A Cat in the Hat Day
Have a Cat in the Hat day in your homeschool. Make stovepipe hats to learn about patterns and play a Seuss inspired indoor P.E. game. You can also practice handwriting, phonics, and spelling. These projects are appropriate for preschoolers and kindergartners.
Stovepipe Hat
Supplies (makes 1 sample and 2 hats)
3 pieces red construction paper 3 pieces white construction paper 2 pieces large drawing paper
glue sticks scissors permanent marker
How To
Cut about one inch off of the long edge of three pieces of red construction paper and three pieces of white construction paper. Trace one of the remaining rectangles onto a large piece of drawing paper. Then trace the cut off piece of paper onto the base of the large rectangle to form the brim of the hat. Make one tracing for each child.
Give each child the tracing of the hat. Have each child glue the one inch white strip to the brim of the hat. Have the children fold the red paper in half hamburger style twice and cut the paper along the folds. Do the same for the white paper. Now create a pattern with the colors on the tracing by gluing red, white, red, white. (Each child will have 2 extra pieces of red and 2 extra pieces of white paper. Reserve these for another project.)
Have your children help spell the words “Cat in the Hat” and write them as a title at the top of the page.
Word Work
Supplies
remaining strips of red and white construction paper permanent marker pencils
How To
Use the remaining strips of paper to write the words “cat”, “in”, “the”, & “hat”. As you write the words (except “the”, which you write out and explain that it is a sight word), have your child say the sounds in the words and tell you the corresponding letters. Then have the kids trace over the letters. Your children can play “Concentration” and “Go Fish” and also practice spelling the words with these flash cards.
Indoor Seuss Inspired Frisbee
Supplies
2 dessert size paper plates (per child) red marker read crayons
How To
Draw a stovepipe hat on the back of each of the plates. Draw lines for your child to color in with red crayon. Once the Frisbees are decorated, toss them around. We played Frisbee down our hallway and even played relay races. Be creative!
Read Across America in Your Homeschool with Dr. Seuss’s ABC
The youngest children in your homeschool can enjoy Read Across America Day, too, with Dr. Seuss’s ABC, a great alphabet book that my kids love! I found this video of the book. I love its simplicity! After enjoying this Seuss classic, you can make your own alphabet book, too.
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Homeschool in Green with Sam-I-Am
On March 2 celebrate Read Across America Day in the green with these homeschool ideas for Dr. Seuss’s famous Green Eggs and Ham. I have included a fun game to play with your kiddos!
~Read Green Eggs and Ham. As you read, talk about the words that rhyme. Also discuss how the character learns that you don’t know if you like something or not unless you try it!
~Cook green eggs and ham with your budding chefs. This post on Green Eggs and Ham on Blissfully Domestic has a recipe and a video for how to make green eggs and ham. Here are the pictures from our cooking experience.
~Play “I Like Green Eggs and Ham, Sam-I-Am” (an onset and rime game created by ME!). Here is how:
Supplies
17 dessert size paper plates pencil Green Eggs and Ham scissors plastic storage bag green & orange crayons paper clip
Prepare the Game Pieces
1. Create your green eggs (onset) and ham (rime) cards. Use the following words: see, tree, house, mouse, box, fox, train, rain, boat, & goat.
a. Cut out the center circle of 10 paper plates. Cut those circles in half. Discard the outer rings. You will use the circles to write onsets and rimes on.
b. On one half of the circles write the onsets: s, tr (x 2), h, m, b (x 2), f, r, & g. Draw green eggs on the other side of the cards.
c. On the other half of the circles write the rimes: ee, ouse, ox, ain, oat. Make two sets of these. On the back draw a picture of a ham.
2. Create your plate (player boards).
a.Draw a line down the center of four paper plates. On the left side of each plate draw green eggs and on the right side draw a ham.
3. Create your spinner.
a. Using the back of a paper plate divide the plate into fourths.
b. On one fourth draw a ham. On two sections draw eggs. On the last fourth write “Sam-I-Am”.
4. Create holding plates for the cards.
a. On one plate draw a picture of green eggs. The onset cards will be placed here during game play.
b. On another plate draw a picture of a ham. The rimes cards will be placed here during play.
5. Store your game pieces in a plastic storage bag. You might also include a copy of the game play instructions with the pieces.
*The object of the game is to fill your plate with an onset and a rime that make a word. Play ends when there are no more cards left. The player with the most words wins.*
Set Up
Place the green eggs cards and the ham cards on their respective plates. Each player gets a plate to fill. Place your paper clip on the center of the spinner and put a pencil tip through one end of it.
Play the Game
1. Player 1 spins the paper clip. Pick up the appropriate card. Play continues going clock wise.
a. If the player lands on the Sam-I-Am space, the player jumps up and down saying, “Do you like green eggs and ham?” The other players respond with, “Yes, I like green eggs and ham, Sam-I-Am.”
b. If a player spins a card type that is already filled on the plate, the player skips that turn and the next player goes.
c. Once a player has made a word, the player sets the two cards aside to be kept for the tally at the end.
d. If two cards do not make a word, the player returns the card just picked up. The next player takes a turn.
Have a great time with Dr. Seuss and “I Like Green Eggs and Ham, Sam-I-Am”!
Filed under Read Across America, Reading | Comment (0)“Seuss Up” Your Homeschool with The Lorax
Continue to “Seuss Up” your homeschool with these ideas for The Lorax. I have included curriculum ideas appropriate for all ages here.
~Read The Lorax. Have your children create a diorama of what the land looked like before the Once-ler chopped down the Truffula trees and what it looked like afterward. Be sure to include Brown Bar-ba-loots, Swomee-Swans, and Humming-Fish in their habitats before and after the Once-ler came.
~Write a sequel to The Lorax. Tell what happens after the last Truffula seed is planted. Do all of the animals come back? Is the air and water clear now? Do new animals come? Make sure you reread The Lorax several times to help you when you plan your sequel.
~Study seeds by observing them sprout. The Watching Seeds Grow experiment will allow you to closely observe the seeds. Older kids might like to try an experiment about the affects of water quality on seed germination found at Salt Lake County Storm Water Quality Education Lesson and Activity Plans.
~Learn about how plants help our environment. Start a garden from seeds. Since it is still too cold to plant them outside in most areas, you can start growing your seeds inside your home. Make observations in a journal as they grow. Talk about how plants breathe. You can find a good summary of plant respiration at The Open Door Web Site. This science fair project idea is great for ‘tweens and teens.
~Learn to knit since the Once-ler and his family knitted the Thneeds in the book. There is a great tutorial at Crafttown including illustrations and definitions of vocabulary. This video from Expert Village shows you how to cast on.
You can also learn the knot stitch with this video.
I hope these ideas make learning fun!
Photo courtesy of Maine Coast Semester
Filed under Read Across America | Comment (0)Read Across America Day for ‘Tweens & Teens
Are you planning on celebrating Read Across America Day on March 2 with your ‘tween or teen in your homeschool? Even though this day celebrates Dr. Seuss’s birthday, older kids can get involved in the celebration through a study of Dr. Seuss’s life and work.
~Have your child read a biography about Theodore Seuss Geisel. There are many great biographies available now. Here is just a sampling:
Oh, the Places He Went: A Story About Dr. Seuss (Creative Minds Biography (Turtleback))
Dr. Seuss: Young Author and Artist (Childhood of Famous Americans)
~Listen to the NPR interview with Philip Nel, author of Dr. Seuss: American Icon. Take notes on the interview.
~Read a variety of Dr. Seuss books as part of your research. Note patterns that you find in the texts.You can even create a grid with certain traits that are common to Dr. Seuss books such as rhyming, a message, fantastical characters, etc.
~“Interview” Dr.Seuss after you have researched his life. Watch the interviews with Audrey Geisel on the Reading Rockets website. Now create your own interview with Dr. Seuss. Have one child portray Theodore Geisel and one act as the interviewer. Have the children write a script for the interview and rehearse. Now film the interview. Show your interview to an audience.
Enjoy learning about Theodore Seuss Geisel to celebrate reading!
Photo courtesy of Allan Ferguson
Filed under Read Across America | Comment (0)Homeschool Read Across America Day Party
March 2 is Dr. Seuss’s birthday, and it is the day that children and educators celebrate Read Across America Day. You can celebrate this special day in your homeschool. This is the first post in a series on planning appropriate Read Across America activities for your children.
On March 2 have a “Cat in the Hat” party.
~Invite friends to your party. Create your own invitations with red and white striped paper. Or send a free Read Across America e-card.
~Have each of your guests make a hat just like the Cat’s using red and white construction paper and a paper plate for the brim. You can also find directions to make a hat, as well as other ideas to use with The Cat in the Hat, at Hubbard’s Cupboard. Everyone has to wear the hat during the party!
~Read The Cat in the Hat. Try using Reader’s Theater by having the kids read the lines for each of the characters. You could also have the kids retell the story with puppets.
~Play “Concentration” as a rhyming game. Make a deck of cards with rhyming pairs from The Cat in the Hat book. Play with the cards by matching words that rhyme.
~Write a poem together. Brainstorm a list of rhyming words with the children. Write the words on index cards. Work together to create a poem with the words. You can move the cards around as you construct your poem.
~Play “Pin-the-Hat-on-the-Cat”. Create your own Cat poster by drawing a cat on a overhead slide. Project the picture on large poster paper. Move the projector closer or further away from the poster until the picture is the size that you want it. Then trace the image onto the poster. Create several red and white striped hats for the children to pin on the poster.
Start planning a fun day for your homeschool!
Filed under Educational Strategies, Read Across America | Comments (2)Make Oobleck on Halloween
Count down to Halloween by exploring fluid mechanics in a multisensory way. Begin by reading Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss. (Oobleck is what the king has the magicians create, and it comes from the sky.) Then make Oobleck yourself. There are recipes all over the internet, but Make and Takes includes great photos. This is also a video that shows you many possible ways to experiment with Oobleck. (Please note that the video does not include any audio.)
Oobleck: A Non-Newtonian Fluid – The funniest bloopers are right here
Enhance your learning by discussing:
- the properties of liquids and solids,
- Non-Newtonian fluids,
- and what viscosity is.
Experimenting with Oobleck is a great way to get your kinesthetic, tacticle, and/or visual learners engaged in learning about liquids and solids. Have fun and get messy this Halloween!
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