We've been celebrating Read Across America week, ending tomorrow with Dr. Seuss's birthday (March 2) and celebrating with a Dr. Seuss Day. This is a fun filled week in elementary schools across the country, but sometimes it's tough to find new and fun things for those younger than school age. We, of course, read Dr. Seuss books all of the time so I was looking for something to go along with the books. We did an activity, a craft, and a fun snack.
First up is the activity inspired by Put Me In The Zoo. I don't really have a name for this game, but Throw My Spots or Color Matching Spots are the names that come to mind.
I cut out circles for the spots and taped them to the door. Then I took the Magformers and matched them to the spots. When each child came up for their turn (I took the Magformers off of the door and held them in my hand), I handed the Magformers one at a time to the child, had them say the color of the Magformer and then they tried to get the Magformer on the correct spot (the purple Magformer was thrown at the purple spot, etc.).
This was a pretty easy challenge for the preschoolers while the toddlers loved the challenge of learning their colors. Both ages LOVED this game! I may even use this game in the future for teaching colors.
Our craft was making the Cat In The Hat hat. I drew the shape (on poster board), cut them out, and cut out the strips of red paper. I showed the kids how the cat looked (although most of them knew), helped a bit with the glue, and placement of the red stripes. Once the glue was dry we did the blue footprints on the back. In between the glue drying and the messy blue paint, we read The Cat In The Hat and The Foot Book.
Despite a couple of messes with the glue and one water spill on a few of the hats, these turned out really cute!
For snack we had The Cat In The Hat Hats. These were super easy to make: 1 Oreo (halved), strawberries, and banana slices. Ta-da! "Cat Hat Hats," as the kids called them.
Read about daycare's previous Dr. Seuss Day here.