St. Patrick’s Day Bingo for Preschoolers
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If you have been in education for a while you know by now that young children learn with repetition, and that they also in different ways. While this is true, we also know that if you don’t switch things around once in a while they get bored quickly (and so do we!).
That is why I like to bring new materials into the classroom every chance I get. Most of the time just introducing a new type of manipulatives or theme, is enough to engage those students that are starting to lose interest in what you have to teach.
Now, our secret is that we are teaching the same thing but in a different way. They don’t know and that’s fantastic, but it will help you keep your preschoolers engaged and the learning process on the right track.
St. Patrick’s Day Bingo Game
One of the games that I like to bring to the classroom every so often is bingo. It is incredible what you can accomplish with this simple game. Bingo games can be very versatile. Depending on the content, they can be used to review letters, sounds, numbers, etc., or just focus on a theme like this one. One thing is for sure, no matter what type you use, any bingo game will keep your children entertained and focused, to be able to yell BINGO!! to win.
As I have said before, I love to use different themes and occasions to create my printables and St. Patrick’s Day is no different.
This bingo printable includes two different versions with 6 pages each, one version for younger learners and another one for more advanced learners. The simpler version includes 6 cards with 9 pictures each. The advanced version also includes 6 cards but with 24 pictures each. I also included 54 picture cards to show the children which pictures they could mark on their bingo cards. This choice comes with one card per 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, to allow your young learners easy visualization of the pictures.
Since I know we teachers are always on a budget and normally the bingo cards come in a 5 x 7 size (that means two cards in one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper), I also wanted to give you that choice. This one also includes the simpler and the advanced versions but in three pages each, and of course, the 54 picture cards.
You can use this game as a large group activity, but also it is perfect to use in combination with my other St. Patrick’s Day activities which are found at the end of the post. All of them offer free printables that you can use to create different stations that the children can rotate through.
If your preschoolers have been exposed to other bingo games, they are probably going to be able to work independently. However, new students or children who are not familiar with these types of games will need your guidance.
For that reason, I created two different sets. That way you will decide which kiddos to group according to their level. It is very important to remember that you want them to feel successful, not frustrated. Otherwise, that experience will result in a negative one and you won’t be able to accomplish what you are trying to.
Benefits of this St. Patrick’s Day Bingo
Like any other bingo game, St. Patrick’s Day Bingo is not just a fun game but also educational. Some of the most important benefits are:
- Concentration skills and memory skills development – because they need to focus to get it right.
- One-to-one correspondence and creating sets skills – when they have to match the picture you are showing them with a similar picture on their bingo cards.
- Sensory development – because they are using some of their senses when they hear and see the card you are showing, and touch, feel, and manipulate objects.
- Eye and hand coordination – when they see the picture and place the bingo chip in the appropriate square.
- Social skills – when they take turns and communicate with other players.
- Fine motor skills development – when they move their hands and fingers while playing the game.
- Visual discrimination – when they look at the pictures and can match them with the one on their cards.
Materials Needed
You don’t need a lot of materials, just these:
- free St. Patrick’s Day Bingo cards (you can find this at the bottom of this post.)
- White cardstock paper
- Bingo chips (these could be Shamrock mini erasers; buttons; green, orange, and yellow pom-poms, and anything other material small enough that can fit in the bingo cards’ squares).
- Laminator machine and laminator pouches, or
- Dry erase sleeves
How to Prepare the Bingo
The process is extremely easy. The only need to print the Bingo Cards on the card stock paper. Then cut them out and laminate them. I strongly suggest you do that to protect the cards from wear and tear and have them available for your students to play over and over again.
If you want to save on lamination costs, you can place the cards inside a dry-erase pocket, but you will probably want to laminate the individual cards regardless.
When St. Patrick’s Day month is over, just put them in a Zip-Lock bag and store them for next year.
Playing the Game
To start, each child chooses a bingo card. The teacher or one student (if they are playing in a small group activity) should place the picture cards in an envelope, basket bag, or any other container where the cards are not visible.
Then the teacher or child takes a random card out and shows it to the children, and whoever has that picture on his/her bingo card should place a chip on top of it.
The child that fills up an entire row (which could be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) and yell Bingo!!! wins. If the child is distracted and doesn’t shout Bingo! before another one does, he/she loses.
This game is not only great to strengthen the children’s concentration, memory, one-to-one correspondence, and set creation, but it will also keep them busy for a long time while learning without even realizing it.
To extend the game you can have the winner be the first to fill out their whole card.
I like that this game not only could be played in the classroom or at home but also could be played by preschoolers but also by older children such as kindergarteners and elementary children as well. Why not? Is such a matter of having fun.
Extension Activities
The individual cards are so cute and pretty that you can use them for many other learning activities as well, taking advantage of the variety in the pictures. I’m sure you will appreciate not having to prepare for other activities.
Some of the uses and activities that you can use these cards for are:
Phonological Awareness
Take one of the cards and name the picture emphasizing the beginning sound, for example: “This is a horseshow. I hear /h/ /h/ /h/ at the beginning of the horseshow.
Letter Recognition
Take one of the cards and name the picture saying the name of the letter that the pictures start with, for example: “This is a pot. Pot starts with the letter “Pp”.
Language Development
Select one of the cards during circle time and invite your preschoolers to talk about the picture in the card. Take dictation of the comments they make, using the opportunity to show them the correct way to write and that written words have meaning. Later on, you can use this dictation to review what they said.
Literacy
You can use the large group or small groups activity period to present one of the cards to your preschoolers and invite them to create a story using its picture, while you take dictation to make a class book. Once the story is finished, type the individual paragraphs and paste them on white paper cut out like a tall hot, a rainbow, a piece of gold, a pot, or any other St. Patrick shape.
Invite the students that didn’t participate in the story to become illustrators. Once all the pages are done, cut out the same shape on a piece of construction paper to make a cover. Type the title and the names of the authors and illustrators. Laminate all the pages and hold them together with a spiral or staples.
Don’t forget to make copies of the book to send home to all the preschoolers.
Artwork
Place green, yellow, and orange tempera paint and crayons in the art center, and invite each preschooler to select a card and use it as an inspiration to draw or paint a picture.
You can also provide green, yellow, and orange tissue paper and a cutout shamrock, and let the students rip pieces of the different tissue papers and glue them to the shamrock, to make a collage.
The “The Missing Card” Game
This game is better as a small group activity. Take 3 to 5 cards and place them on a table. Ask your preschoolers to name the pictures on each card, then have your children close their eyes while you remove one card. Then ask your preschoolers to open their eyes and tell you which card is missing.
Then check out my other St. Patrick’s Day activities at the bottom of this post, to get those free printables as well and be able to expand your St. Patrick’s Day activities collection, and help your preschoolers have fun while learning.
Music and Movement
It is a great opportunity to introduce a little bit of the Irish culture, and what better way than to use music, a universal language that we all love.
According to Wikipedia, “Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In A History of Irish Music (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there were at least ten instruments in general use”.
Wikipedia also defines the Irish traditional dance as being called “Irish stepdance which is a style of performance dance with its roots in traditional Irish dance. It is generally characterized by a stiff upper body and fast and precise movements of the feet. It can be performed solo or in groups”.
Since I wanted to offer some examples of Irish music, I research the “handy dandy” YouTube, and I came across this Irish traditional music. I will invite you to play with your children during Music and Movement, to take advantage of this opportunity, and don’t forget to talk to them a little bit about Irish culture as well.
Keeping your preschoolers engaged and motivated while learning can be difficult. If you don’t change the routine periodically but stick to the same lessons over and over again, you won’t be able to spruce your children’s interest and keep them engaged. Since children love playing games, you can use this free bingo to do just that.
Pin It for Later
If you don’t have time to download your bingo right away, just pin it to your St. Patrick’s Day, Math, or any other of your Pinterest board, to have it available when you need it.
Don’t forget to grab your FREE St. Patrick’s Day Bingo printable! Just click on the bottom below to download the simpler and the advanced versions in the one-sheet cards in one file.
To get the FREE St. Patrick’s Day Bingo printable that also offers the simpler and advanced versions but comes with two cards in one sheet of paper presentation, click on the bottom below.
I hope you find these activities and printables will help you have a successful month of learning and entertainment in your preschool classroom, and that your St. Patrick’s Day month is full of rainbows and luck (and of course, a little gold never hurt!)
Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.
Love,
P.S. If you would like to see an article about how to make something specific, please let me know and I will try my best to write it for you. My goal is to help you in any way I can and I don’t like anything better than to post something that you might find useful.
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