Oh, the places you will go and things you will find during the silliest week of the school year! "Seuss Week" is one of my favorite weeks out of the year! I wanted to share with you some of the silly center activities I've found, some crazy room decor photos, and also some funny food treat tips! Enjoy!
My assistant and I added, little by little, every year to our "Seuss collection." We found many great things in Target dollar aisle, at Hobby Lobby, and also at the dollar stores! We would decorate after school on a Friday and the room would be transformed into Seussville by Monday! The kids would come dressed in their silly costumes and be so excited for the fun week ahead!
Thing 1 and Thing 2 out of poster board for our photo booth!
Remind parents of upcoming silly dress up days with this editable poster!
Our pre-k assistant and I on crazy hat day with a homemade pool noodle truffula tree! (Probably holding it up, no doubt, before we figured out to use dowel rods/broomsticks inside the noodles!)
The trees are simple to make: pool noodle, black duck tape, and tissue paper pom poms. I bought the pompoms at Hobby Lobby. They come in bright colors and are already cut into the shape. All you have to do is pull the tissue out! Some of the pool noodles are tied to shelving with clear fishing line.
The bottom of the trees are in plastic floral buckets stuffed with tissue.
I drew some Seuss-y fish and we strung them from our wagon wheel!
Click HERE or below to print and play Funny Food BINGO! Use rainbow marshmallows, goldfish crackers, or Teddy Graham snacks for the game pieces! This is a fun game to play after eating some green eggs and ham or Lorax juice on funny food Friday!
Click HERE or below to download some silly fish to decorate your classroom. Fish can also be used for bulletin board displays, door decor, or to create your own personal classroom games!
Mini clipboards and Seuss tin pails..( from the Target dollar aisle last year!)
I also found some crazy I-don't-know-what-you-call-em (plants?) in the flower section at Hobby Lobby! We cut them apart and stuck them in the plants we already had around the classroom.
We REALLY are a silly pair!
Integrating literacy into the centers is something that I've done for a long time. Dr. Seuss stories are great because they go with SO many activities and themes! Here are a few ways I've used Seuss stories in the learning centers:
The dramatic play center...
...also known as the Funny Food Cafe for the week! Items included: silly hats, dishes, teapot, tea cups, pots/pans, cooking utensils, phone, wacky plant, Are You My Mother book, Green Eggs and Ham book, and silly foods (felt green eggs & ham, bananas, pineapples, pizza, eggs, ice cream cones, donuts, etc).
The ABC center...
I kept the usual letter sticks, doodle boards, letter tracing boards, and plastic alphabet letters. I added in Seuss books and some silly games! I really like this Dr. Seuss Beginner Book set on Amazon! It comes with five Seuss books: Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop, and Fox in Socks! All the classics!
These are letter sound eggs! Students match the item to it's beginning letter sounds. Top of the eggs have upper case letters written in Sharpie and bottoms have lower.
This is a fun (FREE) rhyming tree game you can download from Fun in ECSE!
We also did a few spelling games with Hop on Pop...
Click here to learn more about this popcorn letter game!
We also did a few spelling games with Hop on Pop...
Click here to learn more about this popcorn letter game!
These fish were held in a mason jar and also brought out for ocean week. Students put them in alphabetical order and matched lower/upper case together. I also have a set for numbers. They are from Oriental Trading, which btw, has a ton of Seuss items like costumes, room decor, pencils, erasers, and stickers!
This felt board made a fun retelling center paired with the book, The Lorax!
The math center...
Books for this center included One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (for counting/patterning/graphing) and The Foot Book (for measuring)!
Fish games, sorting, patterning, path games, graphing... There is also a shirt game in the bottom shelf. Students roll a die, count, and decorate the felt shirt with colorful buttons! (I also used this game for Pete the Cat!)
I created this Fill the Fish Bowls game and it could also go along with a pets or ocean unit! Students roll the die, identify number, and cover with counters. Fish counters are included in the download. Grab this game here!
Students can play by themselves, in a group of two, or in a small group in this Trim the Trees grid game! Students roll the die, count, and cover the trees. You can download this game here!
Feed the Fish path/race game! Click here to download a copy for your math center! This one also could be used for a pets/ocean theme.
My assistant wrote numerals in sharpie on these plastic toy fish for One Fish Two Fish... This was a very popular game! We also played it during whole group carpet time! I believe the fish and fishing poles were from the dollar store.
This is a simple game I made just out of card stock. I drew different amounts of stripes in patterns on the "hats." Students clip number clothespins the matching hat.
A few Seuss books like A People House and 10 Apple Up on Top were placed in the magnets and blocks center. (pretend apples too!)
The writing center...
Colorful paper, Seuss story inspiration, silly stamps, and fun writing utensils! Hot glue pompoms to pencil tops for truffula trees!
I love using these Truffula Tree pencils in the writing center! You can make them with pom poms or I have some like these from Amazon! They are fun to give away as prizes too! Click HERE to purchase from Amazon!
I love using these Truffula Tree pencils in the writing center! You can make them with pom poms or I have some like these from Amazon! They are fun to give away as prizes too! Click HERE to purchase from Amazon!
Sensory tub....
I used what I had for a Cat in the Hat tub! Red and white pompoms, unifix cubes, kid tweezers, pipe cleaners, and tp rolls.
There are SO many great Seuss activity ideas out there! It's hard to fit them all into one week!
Year after year, for literacy group time we have read our favorite Seuss stories of course, focused on rhyming words, described characters, and retold stories by acting them out!
The cat's hats were posted around the classroom all week...
We went on several letter hunts and then spelled out Seuss book titles! This also made a great time filler while waiting on lunch or recess... Students would take turns locating the letters around the room..
Modeling "acting out the characters" ..see.. I told you we were silly!
Journal time prompts included: Draw your favorite character, create/draw a silly story, and draw/describe a funny food combo.
Student journaling on funny food friday!
For a fun "hook" or daily intro. activity for the week...have students guess what's in the cat's hat! (We've also done this with a stocking around Christmas time.) Put about 5 items in a silly or "Cat in the Hat" hat. Items can be wacky like a plastic fish, rubber chicken, plastic egg, etc. Call one student up to put their hand in the hat and without looking they can describe to the class what it feels like..OR...student can look but then use color words to describe it to the class. Students take turns guessing and whoever gets it right, gets to be next!
For math group time, in the past, we have graphed our favorite stories, counted/sorted/graphed/patterned with silly snacks, measured feet (The Foot Book), and matched patterened socks!
Here's a couple of sorting mats and graphing activities I made...fun for Seuss week OR end of the year ocean theme!
Grab them here!
"They're the SAMMME!" - tiny little voices exclaiming over "unifix cube patterned cat hats"
Measuring and comparing shoe/foot sizes with cubes!
Most years we had one silly snack a day. Last year we went a little crazy and had a Seuss celebration on the last day of the week!
Our pre-k assistant brought in her awesome popcorn machine so we could have Hop on Pop-Corn! We popped it in class so the kids got to watch. They were SO fascinated! We served it during our movie in red Solo cups with red chevron tissue paper.
Another Pinterest win! Walmart mini cupcake, with cut in hald stripey straws, and cotton candy on top! If you wet the end of the straw a little, the cotton candy will stick better.
The signs are from Michael's Craft Store's seasonal bins. I didn't want to actually write on them (since I use them for other events) so I wrote on post it notes and stuck them on...
The original idea for the "ham" came from here: http://foster2forever.com/2015/02/dr-seuss-green-eggs-ham-recipe.html The ham is actually Sour Watermelon Mini Peeps! The "eggs" are made from melted white chocolate and green M&M's.
You can find the Peep Sour Watermelon treats here! They are green on the outside and pink on the inside!
Tang "Lorax Juice" with construction paper eyebrows, nose, and eyes. (Polka dot plates and striped table cloth are from Hobby Lobby!)
Horton Hears a Who handprint canvases as keepsakes...
Silly sock daubing....
Click here or on the image below to download printables for your silly sock day! Makes a fun morning arrival activity. Cut out and string socks along the hallway for a fun bulletin board display!
We gave the Cat in the Hat a new hat by coloring and gluing on pom poms, buttons, and sequins!
TONS of hat printables and coloring in this set below... hats for community helpers also!
Silly sculptures....
...out of play-doh, silly straws, and pipe cleaners!
We were also doing an artist study on glass sculpture artist, Dale Chihuly, at the time..tied into our week perfectly!
Here's an art activity I just love from: Little Bins for Little Hands
For music and dance we did a lot of rhyming a silly songs! I really love Bean Bag Boogie by Greg and Steve. The kids have to listen closely and follow positional words with their bean bag! I like the version below because it's mostly just the song. The kids don't focus on the screen and listen more to the directions.
We also listened to... "Do you like broccoli and ice cream?" by Super Simple Songs for Funny Food Friday! They also have a few more like "Lasagna Milkshakes" and "Pickle Pudding." : )
"Green Eggs and Ham" by The Learning Station...
We made up our own hand motions to Pancake Manor's "Hair" song!
Last year the kids really got into this Big Pig Song by Hooked on Phonics.. great for rhyming and great for getting stuck in your head! : ) We made up hand motions to this one too!
I've been seeing more and more Seuss science and STEM activities on Pinterest...here's a few I've found recently!
Stack the Cat's Hat from: Little Bins for Little Hands
Oobleck Sink/Float Experiments from: Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten
Fizzing Green Eggs Science from: Preschool Powol Packets
STEM Spaghetti Challenge from: Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls
Ten Apples Up on Top STEM from: The Educator's Spin on It
Seuss week/Read Across America week is about celebrating and inspiring a LOVE for reading! It's about promoting learning in a fun way!
My assistant and I have so many great memories of all the silly times we had together during our Seuss days...
Here she is during our first year together..she is unbelievably creative!
..and here we are as the Cat in the Hat and the goldfish! One of my favorite photos!
Need a red and white striped Cat in the Hat hat...and quick? I got my hat on Amazon! They also have full Cat in the Hat costumes!
We made up our own hand motions to Pancake Manor's "Hair" song!
Last year the kids really got into this Big Pig Song by Hooked on Phonics.. great for rhyming and great for getting stuck in your head! : ) We made up hand motions to this one too!
I've been seeing more and more Seuss science and STEM activities on Pinterest...here's a few I've found recently!
Stack the Cat's Hat from: Little Bins for Little Hands
Oobleck Sink/Float Experiments from: Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten
Fizzing Green Eggs Science from: Preschool Powol Packets
STEM Spaghetti Challenge from: Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls
Ten Apples Up on Top STEM from: The Educator's Spin on It
Seuss week/Read Across America week is about celebrating and inspiring a LOVE for reading! It's about promoting learning in a fun way!
My assistant and I have so many great memories of all the silly times we had together during our Seuss days...
Here she is during our first year together..she is unbelievably creative!
..and here we are as the Cat in the Hat and the goldfish! One of my favorite photos!
Need a red and white striped Cat in the Hat hat...and quick? I got my hat on Amazon! They also have full Cat in the Hat costumes!
I hope you and your students have a blast celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday and encouraging literacy during Read Across America Week! The kids will be bonkers, there will probably be messes, but just remember you are creating memories and inspiring a love for reading!
** FYI and just a heads up ** Target has been stocking the dollar bins with Seuss items! Truffula tree pencils, mini notebooks, totes, and stickers galore! They also have large and small Seuss stories back in the book section. I'm in love with this Seuss doodle coloring book!
For more silly centers, games, and activities to help you through your wacky week..click here!
** FYI and just a heads up ** Target has been stocking the dollar bins with Seuss items! Truffula tree pencils, mini notebooks, totes, and stickers galore! They also have large and small Seuss stories back in the book section. I'm in love with this Seuss doodle coloring book!
For more silly centers, games, and activities to help you through your wacky week..click here!
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