Family Steam - Leprechaun Traps II

I first did this program three years ago, and it went so well and was so much fun, I knew I would do it again some time.

Title: Family STEAM Challenge - Leprechaun Traps

Ages: All ages (I had kids aged 4 to 9)

Time: 1-1/4 hours

Budget: $35 for specially purchased items, some optional. Most materials were found items or from our general craft supply stock. 

# of Participants: 10 kids and 8 adults participated, along with 3 younger & older siblings that accompanied but did not really participate

Skills/Concepts: Imagination, creativity, folklore, problem-solving, motor skills, expressive language, public speaking

Materials:  

• variety of small boxes
• large pieces of flat cardboard (cut from large boxes)
• green spray paint, $7
• cardboard tubes from paper towels
• green construction paper in two shades
• colored craft sticks 
• string
• crayons
• markers
• glitter glue
• glitter shamrock foam stickers, $10
• "gold" coins, $7
• Lucky Charms cereal (both for bait and snacking afterward), $5
• Dixie cups
• glue sticks
• liquid glue
• tacky craft glue
• tape
• scissors, both kid and adult

Prep:  

1. I collected boxes over a period of 3-4 weeks, and cut up a few large boxes to have flat pieces to build on top of. 
2. Spray painted boxes green. 
3. I found about a few examples of leprechaun traps to give them some inspiration.
4. Put all the boxes and assorted craft supplies on tables at the side of the room. 

Program: 

1. First, we briefly went over a little bit of Leprechaun lore and legend.
2. Next, I read How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace. I really like how it ends with saying maybe someday some clever child will build a trap good enough to catch the clever leprechaun, maybe one of them.
3. We discussed strategies and considerations for designing traps. 
4. I pointed out where everything was, and encouraged them to look over things and think about it for a bit before they started, and to decide if they were doing one trap as a family, working in pairs, or if each child was doing their own. I also told them if they thought of something they needed/wanted that wasn't out, to let me know and if we had it, I'd be happy to get it out for them.
5. Build!
6. As they were finishing, I began clearing remaining supplies from the supply tables and asked them as they finished to put their trap on the tables so we could line them all up for photos, then they could wash hands and have some Lucky Charms to eat. 
7. Once they were all done, I had them stand behind their traps for group and individual photos, then they each took a turn telling the group about how their trap worked, if they were comfortable doing so. [I did make sure they knew it was optional and if they weren't comfortable speaking in front of everyone they didn't have to.]

How It Went

I had an even better turnout than the first time I did this program, and it went just as well. Since the program had run over last time, I decided to save time by spray painting the boxes green ahead of time, rather than having the kids cover them with paper like the last time (I also didn't have a roll of green bulletin board paper this time). Even though this did save some time, we still ran over by about 15 minutes past the scheduled hour. 

I was happy most of the kids were willing to present their traps, though there was one child who had to leave and one who said they didn't want to talk in front of people, or even give his name, which was fine. There were also two little ones who were a little shy and couldn't speak loudly enough for everyone to hear, so they told me, then I repeated to the crowd. I think this is my favorite part of the program.

The kids really seemed to have a great time, and caregivers were appropriately involved without taking over. I was really happy with how things turned out.

What I Would Do Differently 

The only thing I would do differently is schedule more time, since it ran over both times I've done it, and allow more time for set-up and clean-up; thirty minutes is just not enough. It took 45 minutes to clean up, and I really needed at least 45 minutes for set-up. I really prefer to set up early when possible, then take a few minutes to sit somewhere quiet and gather my thoughts.

☘ Happy St. Patrick's Day! ☘