Happy St. Patrick’s Day… I’m part Irish so we took the opportunity today to learn a little about the Emerald Isle. Anyone else?
-We looked Ireland up on a map and measured how far it is from where we live here in America, converting inches to miles
-looked up Ireland on google earth, talked about why it’s called the Emerald Isle
– We kept up the Leprechaun Watch web cam all day:http://www.irelandseye.com/leprechaun/lwatchnj.htm
(note- we did not see any)
-colored an Irish flag
-made leprechaun hats, and a leprechaun craft coloring page
-did a creative writing exercise "if I had a pot of gold"
-discussed Saint Patrick, the historical figure and the legends
-discussed the origins of the holiday
-listened to Irish/Celtic music
-read some Celtic mythology
-cooked corned beef and cabbage and potatoes (and learned that this is not a traditional Irish dish, but American-Irish)
Tilter– I have 2 kids who would be in 1st and 4th grades.
I know the Roman Catholic church moved the celebration… but in America, secularly as a heritage celebration, we kept it as the 17th. We’re not Christians so we had no reason to move our observance or learning about it.
The first amazing fact about St. Patrick was that he wasn’t Irish and his name wasn’t even Patrick!
When he was born in ancient Britain, his name was Maewyn Succat. When he was 16, he was kidnapped by pirates, taken across the sea to Ireland and sold as a slave. Patrick escaped after six years and went to a monastery to become a Roman Catholic priest. When Patrick was about 60 years old, he returned to Ireland as a missionary and became the country’s second bishop. St. Patrick established schools, churches and monasteries throughout Ireland.
St. Patrick is surrounded by legends. A popular one is that he gave a sermon so powerful that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland. Since no snakes are native to Ireland, it probably symbolizes the pagans who either converted to Christianity or were run out of Ireland. Patrick used the three-leafed shamrocks to explain certain church teachings. The shamrock became the symbol of St. Patrick’s Day.
You should also learn some of the Irish saying…..Ask me if you would like to know some.
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Rex McGee plays The Irish Washerwoman on the 5 string banjo. This is an Irish Jig which must have gotten played too much at some point because it has acheived status of “not acceptable” for most traditional Irish musicians.
In celebration of St. Patricks Day, Chef Gerard Reidy serves up some classic Irish recipes with a twist. Dont miss mussels with soda bread, a traditional stew, and an irresistible banana desert.
At http://www.cookiesmadeeasy.com our friends and family are “green” with envy when we whip up these St. Patrick’s Day delights. You don’t have to tell them how easy it is, either! With our step-by-step Video Books, your results can rival the pros the first time you try. Life’s too short not to be Irish, so show your Irish flair with our Cookie Decorating Made Easy guides!
Thanks for watching .
For More Pictures of the Look go to: