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In March, we not only celebrate St. Patrick's Day on the 17th, but the entire month is designated as Irish American Heritage Month. My husband's family has Irish roots, so we made it a point to take some extra time to explore that part of the kids' ancestry. Here are some places around the internet to use for your own studies.
General Resources:
Guide to Irish American Resources at the Library of Congress – This site is a wonderful resource for primary and secondary resources related to Irish American history.
Architect of the Capitol - Celebrating Irish-American Heritage Month – This page provides a brief list of men with Irish heritage who signed the Declaration of Independence, held positions in Congress, the Presidency and Vice Presidency as well as other significant contributions to the Capitol.
The World Factbook: Ireland – This website from the CIA was our favorite place for all kinds of geography information including downloadable and printable maps and all kinds of general information and statistics regarding any country. (Please note that this site was archived in 2022 and may have changed some since we used it.)
Ireland's History in Maps – Using a timeline format, discover the history of Ireland with map images as well as historical facts per time period. Visitors can also learn about Irish surnames and from where they came.
DLTK-Ireland Crafts and Activities for Kids – Coloring pages for maps, flags, fact sheets and folklore, online puzzles, recipes and more can be found at this site.
The National Museum of Ireland - Class Lesson Plans – These lesson plans for middle and high school students use artifacts to explore Irish history.
Irish Dancing and Music
Learn To Dance: How to Irish Step Dance – Irish Step Dancing Online – Learn some basic Irish dancing techniques with the free videos available at this site.
Irish Step Dancing for Beginners YouTube Playlist from Howcast – This collection of 38 videos presented by Darrah Carr, demonstrates basic step dancing moves.
Free Music Archive - Celtic – Listen online to a large selection of Celtic music.
Virtual Tours:
National Museum of Ireland – Take a virtual tour of this museum in Ireland and explore the online collections of antiquities, art, folklife, natural history and more.
Virtual Visit Tours - Ireland – Visit the beaches, castles, churches and historical sites of Ireland with this commercial website.
Blarney Castle & Gardens Explore Blarney Castle – Take a 360° virtual tour of Blarney Castle, home of the infamous Blarney Stone.
Prezi: Virtual Field Trip to Ireland – This is a quick 3-minute video tour of County Cork, Ireland.
Misc.:
Irish Culture and Customs - Kids' Ireland Index of Stories – Read Irish stories online.
Fairytalez.com - Irish Fairy Tales, Folk Tales and Fables – This site has more stories from Ireland for you to read online.
Metro Parent for Southeast Michigan - Kid-Friendly Irish Recipes for Irish American Month – Add one of these recipes such as Irish Pancakes, Irish-American Soda Bread, Chocolate Potato Cake and Potato Yeast Rolls to your menu while studying Ireland.
St. Patrick's Day
Here are a few things we thought were noteworthy for a St. Patrick's Day study. Most are geared for younger children, but you may be able to adapt some of them for your older elementary students.
Free St. Patrick's Day DIY Bookmarks – Get this limit time freebie at the Club. Kids can print out these bookmarks to color, cut out and decorate to their heart's content
History.com - St. Patrick's Day – On this page you will find some history lessons, fast facts, recipes, and traditions related to St. Patrick's Day.
Totschooling - Free St. Patrick's Day Printables for Kids – These activities are geared for toddler thru kindergarten children, but some could probably be adapted for first and second graders.
Education.com - St. Patrick's Day Worksheets and Printables – There are all kinds of themed printable worksheets here for preschool to fifth grade. (Note: This site now requires you to have an account for even the free pages.)
Apples 4 the Teacher - St. Patrick's Day Printables and Worksheets – This page has links to interactive and printable worksheets, puzzles and coloring pages. To use the interactive features, you will need to have Flash working.
Little Bins for Little Hands - St Patrick’s Day STEM Activities For Kids – This blogger shares a list of links to science experiments with themes related to rainbows, gold, leprechauns, shamrocks and more.
Let's Play Music - Celtic Songs for Kids for St Patrick’s Day – On this page you will find videos of Celtic music.
Marc Gunn - 12 Irish Songs for Kids for St. Patrick’s Day – This artist shares his renditions of traditional and original Irish songs.
Important:
As with any other list of internet resources, please be sure to preview these sites prior to letting children visit them as most are ad supported and content can change at any time.
