may find it boring and a chore. How can you make it more exciting for your child? Why not try making some multiplication drills to practice some fun math facts? You can create multiplication drills using any type of writing utensil, playing cards, or small toys. For example, you might use thumbtacks, pushpins, or even paper clips. You can also create multiplication drills using a range of materials, such as coins, bottle caps, or buttons. To create drills, simply write the multiplication facts you want to practice on paper and then arrange them in any order you like. For example, you could create multiplication drills with numbers 1-10 to practice multiplying by ones, twos, fives, and tens. Your child can then use the items or materials you have on hand to solve the drills. They can also create their own drills to practice the skills they need most.

 

I have a perfect set of St. Patrick’s Day multiplication drills for you to use in your classroom. These are great digital alternatives for multiplication drills. Plus they have really fun St. Patrick’s characters that your kids will love looking at. They are available as boom cards or on Easel by TPT. They are perfect for math centers, homework, or independent learning because kids get automatic feedback on if they got the question right or not. This means they can do it independently and you as a teacher will also have reports to see how they are doing on their work. You will then be able to see what they need more work on or if they are ready to move on to more complex concepts. If you would like to grab your copy click here.

 

Clovers are a well-known symbol of St. Patrick’s Day, so why not turn them into a fun math activity? Start by creating a clover template with your child. You can do this by cutting a clover shape out of construction paper and then having your child color it in. Alternatively, you can print a single clover with different colors on each leaf. Once your child has created their own clover, they can use it to practice counting by threes or fours depending on if you made Shamrocks or 4-leaf clovers. You can also use the clover to practice addition facts by creating problems with the clover shape added in, such as 8 + 4 clovers. Once your child has practiced these skills, they can create their own problems and challenges that involve the clover shape. Basically, clovers are perfect to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, or divisions with 3s and 4s.

 

Since gold is a major image that is associated with St. Patricks Day why not take that as an opportunity to work on money math? Many kids love getting their hands on real money, so why not make it an exciting math activity? Start by having your child add up the amounts of various coins and bills of different denominations. You can also have them work out the change owed from a purchase at the shop. Once your child has gotten a feel for how much different amounts of money are and how to add them up, you can make it a fun game by creating a challenge. For instance, maybe you have them go on a quest to the gold at the end of the rainbow. This may involve them searching your house or classroom for math problems and when they solve all of them they get gold at the end of the rainbow. If you want them to actually have a prize think gold chocolate coins or maybe some actual money.

 

St. Patrick’s Day is a day full of fun activities, but it’s also a great opportunity to combine math and fun activities. There are so many great activities listed above that can be done at home or by teachers in classrooms. If you try some of them out comment below and let me know what you try.

 

Also, if you would love another St. Patricks Day Activity I have some free St. Paddy’s Day coloring pages for my subscribers. Click the link below to become a subscriber and receive these coloring pages.