Shamrock Shape Poem to Focus on Gratitude this St. Patrick's Day

Inside: Create an I am Lucky Shamrock Shape Poem to help kids focus on gratitude and why they’re already lucky.

My kids love all the holidays.

They count down to it the day after the previous holiday is over.

And now that it’s March, we bring out the green shamrocks and leprechauns and gold coins.

My youngest made a leprechaun trap and hopes Lucky Charms will lure him out so she can catch him and his pot o’gold.

Each St. Patrick’s Day we read silly St. Patrick’s Day books and sneak in some learning with this leprechaun printable, and make these Leprechaun crafts so we can see how big their hands have gotten.

We make corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread while we wear green from head to toe.

And we use this Shamrock Kind or Unkind Sort.

But in March, we also focus on why we’re lucky.

And one of the easiest ways to do that is to create our Lucky Shamrock Shape Poem to focus on gratitude during March.

It’s the perfect St. Patrick’s Day activity.

Why It’s Important to Focus on Why We’re Lucky

Just like our Gratitude Pumpkin Tradition we do every Thanksgiving, we also love to focus on why we’re lucky.

Because gratitude and being thankful shouldn’t only happen during November.

There are so many things we don’t have. There are so many disappointments in life. There are so many things we wish for.

But…

There are so many things we do have. There are so many joys in life. There are so many things we can hope for but that we don’t need.

And when we focus on what we do have and how much joy there is in our everyday lives, even if it’s also hard, then we learn to create our own happiness.

When we focus on why we’re already lucky rather than trying to find more luck, or wishing we were luckier, we’ll find true happiness.

Science has proven that grateful people are happier people.

And one of the simplest ways to pull yourself out of disappointments and low moments is to focus on the good. To think about all the things you do have.

To focus on why we’re lucky.

And St. Patrick’s Day and the luck o’the Irish is a perfect time to celebrate all the things we’re lucky for and all the greatness we have in our lives.

We love to tell people we’re lucky they’re in our lives with these St. Patrick’s Day Kindness Notes.

We use this Shamrock Kind or Unkind Sort during St. Patrick’s Day.

And we use this Shamrock Kindness Craft and Write.

But we also can create these Lucky Shamrock Shape Poems has a fun way to focus on why we’re so lucky.

What is a Shape Poem?

Shape Poems are a fun way to introduce kids to poetry.

Using any shape, poets will write about the shape their writing about. So if they’re writing about a snowman, they’ll write about it in the shape of a snowman. If they’re writing about what they love, they can write about it in the shape of a heart.

And since they’re writing about why they’re lucky, they can write it in the shape of a shamrock.

Here are some of our favorite Shape Poem Books to show Shape Poetry at its finest:

Flicker Flash

Splish Splash

How to Use the I am Lucky Shamrock Shape Poems:

1. Download the template below.

2. Print it in color on cardstock or light green paper.

3. Brainstorm with kids why they’re lucky.

What are they grateful for?

What are they thankful for?

Remind them they can think of things that are serious like their friends and their families and they can think of sillier things like dessert and their favorite toy or Taco Bell.

4. Starting at the “I am lucky because…” part of the shamrock, have kids write out why they’re lucky. They can write sentences, or make a list separated by commas.

5. They need to follow the shape of the shamrock and write around it, sometimes turning their paper completely upside down, until they go all around the shamrock, listing off everything they’re lucky to have or to be or to feel.

6. They can write their name at the top of the page to get their new leprechaun name which will be their first name and O’Lucky as their last name.

7. Share and read the poems to share why they feel lucky. Then remind them to focus on what they’re lucky for when they’re faced with a disappointment or a bad day.

8. Hang up the shape poems or turn them into a classroom book/family book.

Because, while of course disappointments are normal and bad days are okay, the ability to pull ourselves out of a funk and focus on the good in our lives is a valuable skill.

And it’s a perfect way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and the luck of the leprechauns.