Saint Patrick's Day in Australia is usually celebrated with beer. Lot's of it, actually. In fact all holiday's in Australia whether sacred or secular are celebrated with lots of drinking. Since I don't drink at the moment (I have not given up alchohol, but haven't drunk any in 2 years, mostly due to pregnancy/breastfeeding etc), I wanted to start showing my kids that these holidays all have special meaning, and we can enjoy and partake in them, while paying tribute to the real essence of the day.
It's important to keep explanations to a level your child will understand and know that as they get older they will get more interested in what the day is all about.
I kept it very simple for Roman. I showed him Ireland on the map and where it is in relation to Australia. I gave him a very brief story of Saint Patrick and the symbol of the Shamrock. One of the games Roman likes to play on the Ipod has shamrocks in it, so he was able to tell me what they were when I showed him the cut outs I had made. We then talked about other Irish symbols, such as the Leprechaun. He liked that leprechauns get up to mishchief!
We got into some craft, but being that he is 4, his interest was only held for around 10 minutes. It was not a craft he could do without help though, so I probably need to think that through a bit better. He was happy to draw alongside me while I finished the crafts.
To conclude, I showed him some traditional Irish dancing and then listened to some traditional Irish music, where he showed his interpretation of Irish dancing!
How do you celebrate Saint Patrick's Day?
x Shara
Shar you are just amazing...how you put so much thought & effort into everything you do....but not sure where you find all the time though...& perhaps you can give me some lessons on time management ;)
ReplyDeleteAnyway...really enjoy reading your blog coz its straight from the heart <3 :)))
xoxo
Oh thanks Claire! I'm glad you like reading here! Not much time management here...I just like to craft more than I like to do housework!!
DeleteLove it Shara! You are a very talented mum. I hope you demonstrated the dancing for Roman:-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Chloe! No dancing from me!! But it sure was funny watching Roman :)
DeleteThat is SO cute! I love the orange beard (my husband has a reddish beard)!!! Have you seen this old 1959 Disney movie?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a_yhkH5jjw&feature=related
My girls started Irish dancing last year and will be in the St. Patrick's day parade downtown today...I'll be taking pictures for sure! To celebrate, we just don't like beer much in my house (unless you're talking rootbeer)...but we have talked about how he enlightened Ireland and used the clover to help explain how the Trinity is one and 3 at the same time!
growing up as a Baptist, we don't learn anything about the saints, so I was so eager to read about Saint Patrick and how he used the Shamrock! Definitely going to include more studies on the saints this year! I saw your pictures on FB of the parade! Looked like alot of fun!
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