DIY Little Passports: Ireland

We’re visiting the “Emerald Isle” of Ireland in March for the World Explorer Club. I have a personal interest in all the places we discover, and Ireland is one of my favorites! Since my daughter loves science, there’s a glass prism included so we can study light/rainbows as we also check out stories about leprechauns and rainbows in Irish folklore!

In This Package

• Small glass prism in box labeled “Rainbow Maker”
• Chocolate gold coins
• Rainbow Lollipop
• Stained Glass Coloring Book
• Letter

This has actually been the most difficult package for me to put together so far! Choosing Ireland during March would have been super convenient—if I had planned to do this package at the very beginning… But lots of family things came up and days went by, and every time I decided that today was the day I would get this done I ran into a bunch of challenges because I was “behind”. Our library was literally cleaned out of all books about Ireland, St Patrick’s Day, and leprechauns by March 7th. I missed reserving any library books by days and had to check out travel books while I waited. I

 missed the St Patrick’s Day sales so there were no easy last minute “fun themed things” to include in her package which I could have done if I had gone shopping before the holiday. Learn from my mistakes, folks—get stuff done early!

Luckily, I had some leftover chocolate coins and a rainbow lollipop on hand in the candy stash to include! After a day of shopping with the boys hoping to find a good Irish book to add to her little collection of books from her packages, we found nothing at book stores or anywhere because it was after St PatricK’s Day. I finally picked up this Stained Glass coloring book at the Dollar Store so she would have an activity to enjoy that was sort of related. I prettied up her glass prism box with a little label that I drew in marker (it’s a Celtic design in colors of the rainbow!).

The Letter

I tried to stick to things that weren’t too heavy for my 7-year old to process:

• ​A nation of storytellers
• Folklore including the famous tale of the leprechaun
• Saint Patrick
• Irish step dance
• The potato

Ireland has some major history that affected every part of their country, so it was no picnic trying to come up with what to share with my daughter.

Receiving the Mail

Pretty much everything about this was last minute “duct taped” together. I had an envelope that already had the labels attached, and the paper for her letter was sitting in the typewriter blank. She came in one day and I thought she saw it, so I had to quickly come up with another envelope so that the surprise wasn’t spoiled. It looks really ghetto haha because I stole the packaging from one of my other future souvenirs and duct taped it shut because we ran out of clear packing tape. When I peeled the existing mailing labels off, it had left a very thin spot on the mailer so I “patched it up” with a construction paper Irish flag haha! Super ghetto when I planted it in the mailbox for my kiddo to find.

Additional Resources

I read through every one of the fact books, but none of the story books. A-Z Ireland was really helpful, kid-friendly, and the imagery was very appealing. That DVD about Leprechaun tales was awful and I do not recommend it. I should have screened it before including it in the kit and letting my kids watch it, but I ran out of time and took a chance. The kids and I thought the characters looked super creepy, the animation and rendering was really poor, and the format for the stories was a voiceover telling each tale while a shamrock screensaver just stood there! No visualization of the stories or pictures or animation or anything! I’d say if you want to include a movie, I would have liked to do “How to Catch a Leprechaun” or “Darby O’Gill and the Little People” if they were available.

Cost Breakdown

• Stamps- included with initial cost
• Glass prism in box labeled “Rainbow Maker” – $7.95
• Chocolate gold coins & Rainbow Lollipop – FREE (had on hand)
• Stained Glass Coloring Book – $1

Total Cost: $8.95

How It’s Going

Little Miss loves the Magic Treehouse series, so the chapter book and accompanying guide on Irish folklore was the first thing she wanted to read. She’s done some amazing color stories on her stained glass pages, and I’d like to stop and enjoy some of the tales together with her.

The more I read about the current issues in these places we study, the more I have a hard time with the European powers that had a hand in the dark history of these nations. I want the British to be accountable for oppressing the places they colonized or straight up commandeered/slave traded, growing rich from exploiting all the natural resources; then after getting what they want, leaving only scraps and broken infrastructure off the sweaty backs of the people for hundreds of years. So much culture changed or forever lost; so many lives ruined and systems put in place to keep them in ruin. I had to pause the project for days after I cried my eyes out reading about the UK’s refusal to save Irish lives during the Great Potato Famine because it was economically and politically beneficial.It’s miraculous that Ireland’s people, language, culture, and country survived despite terrible abuse. Even though Britain claimed the most profitable areas of Ireland and left them with nothing when Ireland became independent, the country is becoming one of the wealthier nations in Europe anyway. I wanted to help my daughter celebrate the things that make the Irish an enduring and beloved people.Check out all the other places we’ve explored in this DIY Little Passports project here!