Leprechaun Day

On Thursday, the 14th, I joined Emily at school for Leprechaun Day!

When the kids went outside to play, they discovered bits of gold all over the playground and they were on an excited hunt for a leprechaun!

I suggested that maybe they would be faster on horseback...

and they were pretty fast...

 but they didn't locate any leprechauns.  Emily was DETERMINED to find one...

but did take a short break on the swings.  At school, the kids have to swing themselves from a stop and the first few pumps are hard work.

But Emily was swinging high in no time...

before she went back to leprechaun hunting.

I wish I had a picture of me and Emily riding around the playground on the bikes - it was just before the end of recess and time to line up.

Just after playing, we went inside for a storyteller.

She was very good and entertaining for children and adults alike.

Once back in the classroom, the kids had snack, made shamrock hats, dictated stories about leprechauns, and played.

I enjoyed interacting with all of the little ones again and also finding Emily's art around the room.

(Emily's elephant is bottom row, far right - March is circus month)

To end our day, we gathered on the rug for a story and to check in with Chipper (the class raccoon).  If you would believe it, he reported to Mrs. Allen that he had caught a leprechaun!

To say the kids (Emily especially) were excited would be an understatement.

After a quick peek at the leprechaun, 

Mrs. Allen handed him off to Mrs. Silverson...

and Mrs. Silverson took him outside to release him.

While the kids were a little torn about letting him go (Emily had been so diligently looking for one EVERYWHERE)...

they were really excited when Mrs. Allen discovered that the leprechaun had kept the leprechaun promise.

This promise being - "If you catch a leprechaun and let him go, he will share his gold with you."

Yay!  A fun day ending with a piece of gold!

Emily's class minus one absent friend.

Showing off their gold