Better Ways To Catch A Leprechaun

Ways To Catch A Leprechaun

Every year St. Patrick’s day comes, and my daughter always try to plan a way to catch that leprechaun. She has various ways to set up traps and make a path for the leprechaun to follow. Here’s how she made her leprechaun trap before to show you better ways to catch a leprechaun!

Step 1

First thing you want to do is grab a box or a container of choice. She went through some of our old amazon boxes (yes, we had quite a few choices for her to choose from haha) and found the perfect one she wanted to use. It was a rectangular size, but the size shouldn’t really matter. It’s whatever the child envisions the trap to look

Step 2

Next step is to find anything green to cover the box/container with. We had a huge roll of green shimmer paper that we often use to wrap gifts with so she was able to utilize it to her best. Anything green that you can cover the box will work, like felt. Even construction paper would work because you can glue it to the box/container.

Step 3

She cut different portions of the paper and started taping them on the box to cover it. You can get very creative with how you want to cover the box. You can just cut out the exact measurements of the side and tape each side. Another way is to pretend you’re wrapping the box like a gift and wrap it as a well and cut out the unused areas.

Last creative way I can think of in covering the box is to make a Mache like creations. Either cut or tear little pieces of the green paper and glue them one at a time to cover the box. If you have enough time, the Mache idea would be awesome for fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination as well.

Step 4

After covering the box in green, figuring out how to have the box lifted is necessary. In order show how to catch a leprechaun, I could see that she was figuring out a tool to use to uphold the box upside down. Considering the size and the weight of the box, there was a lot of things to measure out before applying the proper tools to trap the leprechaun.

Step 5

First she attempted to use a recycled toilet paper roll to see if it was strong enough to create a trap but realized it pushed it back down. Next she using some books near by but they weren’t releasing the trap quickly. So finally she attempted a single pencil and practiced the trapping method and found it to work the best.

Using the coins from her piggy bank, she practiced using the trap to catch a leprechaun. The coins were supposed to be the gold coins for the leprechaun so she placed them inside the trap. Then the pencil was place towards the edge of one of the sides to lift it up, while the opposite side would on the ground. The plan was that if the leprechaun tried to go in the trap and get the coins, the pencil would slip and catch the leprechaun inside.

So do you think she caught her leprechaun?????

Bonus: How To Make A Leprechaun Hat

After having fun creating a trap on how to catch a leprechaun, you can enjoy making your own leprechaun hat. First you will need a green construction paper. (Construction paper works the best but it’s not the only choice. If you have another type of green paper, you can make it work too) The size will depend on the child’s head. Depending on how small or how big you need, you can use whatever size you need. I believe the one we used was a 9×12 size.

Then cut the construction paper utilizing this pattern. Obviously, this is a just a sample look so you can do it however you want. I have this sample from my early childhood educator days and it comes in handy to use whenever I need to. You can be creative on which type of a hat you want to create. Some people like the edgy look while others like a curvy look. The choice is up to the creator.

Next you will need to create 3 large strips of black paper. The length should be about the size of the hat so give yourself extra room to play with. One of the strips will be used for one part of the hat, while the other two will be used for the headband part of the hat to go over the child’s head.

This golden square piece will be going on the middle of the headband as shown in the final photo below. So having an approximate measurement of the middle area of the hat will give you an idea. The size will matter depending on the size of your hat as well.

This is the final creation of the hat and the way it looks. You can modify the look however you want to. The hat can be decorated if you the kids want to take it a further step. Measure the child’s head and make the straps go behind the hat so that they can wear it over their head.

Did you have fun creating your own leprechaun trap with your child?

Be sure to wear your green on St. Patrick’s Day so that you don’t get pinched! =)

Leprechaun Poems/Songs

I want To Catch A Leprechaun

I want to catch a leprechaun, maybe I’ll set a trap.

I wonder where they like to hide?

I wish I had a map!

I hope I find a leprechaun

Will he fit in my hand?

I’ve heard they like gold and clovers,

And come from Ireland. ~ Anonymous

I’m a Little Leprechaun (tune of I’m a little Teapot)

I’m a little leprechaun

Dressed in green

The tiniest man

That you have seen

If you ever catch me, so it’s told

I’ll give you my big pot of gold! ~ Anonymous

Five Little Leprechaun

Five little leprechauns standing in a row,

One fell down and hurt his toe

Four little leprechauns climbing up a tree,

One slipped down while spying on me.

Three little leprechauns dancing in the sun,

One sat down and spoiled all the fun.

Two little leprechauns sing an Irish song,

One quit singing said they sang too long

One little leprechaun guarding all the gold,

He fell asleep, so I was told.

I crept to his cave as he began to snore,

I snatched up the gold and ran out the door.

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