March 15, 2011

The Leprechaun Trap

My son had to make a leprechaun trap for school.

The instructions on the homework sheet were surprisingly detailed given that what we are trying to catch doesn't really exist.
Most of the things named on the paper were things that we were not allowed to include on the aforementioned trap; namely, knives of any kind, cheese, rat poison, and homemade guillotines.

To this, my son added his own set of criteria: the trap must have a trap door, quicksand, and a den of pit vipers.

"We're not trying to kills the leprechaun," I corrected. "Just catch him."

My son failed to see the difference between the two.

The leprechaun trap took us seven attempts and two hours to get "right." I use this term very loosely.



Very, very loosely.

23 comments

Anonymous said...

Laughing so hard, I can hardly stay in my chair. Maybe when he brings it back home, you can throw it up in the attic to trap some mice. :)

Jennifer said...

I LOVE your blog!! Your family is awesome!! Thank you for sharing about your life! I really hope the trap works out for you....

Tanya said...

Gotta love projects. I just spent 3 days and $50 in supplies on a 1st grade science project.
p.s. LOVE your granite. That is about the color I had ordered until the company messed up and I had to go with an icky color... thanks for reminding me how nice it would've looked! ;-)

Amy said...

I remember making a "Leprechaun trap" in kindergarten! made it out of a plastic wipe container and a popsicle stick to prop it up with string tied to the stick and set inside the trap so that if the leprechaun tugged it the trap would fall on him... Made the trap before dismisal and the next day found peppermint extract underneath it and other classmates found other ingredients (including green food coloring) in order to make peppermint patties. Oh to be young again!

myevil3yearold said...

Oh, how cute. i love it!

Polly Scott said...

That's great! What a perfect idea for my husband's and my date night!!

AlsoMean said...

thanks for the inspiration, this project is on my list for tonight!

Kimberly said...

Clearly, you're not Irish. (You really think leprechauns don't exist?!?!)

We made some really cool traps last year. We are recylcling them this year. I can't wait!!

Anonymous said...

I hate this project. My oldest didn't do it so I thought they did away with this but then when my youngest was in 1st grade she had to it. My oldest in 5th grade now still sets one up in the house. I told her that Leprechan's are mean but she doesn't care.

Anonymous said...

A Leprechaun trap? That's a first f0r me.....:-P

Anonymous said...

I guess I am a really mean mom. When my neighbor's kids set their traps out, and my son wanted to make one, something in me snapped. I gave him the whole Easter Bunny/Santa talk right them and there. I felt horrible after. I just couldn't face adding another freaking candy holiday to the mix. I mean, really. I had to go and find gold coins to put in the trap? Seriously??

Unknown said...

I... never made one of these in school. Neither did any of my siblings.

Clearly you must move to Arizona to avoid this ridiculousness in the future.

Julie said...

I never cease to be amazed at the hilarity of some school assignments. A Leprechaun trap is a new one for me. Awesome.

Karlee, Tyson, Erin and Rylee said...

Did you spray paint that pot of gold?

Anonymous said...

Perhaps your son could put this in your attic to catch the squatters.

Andrew said...

I told my boys that leprechauns love cupcakes and we left out green mini cupcakes with cream cheese frosting...the "leprechauns" loved them. :) They got away, but as a reward for being tricky, left behind little pits of chocolate gold coins. Good times.

Jackie said...

We just finished ours tonight, and I love the tradition of it. The kids put out the traps and the green leprechaun leaves a note for them and gold in the morning. My oldest daughter is making a hotel because she couldn't stand the thought of trapping him. :)
I make all of their meals green that day, really easy with Lucky Charm cereal. I'm thinking of putting green food coloring in the toilet tank so that when they flush it turns the water green. I know I'm a little over the top, but my children love it, and start planning their traps after Valentine's day. :)
They are only little for such a short time, and I'm hoping they remember a bit of magic in their childhood. I love your stories of your family! Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

zippityzerns said...

I'm surprised you didn't catch a Yeti, what with the inclusion of that Canola Oil Cooking Spray box in your trap design. Everyone knows that Canola Oil Cooking Spray boxes are serious hoodoo. Excellent choice. My grandchildren (experienced leprechaun hunters all) would approve.

Leanne said...

Nice. Here's hoping he doesn't catch anything. I hear Leprechauns are mean little things.

Jillian said...

Love this post and love your family! :) I remember when I was young my mother (a teacher) asked me to make her a *simple* leprechaun trap for her first graders one year. It ended with me covering her entire classroom in legos, paper, cardboard and sparkles lol. And really didn't look anything like a trap. Afterwards, she told me that the kids thought the leprechauns had already came instead of it having been a trap. Lol still gets me every time. :) You gotta love kids, no really you gotta. :P Rotfl!

JD said...

its the sexiest leprechaun trap i've ever seen :)

Liz said...

We just finished our trap. My son really wants to catch one, but since that obviously won't be happening, does anyone have any idea's of something that can be left behind by the leprechaun?

Anonymous said...

i think it would be fun making a leprechaun trap i have some gold coins [not chocolate] and a bunch of other stuff p.s i think if you want to make something that the leprechaun left if your children made a trap l think you should leave them a note saying how you escaped a treat for trapping a leprechaun and leave them a box of lucky charms