7 Fun St. Patrick’s Day Math Activities for Young Kids

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I am a big fan of incorporating hands-on activities and holidays into homeschool lessons. They are a fun way to keep kids engaged and learning. These fun St. Patrick’s Day math activities feature both! We can capitalize on the excitement surrounding St. Patrick’s Day while also giving kids a chance to learn or practice math skills through activities that feel like playing.

Hands-on math activities can help kids develop a strong number sense. They will understand how numbers interact.

These St. Patrick’s Day math activities can be used as part of a math lesson, but they can also be set up as fun math centers. These math practice activities are most beneficial for young children in preschool, kindergarten, or first grade.

Fun St. Patrick’s Day Math Activities for Young Kids

7 hands-on St. Patrick's Day math activities for young kids written above Lucky Charms, mini erasers, play money, and leprechaun pots with rainbow pom poms

Create Patterns

Analyzing patterns is a common elementary math standard. It might seem too easy, but learning to analyze, extend, and create patterns of objects will help kids eventually understand patterns in numbers.

Many hands-on math manipulatives can be used to create patterns. This fun St. Patrick’s Day math activity can be completed with Lucky Charms, a variety of pom poms, colorful pony beads, festive mini erasers, or even St. Patrick’s Day-themed stickers.

You will need:

  • Hands-on math manipulatives of your choice

Kids start by copying a pattern that parents or teachers create. Then they add on to the pattern. Eventually, they create their own pattern. I suggest that kids who are new to patterning start with only two variables before adding in more manipulatives.

Some pattern types include:

  • AB
  • AAB
  • ABB
  • AABB
  • ABC
  • AABC
  • ABBC
  • ABCC
  • ABCD

Count the Items

Students are generally expected to be able to count to 100 by ones and by tens by the end of kindergarten.

We can easily give kids a little practice counting and identifying numerals with a simple activity that only requires a few items.

You will need:

  • Small objects like pretend gold coins, Lucky Charms marshmallows (I found them at Target), mini erasers, or chocolate chips.
  • Paper bags
  • Index cards
  • Marker

Set up this math activity by putting a number of objects in each bag. The number of items in the bag can vary based on your student’s ability level. If they are just getting started counting, then you might want to only put a few items in each bag. If they are comfortable counting, then you can put more items in the bags.

Count the items as you add them to each bag. Write the number on an index card. Repeat this for every bag.

Students will open one bag at a time, count the items, and then match the bag to the card with the corresponding number.

This gives kids an opportunity to practice counting while also identifying numerals.

Make 10

Many early elementary math curriculums teach kids to think in terms of groups of ten. They do this using a 10-frame. This can help little learners develop important math skills. Third Space Learning has a great explanation of how 10-frames can be beneficial.

You will need:

  • A 10-frame (Here are a variety of free printable 10-frames)
  • St. Patrick’s Day manipulative – I like mini erasers for this math activity.

Set up this hands-on addition activity by setting out a few 10-frames. Put a few of the manipulatives on each frame, but do not fill it in completely. For example, put 3 mini-erasers on one 10-frame, 5 on another, and so on.

Kids will fill in the rest of the 10-frame so that they have a total of 10 items on each frame. How many do they need to add? Encourage them to verbalize the activity and say “I see ___ rainbows. I am adding ___ more rainbows and now I have 10.

Skip counting puzzles

Skip counting lays the foundation for multiplication. Skip counting puzzles are a fun way to practice this skill.

Liz’s Early Learning Spot has put together a collection of St. Patrick’s Day-themed free printable skip counting puzzles. Kids can use these puzzles to practice counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s.

Count the Treasure

What do leprechauns hide at the end of rainbows? A pot of gold! This activity lets kids count the treasure in each pot.

You will need:

Set up the activity by putting money in each leprechaun pot, aka our pots of gold. Kids will count the money in each pot to see how much ‘treasure’ they found.

This math activity can be set on a table, or you can add a physical component by hiding the filled leprechaun pots and letting kids find them.

Measurement

Learning to measure is a common elementary math skill. We can put a St. Patrick’s Day spin on this to make it more seasonal.

Nonstandard Units of Measurement

Kids typically begin by measuring with nonstandard units of measurement. For example, they will describe a pencil as being __ paperclips long.

You will need:

  • Items to measure – blocks, favorite toys, school supplies, books, etc.
  • St. Patrick’s Day manipulatives – these can be mini erasers, leprechaun pots, shamrocks, etc.

Show children how to measure using the manipulative of their choice, being careful to line them up without overlapping or leaving space. Then let them measure.

Standard Units of Measurement

This set of free printable task cards will help students practice measuring 1/4 inch, 1/2 inch, and 1 inch.

You will need:

This activity is pretty low-prep and makes a festive St. Patrick’s Day math activity.

Graphing Lucky Charms

Lucky Charms Graphing Math Activity for St. Patrick's Day written above a bowl of Lucky Charms marshmallows with graph paper in the background

Learning to create a simple graph, like a bar graph, gives kids a way to organize information.

For this activity, you will need:

  • Small bag or dish of Lucky Charms cereal for each student
  • Large grid graph paper (I used this free 1/2″ inch grid paper.)
  • Crayon or marker

Students will graph the Lucky Charms marshmallows. I highly recommend reassuring kids that they can eat the cereal AFTER the lesson, but not until you say it is okay. First, it is a math manipulative, then it is a snack. I have always found that including food in a lesson is a great way to keep kids engaged.

I hope your little learners enjoy these fun math activities! St. Patrick’s Day can be a fun holiday!

Check out these other posts for more fun holiday ideas!

15 Fun St. Patrick’s Day Science Activities

St. Patrick’s Day Poetry Teatime

How to Put Together a St. Patrick’s Day Art Tray

Educational Holidays That Are Perfect for Homeschool

Homeschool Kindergarten: Your Complete Guide to Teach Your Kindergartener at Home

The Best Math Manipulatives for Homeschool

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Welcome! My name is Jennifer. I am a teacher at heart. Before my children were born I was a public school teacher. Now, I am a homeschooling mom of two.