March SOLC–Day 17

When did kids start setting traps for leprechauns? This wasn’t a “thing” when I was young and my own kids didn’t do it. When did leprechauns become such a big deal? This year my first-grade class has gone leprechaun-mad!  I should probably have anticipated it, as in February the talk and anticipation had already begun.
“Mrs. Hogan. You know why I love March?”
“No, why?”
“Because the leprechauns come!”

On Monday after reading our weekly poem about a “lively little leprechaun,” conversations burst out all over the carpet.
“I caught a leprechaun once! I found him under a bush.”

“You can use a tissue box to catch leprechauns. It’s easy!”

“We set traps in Kindergarten and the leprechauns left sparkles and gold coins around the room!”

“Are we going to set leprechaun traps, Mrs. Hogan?” The volume dropped to zero as all heads turned in my direction.
“Um…no.”
“Oh.” A sea of crestfallen faces looked up at me. I felt set up. Gee, thanks, K teachers!

One boy piped up, contributing this longer and more mysterious story to a rapt audience, (and thankfully turning their attention from their buzz-kill teacher):

“Last year I set a trap with my brother. We put a box up and under it was a potato because leprechauns love potatoes. And we put a trail of shiny pennies to it. Cause they like gold. And the next morning…the trap was closed! But…” he paused dramatically,
“…we didn’t catch the leprechaun! And…”
another dramatic pause punctuated with a small giggle,
“he changed the potato into a… pear!”
His audience of spell-bound first graders gasped.
Clever parents! I thought.

And then to top it all off, at snack time one of my students approached me.
“Mrs. Hogan, do you want to see my leprechaun dance?”
“Well, of course I do!” I said.

She promptly launched into some sort of hybrid Celtic-Russian seizure dance with her long braids flying, legs kicking this way and that and her arms swirling about her head. After a moment, she stopped, breathless, pink-cheeked, and beaming.

“Wow!” I said, (As Kevin Henkes would say, “Wow. That was just about all she could say. Wow.”)”Where did you learn that?”

“Oh,”she replied, “I just made it up,”

You’ve got to love first grade!  I can’t wait to see what today brings!