Visiting the Leprechaun Tree

This past weekend my daughter and grand daughter came to my house to visit.

It was the perfect time to go for a walk in the woods

to look for the Leprechaun Tree.

 

On our walk we found coloured ribbons with bells on them.

When we found a ribbon we tied it on to her stick.

 

We walked, shook the stick and sang "I Can Sing a Rainbow".

"I can sing red and yellow and pink and green,

purple and orange and blue.

I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too."

After climbing up and down hills we found the tree.

The doors are still there, yay!

 

It was a fun to see that a couple of unicorns have moved in.

 

When we looked closer we saw a gold coin.

And another one!

Good thing Nana brought a little black pot to collect them in.

It feels very special to share these traditions with my grandchild.

Hope you had a fun St. Patrick's Day too.

The Leprechaun Family

This week when I go home my daughter and grand daughter will be coming with me.

I'm very excited that they will be home for St. Patrick's Day

because we can go visit the Leprechaun Tree.

I got busy on the weekend and made a Leprechaun family for my grand daughter to play with.

It's modelled after her own family with a mom, baby and dad.

When I arrived Sunday night we put her new playscape together.

Starting with a basket filled with green (fake) grass

and a walk way that has jewels glued to it.

A little house came next and she was eager to get the family into play 

but there were a couple of more things to add.

A rainbow stacker, tree and bench finished it off.

Oh and of course a pot of gold.

It's set on top of our little sensory table with a book called 

"The Littlest Leprechaun".

The house soon came out of the basket so it was easier to reach

and the family have been happily tucked in to it several times.

Sometimes those tricky Leprechauns try to get away

but she catches them

and puts them back.

Leprechaun Shenanigans

              
The Story of the Leprechaun is a new book for me.  It grab
my attention right away with it's images.   It is based in a
forest with fairies.  It explains that Leprechauns earn their
gold by making shoes for all the wee folk that live in the forest.   
It is beautifully illustrated and reminds me of our Fairy Lane.

But let me tell you our Leprechaun story.
             
Our story started last weekend as I was walking through
the woods close to my home.  I thought I heard a tapping
sound coming from a big beautiful old tree.
            
As I walked around the tree I saw a movement and there
at the base, where the roots form a hollow, I saw a wee little
man running inside.  I was too slow and didn’t catch him
nor did I find any gold.  But I think he followed me home
and on to school.

       
On Monday when we got to school, there on our rainbow table,
were little tracks that look like footprints.
Could it be a Leprechaun?
We searched and searched but couldn’t find him.

But the question arose, could a Leprechaun be a girl?
Hmm interesting question.  Do you have an answer?

    
On Tuesday when we arrived at school, there on the floor, all of our
baskets of animals had been dumped.  Who would have made
such a mess?  After we printed the picture we looked closer and there
in the middle of all those animals was a wee little man.
            He had tricked us.

 
That’s the day we started to build a trap.  Maybe we could catch the
Leprechaun before he played another trick.

        If we caught him what would we wish for?
L wants to be a superhero, N wants to be a dinosaur.

            
Well while we were busy that tricky little man sprinkled gold dust
in our hand washing bowl and we didn’t even see him.

   
On Wednesday all of our Leprechaun and rainbow books were spread all
over the carpet.  One little book was standing, the title “Look for a Leprechaun”,
we did look but didn’t find him.
Can you see him waving at us from inside the book – tricky little guy.

 
We read another book about a Leprechaun on the Loose in a school
and got more ideas for our trap.
 

On Thursday we found our basket of duck stuffies covered with
green shamrocks.
            
    The children dug into the shamrocks but no Leprechaun.
 
           We did find his hat.  A sparkly little green hat.
 
               It was too small for all of us.

       
This morning when we were making our Irish Soda Bread we opened
the buttermilk container to find that it was green.  But not only was the
milk green but when I sliced a loaf of white bread, that I had made for
snack, look what we found inside.
     
                                    A rainbow!

Our trap is set for the weekend. 
  
Will we catch the wee little man on St. Patrick’s Day?
We’ll check on Monday when we’re back at school.


       “May you always have walls for the winds,
          a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
      laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
             and all your heart might desire.”

You can find the recipe for the rainbow bread here