Glad To Be a Gladden: Dr. Seuss Day Home School Activities

I have always ADORED celebrating Dr. Seuss day as a kid! Oh my word. Probably one of my top 5 favorite days of school as a kid. I got so involved with it. Now it's my turn to really get Ellie, my toddler, involved as well!

I don't have all 44 of Dr. Seuss' books but we definitely have a full day's worth of reading of his classics.

To celebrate this zany brainy wacky cray cray day, I first began by making sure Ellie was properly festively dressed! Thank you, Target!! (Boys & Girls, mama!! Get it!)

Of course, the first book we read was "Green Eggs & Ham". And you guessed it - we made green eggs and ham for breakfast! Ellie helped! I was terrified she wouldn't eat them because they were green. However; she actually loves greens so maybe that fear was not sound. Sure enough, she loved them and the ham and ate them up. I think my love of Dr. Seuss began in preschool for me. At my Christian pre-school, they served us green eggs and ham for breakfast. I refused them. I hated greens until my 20s. But after seeing all my friends enjoy them, I decided as a stubborn 4 year old to try them after all. And I loved them, of course! This is when my Seuss love began!

We then went for a short nature walk to collect sticks...more on this later....it's for one of our projects! ;)

Then, we read "There's a Wocket in my Pocket". I think this book is Ellie's favorite. She has been saying that all day! It's too cute! After we read the book, we made a Wocket!
We used popsicle sticks, glue, feathers, and googly eyes. Just things we had in the craft closet. She spent more time with this than I had imagined which is so great. She was really into it. She told me all about her project as she created it and was very proud of it!

Next, "Bartholomew and the Oobleck". We read it and made oobleck!! Woop Woop!! Such Fun! A solid hour of heavy play here! Here is the recipe:

* 1/2 cup cornstarch

*1/4 cup of water

*Green food coloring

*Disposable tray

*Wooden spoon

Instructions:

1. Add food coloring to water

2. Put cornstarch in tray

3. add water and stir until well mixed.

(Will be tough to stir)

The science behind this is pretty mind blowing. Oobleck is a non-newtonian fluid. This is a substance that does not follow Newton's viscocity law. Therefore; the viscosity of this can change when under force to either be more liquid or more solid. As you and your little play, squeeze it in your hand as tight as you can. Try to form it into a ball and set it to the side. It won't keep a shape. It keeps shape of its container. You can throw it on the floor, thinking you have a big wet mess, but then can pick it up as a solid form. It's so cool. Another example of a non-newtonian fluid would be ketchup. It becomes runnier when shaken.

We put toy dinosaur figurines and her toy cow into the substance. Then she went in full hands and feet and even danced in it.

When you are finished with it-put it in a clear glass and see how the substance is not a mixture but a solution. A separation will happen between the solid and liquid forms after a few hours.

Next, we read "The Cat in the Hat" and "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back".

Cat in the Hat is a pretty cool cat. Troublesome? Maybe....but he always cleans up his playthings. So we like him! Messes are fun, anyway! Our first Cat in the Hat project was to make magic dough! (Moon Sand any other day).

Recipe:

* 2 cups of white flour

* 1 cup Baby oil

* Glitter

*Mix together with your hands in a tray

Add kitchen things or little figurines to play with too. We added a measuring spoon and a flower shaped cookie cutter. Ellie told me while playing she was making a mountain, snow tracks, making cookies, and a snake. This simple little bit of dough was an open door for the imagination.

The next Cat in the Hat project was a little science experiment time. We made a bubbly potion!
What you need:
* 1 cup white vinegar
* 1 cup olive or vegetable oil
* food coloring
* Turkey baster, or small dropper
* White dishes: 1 deep, 1 shallow

Use the food coloring in the white vinegar.
First we used our baster to draw up the oil, then squirted that into the deep bowl. We then used the baster to draw up a little bit of dyed vinegar and we squirted that on top of the oil. It was very cool to see the obvious separation of the two fluids and little bubbles everywhere. We used a deep and shallow dish to get different depth perspectives. Here is our science behind the project: The oil and vinegar separate because the particles are unable to stick together. This is known as "immiscible". The vinegar is heavier than the oil so it sinks down and the blobs of oil float. I was able to show this to Ellie quite obviously. After showing her a couple of different times, she was explaining back to me which was really awesome to hear. She would point and show me and explain and it was so cool.

When it was near supper time, we made a Cat in the Hat pizza for dinner. I used a recipe of my sister's, therefore; it happens to be KETO for any of those on that diet.

Recipe:

* 1 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella

* 3/4 cup almond flour

* 2 tbsp cream cheese

* 1 egg

* pinch of salt

Instructions

* Mix cheese and almond flour in a microwaveable bowl. Add cream cheese and microwave on high for 1 minute.

* Stir-microwave again 30 seconds

* Add egg, salt, and any desired seasoning. We added oregano and basil. Mix gently

* Form dough on pan in shape of Cat's hat.

* Add sauce and cheese and pepperonis in a striped pattern like the Cat's Hat!

* Bake in the oven at 425F for 10-12 minutes

While we waited on the pizza to cook, we stacked red solo cups and paper to try and make a tall hat for cat! She wanted to make them really tall, then she wanted to make several small.

The next book we read was "One Fish, Two Fish".

We first made "Yink's Pink Ink Drink!" We basically just made a milkshake. Vanilla ice cream, whole milk, fresh cut strawberries. Blend it.

Then we played "Ring the Gack!" I just used two old boxes I had set aside for the fire pile and glued them together. Then I took Ellie on a nature walk to collect some good thick sticks! We collected them barefooted in our buckets. Then, I cut some small pinholes in the top of the box and put the "antlers" through! We used pool diving rings to ring the gack. Ellie liked this game!

Then we cut the hair on the head of a "zed". I just used old toilet paper rolls, yarn, and tape. I taped long yarn to the inside of the tube and drew some eyes on the outside with a sharpie. Ellie got her scissors and she got some scissor skills in by cutting the yarn!! Great scissor skill activity.