Trish Friedlander Trish Friedlander

St. Patrick’s Day Speech Therapy Activities

Speech and language therapy St. Patrick’s Day activities and crafts for young children

St. Patrick’s Day might be one of my favorite therapy themes of the year.

There’s something about leprechauns, rainbows, and tiny pots of gold that instantly pulls preschoolers in. And when kids are engaged? Language explodes.

If you’re looking for meaningful, playful St. Patrick’s Day speech therapy activities that target real goals (not just cute crafts), here are some of my go-to ideas.

1. Start With a Book: How to Catch a Leprechaun

One of my favorite jumping-off points is How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace. (affiliate link)

This book is PERFECT for:

  • Predicting (“Do you think this trap will work?”)

  • Inferencing

  • Describing materials

  • Problem-solving

  • Sequencing

  • “Why” questions

After reading “How to Catch a Leprechaun”, we talk about all the different traps in the story and what worked… and what didn’t.

Then we make our own.

2. Leprechaun Trap Sensory Bin (Language Gold)

I fill a sensory bin with:

  • Plastic gold coins

  • Green feathers

  • Cut-up straws

  • Popsicle sticks

  • Small boxes

  • Pipe cleaners

  • Anything green from my therapy closet

Sensory bin with green feathers, dinosaurs, and toys for St. Patrick's Day speech therapy

Students dump everything out and design their own traps.

While they build, I naturally target:

  • Verbs (build, stack, tape, push, pull)

  • Prepositions (under, next to, inside, on top)

  • Describing words (shiny, tiny, slippery, tall)

  • Problem-solving language

  • Requesting (“I need more tape.”)

  • Expanding utterances

You can scaffold from single words all the way up to full explanations:

“Why will your trap work?”
“What will happen if he jumps?”

It feels like play. It’s actually rich language therapy.

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3. Catch the Leprechaun Digital or Whiteboard Activity

If you want something structured and repetitive (which preschoolers love), use an interactive, no-prep activity where students attempt to trap the leprechaun in different locations. My Digital St. Patrick’s Day Bundle will check off all the boxes below!

These are great for targeting:

  • “Where” questions

  • Sentence expansion

  • Repetitive phrasing

  • AAC modeling with sentence strips

  • Multisyllabic words

  • Articulation targets embedded in play

The repetition builds confidence, especially for students with language delays or ASD. I’ve had entire groups chanting, “We missed!” right along with me.

Engagement = participation. Participation = progress.

4. 10 Green Shamrocks Countdown Story

Countdown stories are gold for early language.

A simple repetitive story like “10 Green Shamrocks” can target:

  • Counting and number concepts

  • Plurals

  • “Where” questions (hide a gold coin on each page!)

  • Rhyming

  • Sentence strips for emerging communicators

  • Predictable phrasing for verbal participation

Repetition reduces cognitive load so students can focus on language production.


5. Rainbow Prepositions Obstacle Course

Turn your therapy room into a rainbow-themed obstacle course:

  • Crawl under the table

  • Jump over the rainbow mat

  • Sit between two chairs

  • Put the coin inside the pot

You’re targeting spatial concepts while keeping bodies moving (which preschoolers desperately need in March).

Bonus: Add articulation practice at each station.

6. Pot of Gold Describing Game

Fill a small container with random mini objects.

Students pull one out and describe it using:

  • Category

  • Function

  • Size

  • Color

  • Parts

For articulation students, choose objects with target sounds.

7. Articulation Crafts and Activities

Take-home articulation crafts are perfect for parents to see what their children are working on in speech and to provide some home carry-over for speech sound targets. Try my CH and SH Articulation Freebie as a sample!

St. Patrick’s Day Articulation and Craft Activity targets 20 speech sounds and includes a pot of gold craft to take home

Another fun, play-based activity is making a St. Patrick’s Day Drink with step-by-step visuals. Children use real cups and spoons to make “Clover Crush” and bring a paper “drink” craft home.

speech therapy st. Patrick's day drink mixed with shamrocks, rainbows and gold coins

Mix some play-based language learning into speech therapy

Why St. Patrick’s Day Works So Well in Speech Therapy

The theme naturally supports:

  • Predicting

  • Inferencing

  • Problem-solving

  • Rich descriptive language

  • Spatial concepts

  • Narrative skills

  • Repetition and engagement

And best of all? It feels playful.

You don’t need luck to have a successful St. Patrick’s week in therapy. You just need intentional activities wrapped in something magical.

If you’re planning your March sessions, start with one strong book, add hands-on play, layer in repetition, and watch the language grow.

May your sessions be calm, your leprechauns mischievous, and your therapy plans already done. ☘️✨

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