Leprechauns are super tough and really fast, so if you want to find out the secret of where their gold is hidden, you have to ask leprechaun trap! Once you catch them, they are bound to tell you the truth, but you have to act fast. Try this homemade cereal box leprechaun trap to see if you’re lucky.
Cereal Box Leprechaun Trap
This leprechaun trap is fun St. Patrick’s Day Craft to work with the kids and most of the supplies you probably already have on hand. It also makes the perfect classroom project!
Another fun classroom project are these Craft Stick Leprechaun Hats. And for an even easier way to celebrate in the classroom, check out our printable St. Patrick’s Day Bingo!
What will you need?
ATTENTION PARENTS – I used glitter for this project. There are alternatives if you prefer not to use glitter. there is glitter gluebut it will take time to dry and so will glitter paint. You can also use gold craft paintor if you are lucky enough to find them, use plastic gold coins that can sometimes be found at the dollar store.
How to make a cereal box leprechaun trap
- Seal the open end of the cereal box using tape. Cut off the front (or back) of the cereal box. Cover the box with green construction paper.
- Using the piece of cardboard you just removed from the cereal box, cover a section with the glue. Sprinkle the glue with glitter and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Tape the excess onto a piece of paper and pipe the excess glitter back into the glitter container.
- Cut the glitter cardstock into squares. Use scissors to round the corners of the squares to make gold coins. Set the coins aside.
- Cut red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple construction paper into 2-inch-wide strips. Starting with red, glue the orange tape over the red overlap by 1 inch.
- Then add yellow, overlapping the orange by 1 inch. Continue this process with green, blue and purple. Cut 1 inch off the last (purple) strip so that all visible colors are 1 inch wide. This is your rainbow path.
- Cover a piece of white construction paper with white glue. Add cotton balls to the glue to create the clouds.
- To connect the rainbow path to the cloud, run some glue along the bottom edge of the path and stick it to the white paper, just below the cotton balls.
- Pile some of the gold coins on top of the cloud, then create a breadcrumb trail of coins from the cloud down the rainbow path.
How to play
Have your children set up the trap by placing the clouds and trail on the table or floor. Tie yarn around one end of the dowel. Prop up the cereal box with the dowel and hide!
When the leprechaun follows the gold trail and ends up in the box with the pile of gold, pull the yarn that will pull out the dowel and drop the box, trapping the leprechaun inside! Be sure to remind your kids that they are very, VERY fast. So fast that they might not even see him run! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
More St. Patrick’s Day Crafts
Cereal Box Leprechaun Trap
Make a fun and magical leprechaun trap from a recycled cereal box!
Consumables
- Recycled cereal box
- Golden glitter
- Construction paper green red, blue, purple, yellow, orange, white
- Cotton balls
- 12- inch dowel or rod
- 36- inch a piece of yarn or string
- White craft glue
- Glue stick
- scissors
- Tape
Instructions
-
Seal the open end of the cereal box using tape. Cut off the front (or back) of the cereal box. Cover the box with green construction paper.
-
Using the piece of cardboard you just removed from the cereal box, cover a section with glue. Sprinkle the glue with glitter and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Tape the excess onto a piece of paper and pipe the excess glitter back into the glitter container.
-
Cut the glitter cardstock into squares. Use scissors to round the corners of the squares to make gold coins. Set the coins aside.
-
Cut red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple construction paper into 2-inch-wide strips. Starting with red, glue the orange tape over the red overlap by 1 inch. Then add yellow, overlapping the orange by 1 inch. Continue this process with green, blue and purple. Cut 1 inch off the last (purple) strip so that all visible colors are 1 inch wide. This is your rainbow path.
-
Cover a piece of white construction paper with white glue. Add cotton balls to the glue to create the clouds.
-
To connect the rainbow path to the cloud, run some glue along the bottom edge of the path and stick it to the white paper, just below the cotton balls. Pile some of the gold coins on top of the cloud, then create a breadcrumb trail of coins from the cloud down the rainbow path.
-
Have your children set up the trap by placing the clouds and trail on the table or floor. Tie yarn around one end of the dowel. Prop up the cereal box with the dowel and hide! When the leprechaun follows the gold trail and ends up in the box with the pile of gold, pull the yarn that will pull out the dowel and drop the box, trapping the leprechaun inside! Be sure to remind your kids that they are very, VERY fast. So fast that they might not even see him run!
This post was originally published on this blog on March 6, 2014.
