Let's Read Across America!!

It's one of my favorite weeks of the year.  It's time for Seuss Silliness!  :)  There are a thousand activities out there for you to choose from {great literacy activities, math games, etc} including my old tried & true Dr. Seuss activities.  But this year I'm going to choose one book to focus on each day that we can really have some kindergarten fun with.


{Cat in the Hat}
I usually make eyeliner noses & whiskers to turn all of my kids into the Cat in the Hat.  But this year I think I might be the cat...

...and let them be Thing 1 - Thing 20!!  How cute are these thing hats from Kinder Kapers?!

We'll be having yummy Thing Jell-O & Cool Whip snacks, too.  {Thanks Pinterest!}  These were a super huge hit last year.

{Horton Hears a Who}
I'll probably just print these on gray paper then let the kids cut them out & put them on sentence strips.  Hilarious.  I might even make a nose to hang down between their eyes...stay tuned.  ;)

I also have a bunch of "clovers" left over from my Horton themed baby shower so we'll probably create these crafts from TippyToe Crafts.  I'm going to have the kids write about what makes people special to hang with them as well.  :)

{Wacky Wednesday}

You know I love to dress up!  We always look for the wacky things in Wacky Wednesday {you can find the eBook here to use on your SmartBoard} but Lucky in Learning took it to the next level.  If we can get approval to have a dress-up day, I am totally going to do this.  I can easily make a few things in the room wacky then the kids would use their observation skills to find & write down what is wacky!

{Daisy Head Maisy}
I think this book is so cute!  A few years ago {way before the blog so I can't find my photographic evidence} I did a bulletin board where the kids wrote on flowers.  Then we took their pictures and hung them on the bulletin board so it looked like the flowers were growing out of their heads.  Kinder Kapers made flowers out of styrofoam plates.  I feel another sentence strip crown coming on!!!

{Fox in Socks}
I like Sloan's cute printable for rhyming socks!  Instead of having everyone make -ock socks this year, I think I'll give each kid a word family so we have some variety.  {Hello differentiation!!}  Plus maybe we'll wear crazy socks with our uniforms that day, too.  ;)

Use this poster {or create a similar one} to list all of the rhyming words you can think up!

Happy Reading!!  :)

Dr. Seuss' ABCs

Who doesn't love Dr. Seuss?  And why are we limiting his influence to his birthday month?  Seriously...there are so so so many things to do with his literature that I've decided to stop stressing about squishing it all in to March 2nd {because I never can} and let his exposure shine all year.

Typically after reading Dr. Seuss' ABC book we make a class alphabet book.  Each kid gets to pick their own letter and write an alliterative sentence.  Kids who finish early can do a second one and we do the toughies {Q, X, Z} together.

Now, your firsties will probably be able to do that BOY {beginning of year} but our kinders?  Not so much.  So...use a circle map to have students draw things that start with the letter!

Feel free to brainstorm together for your kids who don't have a grasp on alphabetic principles yet and help them label their drawings.  {totally not cheating and perfectly acceptable for early writers!}  Or pull the Circle Map back out for Dr. Seuss' birthday - kids who struggle can use it create a "bank" of words and pictures to choose from when writing a sentence.

Growing Kinders posted a similar activity where students write & illustrate six words that begin with their letter.

Since this is one of Dr. Seuss's most rhymish stories, we also have Rhyme Time after reading it.  The kids can basically say whatever they want as long as it rhymes.  "Are you ready?" {keddy!}  "Understand?"  {gunderstand!}  "Can I go to the bathroom, wathroom?"  As long as they rhyme, I don't really care how it comes out.  The kicker: no rhymey, no talky.  ;)

I've had to remove all of my Dr. Seuss products from TpT because Seuss Enterprises, Ltd. doesn't like anyone to sell or give away any Seuss related products.  So...as long as you promise NOT to use these printables on March 2nd...you can download them by clicking here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B49Ez_FUuVcIOVNPdWxkdlI1ZDg/edit?usp=sharing.  Remember, they are for alphabet & rhyming practice only in a boring, old lesson!  ;)

Happy snappy rhyming!

The Cat in the Hat...2012 style.

We are predictable people, as Dr. Seuss knew. As kids, we are easily engaged by tricks and magic, seeing people do amazing things. Then we get a little older and try to do it on our own, to figure out the secrets. How many of us have tried to juggle using kleenex so that it wouldn't fall too quickly? {And I admit, I can't even do that!} It doesn't stop there, though. As adults, we are still mesmerized by people who can juggle multiple things. And we want to be those people. We use all of the things we are juggling to impress our peers...

Look at me!
Look at me!
Look at me now!
I can hold up my job
And my kids and my spouse!
I can hold up the school,
My book club and clean house!
I can work out and eat right
And play with my friends.
And look, if I don't sleep,
My limit has no end!
For that is not all.
On no.
That is not all... 

We think that we're impressive and have learned the secret to juggling things. We get caught up in being so involved and doing so much. But isn't it funny how we forget the rest of the story?

{graphics courtesy of Dr. Seuss}

As a recovering perfectionist, I am one of those people who wants to jump into the book and save everything from hitting the ground. But that's where I have to stop myself and realize, it's beyond my control and it's more than I can handle. {teachers: reread and repeat.  again.}  I am going down with it all and can't save myself from falling, so where do I even start? My initial reaction is to go for the cake, but I think that's another place we miss the boat. The fish, the original thing that he balanced up on his umbrella, is really the only sacrifice to be made if it all gets dropped.

Are you following my childlike mindframe here? It is so easy to get caught up with life. We run from meeting to meeting, from social event to social event, running errands, filling out paperwork, grabbing dinner where we can and there are people everywhere so it doesn't occur to us that we're isolating ourselves. But when we really sit down and think about it, this isn't quality time. Our friends don't know what's really going on with us. Our family hasn't seen us. Our students hear our directions and corrections but did they get their daily hugs?  Even with the people that we see the most, is it thanks to meetings and obligations that we are even together?  And we wonder why we're so tired and stressed and hoping for Friday afternoon!

It's hard to stop lesson planning and blogstalking and pinning because there are just SO many good ideas out there.  {says the woman with her OWN office IN the house...guilty as charged.}  But I think that it's better for us to own up to it than to just keep on with our lives, balancing everything up on umbrellas and balls, waiting for the inevitable day that we lose our minds. What is life if not for the people we love? Don't we owe it to them to take them out of the web of things we're trying to juggle? I'm not saying it's easy to find a few hours to just sit down for coffee and I'm not saying I won't have a thousand and a half things running through my mind that I "should" be doing instead. But I've realized that in balancing so many things, pepole don't end up impressed by all that you can do. They just find someone else, with a little bit of time to offer, to give themselves to instead. We can't be Jesus to people by filling out paperwork and attending meeting after meeting. And while a lot of {especially in education} is inevitable, we have to stop, leave work behind and separate for a time.  We have to be available to catch our students or co-workers when they fall. And if at all possible, help them not to fall in the first place.

I think maybe {though it wouldn't have topped the bestseller list}, the cat could've said this instead...

Look at me!
Look at me!
Look at me now!
It is fun to have fun
But you have to know how.
I can talk with my girls
Or spend time at the lake.
I can laugh with my friends
Over coffee and cake. {apparently, I think the cake should stay.}
I can love on my students,
Lend a listening ear.
And look! My resolution needn't
Involve "less stress" this year!
Saying "no thanks" to requests
And "I'd love to!" to fun.
Replacing stress with balance
And still getting it all done.

The Lorax

First of all, how smart are the people at Universal to have The Lorax premiere tomorrow?!

{and for casting Zac Efron.}

Like many other books-turned-movie, my kids are extra excited about The Lorax so I had to include it in our Dr. Seuss festivities!

There's a super cute printout from the Sub Hub of Truffula Tree tops.  She uses them to have students sequence events from the story but younger students could draw pictures for retell or just color and cut them out and use them as a decoration to their writing!  {Or take my even easier way out and print them on colored paper to begin with!!}  Colored drinking straws also make excellent tree trunks!

We'll be using this Lorax coloring sheet from HP to cut out and add to our writing.

If you're really feeling ambitious you can make this adorable life sized version, complete with directions from Mrs. Lodge's Library.

And of course, there's even an app for that & online games from the official movie website.

Your Lorax snack is a no brainer, right?  Hello cotton candy trees!  Rock UR party did it super cute with grass cupcakes.  But I don't blame you if you just give 'em a handful of puff.

Seuss story puppets.

When I pulled my Dr. Seuss bin down last week, I found these:

I don't even remember buying them!!!  It must've been last year when the Dr. Seuss stuff went on sale.  Cute, right?  But what was I thinking when I bought them?  Because I surely don't remember.  The stickers are broken up into 6 stories {The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs & Ham, One Fish Two Fish, Yertle the Turtle, Horton Hears a Who & The Sneetches} plus some additional ABC stickers.

There are plenty of each so the first plan is to make some puppets.  Perfect for retell!  I hot glued a popsicle stick to the back of each then covered the stick with some cute scrapbook paper to make it harder to pull off.

Voila!  You could also make them from flat stickers or graphics on card stock if you have those in your collection!  Or stick them down in a candy jar or box of tissue paper for a decoration!

Today's snack is for your picky eaters.  This spin on green eggs & ham comes from Mandee & Brandy.  If you have kids that freak out to try new foods, this version will put a smile on their faces!  {sugar up!!}

The Cat in the Hat.

The Cat in the Hat.  Classic Seuss.  I thought about skipping this one but found new favorites I want to try this year and figure I'd keep you in the loop with the goods.

One writing activity I like to do is have the kids answer the question at the end of the story.  "Well, what would you do if your mother asked you?"  Start with a house outline.  You can make it by using a long sheet of construction paper, folding in both sides to meet in the middle and then cutting whatever roofline you want on the top.

Glue the writing inside to display.  It's interesting to see how many of them would tell their mother the truth about the weird cat invasion and how many of them wouldn't.  The reasons they come up with for why the house is a mess are priceless.

{Forgive my make-shift example.  I had a picture uploaded of the real display and for the life of me, I have no idea where it went!!!}

These adorable puppets are from My Everything Else when she was featured on obSEUSSed.  She bought red party bags but we'll using the regular {free} brown ones from the art room, colored red.

This Pinterest link wasn't uploaded right so I don't know the original user, but how great are these thing students?!  Blue easter grass hair!!  :)

I also like the hair on these little guys.  Curl the paper around a pencil to make it roll up like that.  We'll definitely be making these.

For math, we play this counting game from Hubbard's Cupboard.  Each pair of students gets one game board.  Student A rolls the dice, gets 4 and colors 4 hats pink {she will be pink the entire game}.  Student B takes a turn, rolls 2 and colors 2 hats green {and will stay green}.  Continue until the board is full then count to see how many hats each person colored and who had the most.

You can also turn your students into The Cat himself!  Wear all black, add a striped hat, red bowtie and some {eyeliner} whiskers.  Now see what kind of mischief you can come up with!

I love these Cat in the Hat hats for snack!!  White chocolate dipped oreos and red chocolate dipped marshmallows!  Thanks Jill!

One Fish, Two Fish, Word Family fish.

There are so many pins and posts for Dr. Seuss that mine may just be white noise.  But nonetheless, if you're still looking for something else among the masses, I'm going to share some of what we're doing this week.  Today's activity...

{One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish}

A teammate of mine found a fish coloring page & made this cute word sorting game a few years ago.

My cute-OCD wasn't a fan of the rectangles.  I cut them out completely so they can jump into a fish bowl.  About half way through cutting all of them out, her way was looking much better!  But now that they're finished, they're super cute.

I also made a capital and lowercase letter sort using the same template.

Here's 2 {different sizes} sheets of fish you can make yourself. Print on white and color yourself or print on colored paper to make cards. Possibilities are endless for their use.

There's {of course} a recording sheet. You can have the fish jump in a rhyming fish bowl or just be laid out on a table in columns. Either way, you can put these in a literacy center and hold your students accountable for their learning!

And a super cute snack idea from Simple Girl at Home.  Swedish fish & jello!

Horton teaches Character Ed.

My kids have been obsessed with Dr. Seuss books {hee hee...Obseussed!} and I'm not even sure how it started.  But our library wagon has been chock full of 'em for the last month or so.  Bring on Fox in Socks, sir, I've read it eight jillion times, sir, and now I'm a pro of the rhyme, sir!

{I seriously can't wait for Dr. Seuss day.  These kids are going to lose their minds when they find out!!}

We had a little preview today when I had a lightbulb moment while reading Horton Hears a Who.  I have a student who hasn't wanted to participate this week no matter how many reward or motivator tricks I pull out of my sleeve.  So as I was reading today about Jo-Jo the shirker who finally saved the day with his Yopp!....it hit me.  CO-OP-ER-ATION.  If little Jo-Jo hadn't gotten it together to finally speak up and make some noise, he would've let down his whole community while they {in your darkest, most terrifying voice} boiled in Beezle-Nut oil!

Luckily my students went to music immediately after finishing this story so I had a quick minute to whip this together and have it ready by the time they got back.  We made I guided them to connections between the Whos' cooperation and how we have to cooperate in class to get things done then I pulled out this little diddy and we put it on paper.

Not only that, but then I had the brilliant idea to hang them on their cubbies so they'd have the cooperation reminder each morning as soon as they came in to start the day!  Sometimes I even amaze myself.  ;)

The Jo-Jo image came from Coloring Pages ABC.  A little warm-up for March 2nd!  Who-dee-who!

helping the Grinch's heart grow.

I have come up with my best idea yet.  Yes, I am flipping my hair as we speak.  For I am quite impressed with myself.

I love the Grinch but couldn't find a follow-up activity I liked no matter how I tried.  My kinders aren't strong enough writers for the "Make a Grinch grin" writing project and {no offense} but I think it looks a little odd to have the writing across his teeth.  So when Pinterest & Blogstalking don't work, what's left to do but come up with an idea yourself?!

I won't say that it was an easy project, you definitely have to do it STEP. BY. STEP. but they're so cute when it's finished that you just have to try it.  The directions are here but you'll need to visit my {TPT store} to get the patterns.

Since Christmas is a season of giving, I will email the patterns for {free} to the first 10 people who leave me an awesome hors d'oeuvres or small dessert recipe.  This will be our first year hosting Christmas at our house {and sleeping an extra 4 at least!} plus we're also having a New Year's Eve party.  Remember...I AM NO COOK so the simpler the better.  :)  Finger foods are always the best anyway, right?!