Looking for an easy-to-read mini biography of Saint Patrick for kids K-3, and a quick Irish music and art study for Saint Patrick’s Day?

If you’ve seen my #oaxacabornarthistory posts on Instagram, you know I teach a first grade class every week at our local homeschool co-op. When I create co-op lesson plans for my art history class, I often write simple one-page overviews of whichever artist or topic we’re studying. These PDFs hand-outs contain kid-friendly information and are easy to read aloud, since they’re written in a conversational style geared toward kindergarten through about third grade.

Saint Patrick’s Day is coming up, so we’re veering a little off the normal art history path to talk about Ireland and the life of Saint Patrick.

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Download my FREE St. Patrick’s Day printable: All About Saint Patrick for Kids K-3.

Now that you have the free printable, here are a few more resources to expand your Saint Patrick’s day study.

Our Very Favorite Kids’ Books for Saint Patrick Day

Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola
This is the definitive biography of Saint Patrick for kids (pictured above), by beloved children’s author Tomie dePaola. Richly illustrated and packed with details, this book will be a favorite for many Saint Patrick’s Days to come. I especially love how the first part of the book covers the true story of Patrick’s life, while the last part of the book explains many of the legends (snakes, shamrocks, and more) attributed to him. This is great resource which separates fact from fiction.

Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato: An Irish Folktale by Tomie dePaola
When Jamie O’Rourke is too lazy to tend his sad little potato garden and strikes a deal with a leprechaun instead, hilarity ensues as “the biggest, finest potato plant…sprout[s] out of the ground followed by the potato itself.” Never were there a pratie as giant as this!

Irish Music for Saint Patrick’s Day

Gaelic Folk – Irish, Scottish and Manx Traditional Folk Music curated by Casper Lindholm

You can play this music for free on Spotify, by creating a free account and then either accessing Spotify via your browser, the free desktop computer app, or a smartphone app. (Note to Apple users: the free version of Spotify for iPad is wonderful, and lets you pause, skip, choose songs, and more. The free version of Spotify for iPhone is much more limited.)

And if you read Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato, you may also want to listen to this lovely 1930 recording of Irish tenor John McCormack singing “The Garden Where the Praties Grow.”

Irish Impressionist Art for Saint Patrick’s Day Picture Study

We’re all familiar with impressionists like Monet and Renoir, but have you every stopped to study the work Walter Frederick Osborne? He was an Irish impressionist known for his idyllic country scenes. Walter Osbornes’ paintings are in the public domain, so you’re free to print them however you’d like. (My favorite way is to save the high-res Wikimedia Commons file I wish to print, upload to the Office Depot or the UPS Store’s copy/print website, order a full-color print on 8.5×11″ cardstock, then choose the lamination option. Prices vary depending on your geographic location, but it’s usually under three dollars for durable, long-lasting art.)

You may also wish to incorporate mapping into your Saint Patrick’s Day studies — page 91 of this PDF has a printable map of Saint Patrick’s Travels, and the end of this Give Your Child the World book club blog post has a printable map of Europe.

What other creative ways have you found to incorporate Irish studies into your Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations?

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