Leapin' Leprechauns

On St. Patty's Day my first graders always get fired up when they think about trapping a leprechaun and taking his gold.  My leprechaun usually doesn't go too crazy with making a big mess in my slassroom, because it is already "lived in" enough and he doesn't want me to have to clean up too much.  What can I say?  He's just a nice guy.  He usually knocks over some chairs, spills crayon cups, etc. . . But this year, there was a little bit of magic in the air.

The night before St. Patrick's Day, everyone colored a Styrofoam cup with a green marker, so that we could do a craft with them on St. Patty's Day.  When we came in the next morning, that sneaky little leprechaun had made a mess in our room, written us a note, and worst of all, he shrunk all of our Styrofoam cups into teeny tiny hats.

He even left one at our house with a little green race car for Taylor.  When Tay spotted it, his face was priceless.  Getting a cookie and a new car on the same day is a pretty big deal!