(FREE) St. Patrick’s Day Cootie Catcher Printable for Kids

Including some St. Patrick’s Day fun in your homeschool day is super easy with our interactive St. Patrick’s Day cootie catcher!

Whether you’re Irish or not, St. Patrick’s Day can be a fun holiday for kids to celebrate. I mean, what’s more fun than a mischievous leprechaun doing his best to find the gold at the end of the rainbow? No surprise, when March 17 rolls around every year, you can bet we’re going to include some St. Patrick’s Day plans into our day!

If you’re worried that including this St. Patrick’s Day cootie catcher into your March schedule is going to increase your workload as an already-busy homeschool parent, please don’t!

Not only is my St. Patrick’s Day cootie catcher completely free (yay!), it also takes mere minutes to prep allowing you and the kids to jump right in and make some March memories together pretty quickly!

In this post, I’ll be sharing a brief history of cootie catchers (Homeschool History = check!), how to fold and use the St. Patrick’s Day cootie catcher, and…of course…how to grab your free St. Patrick’s Day printable.

Let’s do this!

Pst…I just gotta mention – you should totally consider including my free clover nature study in your St. Patrick’s Day activities, too!

What are Cootie Catchers?

I’ll admit it, the first time I saw cootie catchers blowing up on social media and in the homeschooling world, I had questions. Aren’t cooties germs? Aren’t we trying to avoid germs? Why would anyone want to “catch” them? Ew. No thanks.

Then, I realized what people meant. They’re the folded paper fortune tellers we played with as kids. I mean, we called them “fortune tellers” in South Jersey in the 90s, at least. Is that what you called them, too? If you called them something different, tell me what it was. It’s always interesting to learn, you know?

The term “cootie catcher” has been around since World War 1. Quick warning – if you get grossed out easily, you may want to skip through this section and just continue with the next. The name “cootie catcher” comes from the idea of using a pinch or pincer grip (yay fine motor skills!) to grab germs or bugs. Yeah, not the cutest origin.

Still, paper cootie catchers are simple fun for kids (and even their grownups) now. Kids use their fingers to open and close them, so they build fine motor skills without even noticing. At the same time, they practice counting or spelling. Add a silly task or fortune inside (like all my cootie catchers have), and it turns into an easy activity that feels like a treat.

That’s exactly why I made my St. Patrick’s Day cootie catcher printable. It keeps kids busy with hands-on play, counting, and spelling, plus eight different St. Patrick’s Day-themed challenges. Each one takes no more than 5 minutes, so it’s a quick win. Give it a try!

Making a St. Patrick’s Day Cootie Catcher

Including my St. Patrick’s Day cootie catcher in your spring plans this year is super easy. The printable comes with step-by-step instructions for crafting and using the cootie catcher, but I always think it’s smart to know all the details before jumping into an activity.

It makes sense, right?

Keep reading to learn how to make and use the cootie catcher, or scroll down to the next section to have the St. Patrick’s Day cootie catcher printable sent right to your inbox.

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Assembling the St. Patrick’s Day Cootie Catcher

To make the St. Patrick’s Day cootie catcher, you’ll just need a printer capable of printing in color, standard printer paper (no need to use cardstock for this project!), and a pair of scissors. Just in case you have a need, all of those items (and then some) are included in my shoppable list of homeschool faves!

• Print and Cut out the Cootie Catcher Square

• Fold in Half Diagonally (Both Ways):
  • Fold the square diagonally corner-to-corner, then unfold.
  • Repeat with the other diagonal. You should now have a square with two crease lines that cross in the center.

• Fold Each Corner to the Center:
  • Bring each corner of the square to the center point, creating a smaller square with four triangular flaps meeting in the middle.

• Flip the Paper Over:
  • Just like before, fold each of the four corners to the center. This creates an even smaller square.

• Fold Each Corner to the Center Again:
  • Just like before, fold each of the four corners to the center. This creates an even smaller square.

• Fold the Square in Half Horizontally and Vertically:
  • Fold the smaller square in half to make a rectangle, then unfold.
  • Rotate the paper and fold it in half the other way, then unfold again.

• Open the Pockets:
  • With the folded side facing up, gently slip your fingers under each of the four flaps on the underside of the cootie catcher.
  • Pinch the flaps together with your thumbs and forefingers, and your cootie catcher will pop up into shape.

Using the Cootie Catcher

• Hold the Cootie Catcher:
  • Place your thumbs and forefingers inside the four pockets of the cootie catcher.
  • Move your fingers to open and close it vertically and horizontally.
• Pick a Color:
  • Ask the person using the cootie catcher to pick one of the images on the top flaps (leprechaun, shamrock, rainbow, green)
  • Open and close the cootie catcher once for each letter in the image they chose (e.g., G-R-E-E-N would be five movements).
• Pick a Number:
  • Show the inside of the cootie catcher where numbers are written on the flaps.
  • Ask them to pick one of these numbers.
  • Open and close the cootie catcher again for each count of the number chosen.
• Pick Another Number:
  • With the cootie catcher open, show the inside numbers again.
  • Ask them to pick one final number.
• Reveal the Challenge:
  • Lift the flap under the final number to reveal the St. Patrick’s Day Challenge hidden inside.

For example, a St. Patrick’s Day cootie catcher sequence might go like this:

• The person picks “Green.” You spell out “G-R-E-E-N” while moving the cootie catcher in and out for each letter
• They see the new numbers inside and pick “3.” You move the cootie catcher 3 times.
• Finally, they pick “2.” You open up the flap for “2” and reveal the St. Patrick’s Day Challenge inside

Get the St. Patrick’s Day Cootie Catcher Printable

The moment you’ve been waiting for! I’ve made it super easy to get access to all of my printables! To get the St. Patrick’s Day cootie catcher printable you can either:

1. Fill out the form below: Doing so will send the printable PDF straight to your inbox where you can save or print at your convenience.
2. Request Access to the Printable Playground: You’ll get access to my ever-growing collection of free printables (St. Patrick’s Day Cootie Catcher included) when you request the monthly password to the Printable Playground.

It’s totally up to you! Either way, I have a pretty good feeling you and the kids will really enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day cootie catcher!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

When kids can touch, fold, and play, they remember more, and a St. Patrick’s Day cootie catcher gives them that hands-on opportunity. It builds fine-motor skills, supports reading practice, and invites sweet little chats about spring, celebrations, and history. Print a set, try it after lunch, and tell me what prompt got the biggest laugh in the comments below!

Until next time, stay safe & enjoy quality time with your family,