Dr. Seuss Theme for Kids!

Click here for Dr. Seuss 'Intro Page'...

THE FOOT BOOK 

  • Paint with the kids' feet and create your own foot book.

  • Count the number of feet in your class, then recount by 2s.

  • Trace kids feet or shoes and make a "foot" poster.

  • Play Twister.

  • Graph shoes according to characteristics.

  • Pile shoes and have a race to see who can get their shoes on first. 

  • Make a pattern with the kids' shoes.

  • Make a collage from various types of shoe pictures.

  • Have children wear their favorite pair of shoes when you read "The Foot Book," then put on a shoe fashion show.

  • Shoe Run Game – Take one of each student’s shoes and place it on one end of the gym. Have the students line up on the opposite end of the gym. Have several students race down to find their missing shoe.

  • Shoe 'getting to know you better' Game
All participants takes off a shoe and throw it in a large pile in the middle of the room. On the count of three, each person grabs a shoe from the pile, and then finds the person with the matching shoe on the other foot. 
Kids then learn three things about the shoe-owner that they didn’t know.
After the interviewing process, each takes turns introducing 'their shoe owner" with name and the three facts...

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 THE LORAX

It's MUCH more than a children's book!!! It's a GREAT LESSON for all ages! (There is also a 25 minute video!!!)
The Lorax appears and speaks for the trees, since they have no voice of their own. The Lorax warns of the dangers of raping the land for the Truffula Trees, but the Once-ler is so greedy, he pays him no heed. As you can guess, the land soon dies, and all that is left is destruction and pollution. The Lorax sadly flies off, never to be seen there again. But, as it should be, the story ends with hope. He entrusts to you a seed, the very last seed, to start again for the Truffula Trees.

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BUILD A THEME AROUND 'THE LORAX '
 ♥ Discuss the IMPORTANCE OF TREES for people and animals.
With the children...list all the ways the forest is helpful.

• The trees hold the water in the soil with their roots.
• The forest keeps the surrounding area cool with its shade.
• The forest provides homes for many animals.
• Forests clean and enrich the air we breathe. Their leaves and needles take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen through the tree's bark.   

 ♥ MAKE A MURAL with trees, etc.
 
 ♥ PLANT a small tree.
 
 ♥ Make ENVIRONMENT COLLAGES
Have children cut out magazine pictures of trees, flowers, birds, sun, clouds, etc. They then glue them on sheets of construction paper to make a collage about their environment. Post collages on wall... talk about the world they live in... And how we can help take care of the trees and birds.
 
 ♥ DO TREE RUBBINGS
Give children a piece of paper and a large crayon with the paper off. Show them how to use the crayon sideways to make a rubbing.

  ♥ MAKE A TREE: Give each child a cardboard toilet tissue tube for a tree trunk. Help each child make several hand shapes out of green construction paper for palm fronds (leaves) have children tape the leaves to the inside of the top of their tree trunks. Before they glue the leaves on--they can color or paint the tubes.
 
 ♥ MAKE PLAY DOUGH and make it different colors of the earth! The children can make trees, worms, and flower shapes. (There are more than 40 recipes in the Goop, Gak Category and 40 in the Play Dough Category...even one for fossils and dough that looks like mud!)

 ♥ NATURE/FOREST SCAVENGET HUNT (With Pictures for those that can't read) Normal otherwise...

• Make a scavenger hunt list with pictures you have drawn on a sheet of paper.
• Some ideas: a feather, small stone, acorn, various leaves in your area, small twig or stick, dead bug (draw him with legs up, pine cone, flower (only if they can pick one), worm, pieces of grass, clover leaf …and any other ideas you can come up with.
• Make sure that you go over the list with the children just in case your not the world’s best artist.

   ♥ HELP THE BIRDS!! See Bird Theme for other ideas for Birds!

• Lend a helping hand to the birds by supplying them with simple nesting materials.
• All you need to do is fill a mesh bag (like the kind onions are packaged in ) or a berry basket; use dried grass, short lengths of yarn and string, stuffing from old furniture or a feather pillow---also hair from brushes.
• Loop the strands outside of the mesh or basket so birds can grab them.
• Hang the bag in a location that the birds can safely access; watch the birds collect--hunt to see if you can find one of "your" nests!

You can also...

  • If the weather is nice -- READ OUTSIDE under a tree! Have a picnic or a snack there! 

  • Get a "Sounds of the Rain forest" or woodsy and animal-sounds CD to play .... It will be soothing for the kids (and you) as well as enriching.

  • Do a COMMUNITY SERVICE project. Litter spoils the woods and can hurt the animals and visitors. As a special project, have the students pick up litter in your area (with plastic gloves on)--and then dispose of it properly. Make a list of the things that were found. Contact the media to do a story on the children's concern for their environment.

  • SNACK: TASTE THE RAINFOREST See here 

  • PARACHUTE WITH LEAVES FALLING
Place pre-cut leaves (lots of them on a parachute. Put on some music and play games with letting the leaves gently fall.

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1. Declare "SILLY SOX DAY " the day you read the book...

2. Eat BLUE GOO AND DRINK PINK INK ...

3. Treat kids to a wacky snack...

4. Make Patterns of socks...

• Use a sock die-cut to cut socks from different patterns of wallpaper, laminated wrapping paper, etc. Young children can pair the socks and matching the patterns.
• The socks can also be used in a traditional "match games' where the socks are turned up side down and children search for its mate.

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THE CAT IN THE HAT THEME... 

 • Talk about "home" rules when parents are gone. Do all the children in your program know their addresses and phone numbers - in case an emergency occurs when home alone? (or with a baby-sitter) 

 • Discuss and list things you can do on rainy days ... 

 • Count and list objects that the cat can balance. HAVE A RELAY RACE BALANCING an eraser or ??? on the heads of students. 

 • Would the story be different if the Cat in the Hat told it? Write the story from the CAT's perspective. This could be individual or a group project.(Idea is similar to the contrast of the "Three Little Pigs"---and the "TRUE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS" as told by the wolf.) Bind it for future readings... 

 • Have the children design a machine that would clean up their rooms. (I'd just get a big paper bag and color or paint it!--it'll be interesting to see WHAT THE KIDS come up with.)bjs 

 • Have the children dress up like the "Cat in the Hat" character...Their noses could be painted and whiskers applied. 

 • Make a "CAT HAT" out of Red & White construction paper.
   One idea:
Use Styrofoam plates and cut a hole big enough to fit the child's head, then take largest size of red construction paper ; glue strips of white construction paper on the red for the stripes. Roll the red/white into a cylinder shape and tape it to the plate to make a hat 

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Recipe for "CAT IN THE HAT" EDIBLE HATS...
   For Each Hat...
   1 Ritz cracker
   3 Red Lifesavers (gummy ones would work best)

• Dab of white frosting or cream cheese
• "Cat Hats" are put together by placing the Ritz cracker on the bottom; spreading the white frosting, placing one red lifesaver, spreading more frosting, etc. until you have the HAT! (alternating the frosting and lifesavers).
• You now have a small "Cat in the Hat's" -- hat! 

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A STRAWBERRY HAT FOR THE CAT...
How about this for a fun anytime of day breakfast? With the kids, make a stack of silver dollar pancakes and cut up some fresh strawberries. (Or use thawed frozen) Adding whipped cream --have the kids make the Cat’s hat by alternately stacking pancakes and strawberries and whipped cream. The whipped cream or Cool whip will give you the white color you need and act as “glue”.

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CAT IN THE HAT FINGER PLAY FOR PRE-K AND K : Make 5 tiny hats for fingers and recite the following rhyme

One little cat on a sunny day
Put on his hat and went out to play
Two little cats when it started getting dark
Put on their hats and went to the park
Three little cats when the sky was blue
Put on their hats and went to the zoo
Four little cats by the kitchen door
Put on their hats and went to the store
Five little cats on a sunny day
Put on their hats and they all ran away.

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GREEN EGGS AND HAM

• List/serve green foods.

• Play a rhyming bingo.

• Discuss animals that lay eggs other than the chicken.

• Create eggshell art.

 • Play tic-tac-toe to create 3 green eggs in a row! Make a special laminated board with white eggs and green!

• Make a placemat to serve with green eggs and ham

• Make a sweet version of green eggs...

• Cover sugar cookies with white frosting and plop a dollop of green icing in the center. Fun!

• Get the Green Eggs and Ham Cook Book with recipes by Georgeanne Brennan.  The book features recipes inspired by Dr. Suess such as Cat in the Hat Pudding and Moose Juice and Schlopp. Each recipe is accompanied by the original verse that inspired it. It has laminated pages to protect against splatters from Solla Sollew Stew. It would be great fun to base a cooking club on the book!

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 Build a Theme Around the Book! This can be done over an extended period of time such as on a couple of Wednesdays (Because the book is called "Wacky Wednesday" ) or during the course of a week...

1.  Read the Book "Wacky Wednesday.
Talk about all the wacky things in book and find the misspelled words.
 
2. Create a WACKY environment:
Put shirt on backwards, inside out, or wacky color combinations and patterns; wear different colored socks or shoes on wrong feet; comb hair in an unusual style. Put signs, notices, and pictures upside down, etc.

3. Visualization Art: 

• Facilitator vividly describes what children see when they wake up in the morning in their own rooms---children are whisked to their school classroom where it continues. Use imagination and be creative in visual descriptions!
• Open eyes and then draw/color/paint a picture of what you saw.
• Play dreamy music during visualization and slightly livelier during art.
• When complete, verbally share each others wacky days!  Return to top of page

4. Play WACKY music (Weird Al or experimental) Move to how it makes you feel.
Note: Adults must participate so all are silly!

5. Eat WACKY food:
Make something from "Gross Grub" by Cheryl Porter or Roald Dahl's "Revolting Recipes". Serve unusual combinations/colors with food; Eat with unique utensils such as Popsicle sticks or straws. Eat breakfast in the afternoon! (Kitty Litter Cake, Pidgeon Poop and Puppy chow are on this site)

6. Do some WACKY Activities
Learn to write and say your name backwards; talk in pig Latin; learn to say the ABC's backwards; say Bye for Hi and Hi for Bye! Return to top of page

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IDEAS FOR OTHER SEUSS BOOKS

THE KINGS STILTS  • Make a pair of stilts out of coffee cans.... There are directions for 'Can stilts' in the Recycled Activities Category Directions are in the first section of 'Games'.

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HORTON HATCHES THE EGG Create some new animals by "crossing" two--What would you get if you crossed and alligator with a giraffe? Have kids make their own combinations and DRAW THEM.  • Discuss the qualities that made Horton a good choice to sit on the egg.

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IF I RAN THE ZOO 

 • Using clay, make animals real and imaginary. 
 • Design a new animal for the zoo. Draw picturs of it...

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  PINK INK FOR THE YINK 

The Yink in “ONE FISH, TWO FISH” love to drink pink ink. Make your own version by combining a few strawberries (either fresh, or frozen and thawed) and some milk in a blender. Add a few drops of red food coloring if the “ink” isn’t pink enough. Also--Strawberry Smoothies work! See Smoothie Category.

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Marvin K Mooney Will You Please Go Now...

Play a game using the children's ideas of ways to "go".
Line the children up in a straight line or circle.
The leader decides on a "way to go" (hopping in different manners, hanging onto an elephants tail, on a bike, etc.).
He/she leads the line acting the method chosen--- the class follows. Switch leaders at appropriate times.

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BARTHOLOMEW AND THE OOBLECK
After you read the story--make your own Oobleck!
Use your favorite recipe, the one below or "Blubber/ Flubber" in the Slime,Goop and Gak Category of this site.

→ For an entire week...consider trying a variety of Oobleck type recipes. Have children vote for their favorite!

Oobleck recipe: Mix 1/4 cup white glue with 1/4 cup water. Add a few drops green food coloring. In a separate container mix 2 cups warm water with 2 tablespoons borax. Stir until dissolved. Add 1/4 cup of the borax mixture to the glue mixture. Your oobleck will immediately form. It bounces, stretches, and will pick up newsprint. Store in a plastic bag so it won't dry out.

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THE SHAPE OF ME AND OTHER STUFF BOOK

SILHOUETTE COLLAGE
You Need: Paper, Magazines, Scissors, Glue
.....Create a silhouettes of children by turning out the lights and having each child sit in front of a projector. Trace their face on a piece of white paper. Then have children use magazines to find items that they think matches their personalities. Have them cut these out and paste these on their paper and create a shape of them collage.

SHAPE OF ME COLLAGE #2
You Need: Large Body-size Paper, Magazines, Glue
.....Trace the children and cut out their shapes from the paper. Have them go through magazines and cut out things that they like. They can then paste them on the cut out and you have a collage of the child.
...For very young: Show silhouettes of objects/animals and have children name the shapes and animal.

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SEUSS INSPIRED ACTIVITIES...

CREATURES

In most of the Dr. Seuss stories, the creatures are all very imaginative and unusual.
After reading "One fish, two fish", OR ANY OTHER BOOK WITH UNUSUAL CREATURES, give the children toilet paper tubes, pipe cleaners, felt, yarn, puff balls, googly eyes and other misc. other items.

• Have children create their own creature.
• After they're dry, have the kids CREATE THEIR OWN STORY about them.

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For a Culminating Activity - DR. SEUSS GRAPH ...

Put all of the Dr. Seuss books that you have read on a white board, blackboard or poster board. Have children pick their favorite and graph the results.

This type of activity is not only a boost to math-but assists children in making decisions. It helps them to make choices based on what they like-and not what others say. 

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Doing a Dr. Seuss theme and reading a lot of books that you don't have?

SEND HOME THE FOLLOWING 'WISH LIST' POEM. Cute and fun for parents to read with their child!

BOOKS by DR. SEUSS:
1 -- And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street (1938)
2 -- Bartholomew and the Oobleck (1959)
3 -- The Butter Battle Book (1984)
4 -- The Cat in the Hat (1957)
5 -- The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book (1966)
6 -- The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (1968)
7 -- The Cat in the Hat Song Book (1967)
8 -- The Cat's Quizzer (1976) [not indexed]
9 -- Come Over To My House (1966)
10 -- Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? (1973) [not indexed]
11 -- Dr. Seuss's ABC (1963)
12 -- Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book (1962)
13 -- The Eye Book (1968)
14 -- The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1938)
15 -- The Foot Book (1968)
16 -- Fox in Socks (1965)
17 -- Great Day For Up! (1974)
18 -- Green Eggs and Ham (1960)
19 -- Happy Birthday to You! (1959)
20 -- Hop on Pop (1963)
21 -- Horton Hatches The Egg (1940)
22 -- Horton Hears A Who (1954)
23 -- How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1957)
24 -- Hunches in Bunches (1982)
25 -- I Am Not Going To Get Up Today! (1987)
26 -- I Can Draw Myself (1970)
27 -- I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today (1969)
27a -- King Looie Katz
27b -- The Glunk That Got Thunk
28 -- I Can Read With My Eyes Shut (1978)
29 -- I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew (1965)
30 -- If I Ran The Circus (1956)
31 -- If I Ran The Zoo (1950)
32 -- I Wish I Had Duck Feet (1965) [not indexed]
33 -- The King's Stilts (1939)
34 -- The Lorax (1971)
35 -- Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now! (1972)
36 -- McElligot's Pool (1947)
37 -- Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? (1970)
38 -- My Book About Me, By Me Myself (1969)
39 -- Oh Say Can You Say (1979)
40 -- Oh, The Places You'll Go! (1990)
41 -- Oh, The Thinks You Can Think! (1975)
42 -- On Beyond Zebra (1955)
43 -- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (1960)
44 -- Scrambled Eggs Super! (1954)
45 -- The Seven Lady Godivas (1939)
46 -- Shape of Me and Other Stuff (1973)
47 -- The Sneetches and Other Stories (1961)
48 -- The Zax
49 -- Too Many Daves
50 -- What Was I Scared Of?
51 -- Ten Apples Up On Top (1961
52 -- There's a Wocket In My Pocket (1974)
53 -- Thidwick, The Big-Hearted Moose (1948)
54 -- The Tooth Book (1981)
55--  The Tough Coughs as He Ploughs The Dough (1987)
56 -- Wacky Wednesdy (1974)
57 -- Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories (1958)
58 -- Gertrude McFuzz 
59 -- The Big Brag 
60 -- You're Only Old Once! (1986)

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