St Patrick’s Day Gross Motor Activities for Homeschool Gym Day

We are members of a couple different local homeschool groups. One of our groups meets monthly for “gym day” which is basically just a time when the children can run off some energy with their peers in a safe, enclosed area. Of course free play is encouraged on gym days but we also supply activities to entertain the children. Because gym days are a monthly event, we try to keep supplies and prep time to a minimum. This month was March so we planned a St Patrick’s Day theme to our activities.

Activity #1: Four Leaf Clover Hunt

This activity was inspired by a life-sized Hungry Hungry Hippos game video I came across on Facebook, originally uploaded by Jane Pringle.

Supplies needed for our Four Leaf Clover Hunt were similar to the Hungry Hungry Hippos game in that we needed balls, laundry baskets, and scooters. We added our own seasonal twist to the game by using Sharpie markers to draw 3 and 4 leaf clovers onto the balls, and challenging the children to capture as many of the 4 leaf clovers as possible.

Activity #2: Capture the Leprechaun

Essentially just Duck-Duck-Goose with a seasonal twist. We had our Leprechaun wear a green hat and declare players to be human or wee folk.

Activity #3: Gathering Gold

This activity really challenges the children’s core and sense of balance, and all that is needed is some fake gold coins.

Activity #4: Ride the Rainbow
For this activity, I was inspired by Kids Activities Blog’s Homemade Skip-It! Toy, however I modified their instructions based on materials I had on hand.

Activity #5: Chase the Rainbow

Much like putt-putt is to golf, Chase the Rainbow is to croquet. You’ll need some mallets (homemade from dowel rods, duct tape, and plastic bottles), balls, and some rainbow arches, available in our free printable at the bottom of this post.