March 2 is an important day in the annals of children's literature – it's the birthday of Theodore Seuss Geisel, known to youngsters (and parents) across the globe as magical Dr. Seuss. With whimsical rhyme, endearing characters and helpful messages, Dr. Seuss books stand as tall as Mother Goose in literature's Hall of Classics.
Across Seattle parents have tried to coax their kids to try new foods evoking the cautionary tale of the food snoot in Green Eggs and Ham. And I for one am looking forward to gifting the copy of Oh, the Places You'll Go! that my grandmother gave me to me when I headed off to my daughter when takes that same journey.
Each year the National Education Association celebrates the Dr. Seuss' entrance into the world by hosting Read Across America Day, a day educators and parents commit to motivating children and teens to read.
The NEA invites all parents to join in the fun and advocacy of Read Across America Day. Ask your child's teacher what his or her school has planned for the day and see if you can record the event for the NEA's national video page or for Seattle's Child online. The association offers these recommendations for other ways to participate:
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Read as many Dr. Seuss books as you can!
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Have green eggs and ham for breakfast.
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Make a Cat-in-The-Hat snack or these Cat-In-The-Hat cookies.
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Play a silly rhyming game. Someone say a word and see how many words everyone can think of to rhyme with it.
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Have birthday cake in honor of Dr. Seuss.
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Learn more about Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel).
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Take a virtual tour of the The Dr. Seuss National Memorial which is located in Springfield, Massachusetts.
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Check out this listing of Top Dr. Seuss Books.
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Visit Seussville and play games online and print off fun activities at Seussville University.
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Play this hat toss game (PDF file).
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Or instead of duck, duck goose, play cat, cat, hat (PDF file).
If you need a little help planning your celebration, Reading Rockets has created a family literacy "bag" of activities for Green Eggs and Ham to help parents read with their children. Explore the rest of the site for more literacy bags, including an upcoming literacy bag for The Lorax.
Is your child's school doing something special for Dr. Seuss' birthday? Send your photos and videos of the event to info@seattleschild.com and we'll post them on our Photo of the Day and Video pages. If you have a fun story to share about reading Dr. Seuss to your child, send it to Seattle's Child editor cherylmurfin@gmail.com
Cheryl Murfin is owner of NestingInstincts.org, a Seattle doula service, and an editor at Seattle’s Child.
