St. Patrick's Day Fun!

I always kinda thought St. Patrick's Day was silly because of the little leprechauns and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This year, Ellen shared with me that St. Patrick was a missionary. Wow! What PERFECT news for a homeschooling mom! I immediately went to the library and checked out some picture books on St. Patrick. I found two really good picture books, Saint Patrick by Ann Tompert and Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie DePaola. Ivy and I learned that St. Patrick was born in Britain near the Irish Sea. He was captured by bandits and taken to Ireland. For six years, Patrick was a shepherd. While watching the sheep, he was by himself and spent much time in prayer. Patrick grew to love God in a whole new way. One night, Patrick heard God telling him to go to his "own country." He did so. After seeing his family, Patrick believed that he needed to go back to Ireland and in Ivy's words, "Preach about God" to the people in Ireland. In our study of St. Patrick Day, we have learned about Ireland, snakes, leprechauns, and so much more. We colored the flag of Ireland, made a book about St. Patrick, made shamrock cookies,(Which really "puffed" up when we baked them), located Ireland on the map, hunted for clover in our yard, braided "Rapunzel" hair and added clover to "make it look pretty, momma" and had a blast! It really is a blessing to be able to homeschool. We also met with other homeschool friends at church for a St. Patrick's Day party. Ellen shared with us about St. Patrick, Merinda did a craft with us, we had a picnic lunch and lots of "green" and rainbow treats.