National Read Across America day is celebrated yearly on March 2, which also happens to be Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Past years, as a kindergarten and first grade teacher I would celebrate for a whole week with my class (because, what is better than celebrating our love of reading). We would read different Dr. Seuss’ books and dress up, do fun activities, and have an absolute blast. This year, I don’t suspect any third graders want to sit with me to read One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish. I could still see them enjoying Wacky Wednesday, though. So, I am bringing the whole idea home for the boys.
I packed all of my Dr. Seuss’ books and brought them home. I have been reading some to them to get them excited about the characters and into the rhyming style of writing. On the week of February 28-March 5 we will read a daily book and do a corresponding activity.
If you’d like to use this idea, here is a calendar with the dates and the books I picked. I decided to use these because they are better for preschoolers (with the exception of Bartholomew and the Oobleck) and because I already had most of them. I wanted to combine simple activities that both boys could do. For older kids I would include some sight word practice, word reading, and writing.
Here is our week at a glance:
Monday
- Read Bartholomew and the Oobleck
- Make slime or this fun edible slime
Tuesday
- Read One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish
- Sort a packet of colorful goldfish or use them to help the kids count from 1-5 or 1-10. How cute are these sorting/counting/graphing mats? And here is a free option.
Wednesday
- Read Wacky Wednesday
- Let the kids dress themselves (sure to be wacky)
Thursday
- Read the Foot Book
- Trace the kids’ feet and help them measure their own using different objects. How many paperclips long is my foot? How many cubes long is my foot?
- Introduce words that help us compare size and length: bigger, smaller, shorter, longer
Friday
- Read Ten Apples on Top
- Have fun with a STEM activity where the kids are tasked with stacking as many apples on top of each other as possible. Consider using plastic or foam apples. If you can’t find any of them, make apple cutouts with red cardstock and attach them to disposable cups. The kids can make a tower with the cups and that will be just as fun!
Saturday
- Read Green Eggs and Ham
- Make green eggs by adding green food coloring to your hard boiled or scrambled eggs. Add green food coloring to your ham as well before frying it. Here is a recipe.
I hope your littles enjoy these stories and all the activities. I will update this post with pictures of our daily fun.
