It’s Read Across America Week!
Everyone who’s anyone will be reading, thinking, talking, dreaming a little bit o’ Dr. Seuss this week, to celebrate literacy and to recognize the accomplishments of the talented Theodor Seuss Geisel, THE Dr. Seuss, whose birthday is March 2. He would be 108 this year, but really–who’s counting?
PBS Kids is celebrating by featuring a Cat in the Hat marathon on March 2, so everyone can join in on the Cat in the Hat fun! And thanks to PBS Kids, two lucky teach mama readers will win a Cat in the Hat super-fun gift pack, which includes a DVD, book, and $25 gift certificate for the PBS Kids shop. Yay!
I’m also excited to share some awesome resources I’ve stumbled across that can be used to ring in Read Across America Week. All of which were created by teachers, bloggers, parents who are much more creative than I.
Here’s the skinny:
- Fab Resources for Read Across America Week:
- Joyfully Weary — Rachel has a totally and completely insanely awesome Dr. Seuss unit on her blog, including a game we played over here for the past two days.
I love the simplicity of the Dr. Seuss Hat Matching Game; it was tricky enough to really keep Cora engaged–and challenged–but Owen liked it as well.
The Dr. Seuss Hat Matching Game, ready to see some action!
Cora and Owen matched away. . .
. . . and we found that it made things easier for Cora if she covered each ‘match’.
I like the careful eye that the Dr. Seuss Hat Matching Game requires, and I like that it could be played in any number of ways–either like we did by printing four copies of the same board (two boards and two for the cards) or you could print boards and share cards, covering hats with pennies or bingo chips as cards are flipped.
The Dr. Seuss Hat Matching Game is only one of many resources on this site. Rachel also includes information about Dr. Seuss learning trays, craft stick book cover puzzles, collage box, apples on top game, sorting beads, sensory bottles, and oobleck fun. Fabulous.
just one of the many, many, MANY Dr. Seuss-inspired resources on obSEUSSed
- obSEUSSed – Vic from obSEUSSed is just that—obseussed with Dr. Seuss, and it totally shows in the time, effort, and energy she dedicates to creating awesome Dr. Seuss-related activities and crafts. Among many of Vic’s resources that I love, I particularly love the 1 Fish 2 Fish Interactive Printable. But serious Dr. Seuss fans must check out her many well thought out and creative shared resources!
the cover sheet for an amazing, literacy-rich unit on Dr. Seuss from Fun in First
- Fun in First – Jodi has developed an incredible Dr. Seuss unit packed with activities. And I love them all. I love the rhyming activity, I love the literacy activities, the hands-on oobleck activities, and I love the opposites activities. I love the comparing and contrasting of Dr. Seuss books, and I love the rhyme game. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
I love, love, love Michelle’s muffin tin meals–especially her Dr. Seuss inspired one!
- Muffin Tin Mom — My pal Michelle, THEMuffin Tin Mom created a super-fun Muffin Tin with a deliciously creative Dr. Seuss theme. If you don’t know Michelle and her marvelous muffin tins, please check her out. This one includes Cat in The Hat Red and White Strawberry Banana Skewers, Kitty Cat Sandwich, “The Cat’s Hat” filled with organic milk, Whole Grain Gold Fish Crackers, Yogurt with red pearl sprinkles, and Thing 1 and Thing 2 marshmallow treats. Fun and totally yum.
- Pinterest — Dr. Seuss Pinterest Board – Started by Bern of Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas, this is a great board with everything Dr. Seuss. Check it out!
- Oceanhouse Media — Our friends at Oceanhouse Media have a huge Dr. Seuss collection of books, games, apps, and several of them are free!
the cover sheet for an amazing, literacy-rich unit on Dr. Seuss from Fun in First
Want some more really worthwhile, fab resources for Read Across America week?
- NEA’s (National Education Association):home base for Read Across America Day
- At Seussville Read Across America, you can print out a participation certificate, Dr. Seuss door hanger, or a read and color Word Search (guess who loves this?)
- Make a pledge to read
- Learn how to create a reading event near you–big or small, anything counts!
- Specific activity ideas that are worth checking out!
- Awesome resources and materials to use in a classroom or at home
- The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That site on PBS Kids is packed with tons of Cat in the hat games, activities, and fun.
- The Cat in the Hat marathon airs on PBS Kids on March 2– you can check out video clips or on the iTunes store for iPad and iPhone.
- PBS Kids birthday builder tool will launch this week, on March 1 on the PBS Kids shop site. (I cannot wait to see this!!)
- PBS Kids invites you to join their Twitter Party on Thursday, March 1 from 9 -10 p.m. ET with Random House. The hashtag is #cithathon — see you there!
And check out our previous posts about Read Across America Week:
- It’s Read Across America Day (fab post written by Leticia of Tech Savvy Mama)
- Cat in the Hat party (including our funny cat cupcakes!)
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UPDATE: contest closed and winner chosen and notified. thank you!!
GIVEAWAY: TWO super-fun Cat in the Hat gift packs from PBS Kids– each including a Cat in the Hat DVD, book, and $25 gift card for the PBS Kids shop
Do you want to win a SUPER fun Cat in the Hat gift pack from PBS Kids?!
- All you have to do is leave a comment here sharing what YOU love about the Cat in the Hat!
For extra entries:
- Tweet this: Win a fab Cat in the Hat gift pack from @PBSKids on @teachmama — http://wp.me/p1NAxy-1FV #cithathon #weteach #kidlit
- Share this post on your Facebook page–very easy!
- Sharethis post with a friend (just tell me who you shared it with!)
- Pin this post on Pinterest! (Use ‘pin it!’ button below post!)
By entering this giveaway, you are demonstrating your understanding of and compliance with the Official Sweepstakes Rules.
This contest ends Friday, March 9, 2012 at midnight ET. Winner will be chosen by ‘And the Winner is. . .’ and will be notified on or around 3/09/12. Winner must respond within three (3) days of notification or forfeit the prize, in which case an alternate winner will be selected. All Official Sweepstakes Rules apply.
fyi: As part of the PBS Kids VIP program, I received a screener of The Cat in the Hat and several items for review purposes; however this is an unsponsored post. Prize packs are sponsored by Random House, NCircle Entertainment, and PBS Kids. Many thanks to the bloggers mentioned above for giving me permission to mention their incredible ideas.
Hey, I have that same hat. 😉
Great links, thanks so much for sharing. We are going to attempt some of the Seuss snacks while we read our favorite Seuss books on Friday.
Hmmm…what do I love about Dr. Seuss books?
So hard to pick one thing….but I absolutely love the giggles and smiles from my kids when I read Dr. Seuss books.
I love the Cat in the Hat. I have found memories of my mother reading this to me as a kid along with various other Dr. Seuss books. Then when I had my first child she bought them a copy of the book as well. Thank you to my mother and The Cat in the Hat book my daughter LOVES to read and is very intelligent as a result! Reading is GREAT!
I love the fish from The Cat in the Hat!
I love the simplicity of Cat in the Hat – he’s multigenerational
https://twitter.com/#!/sclubmama/status/174688067683229698 I tweeted
I love how free the Cat in the Hat is! He is all about fun and laughter and that is why kids love him.
Thanks for the giveaway too!
I like The Cat and The Hat because of the silly antics the cat always pulled on those poor kids! AND that my 4 year old daughter has started to be able to read Dr. Seuss books.
I shared this with my fellow Signing Time Academy instructors in our forums.
My family would feel so fortunate to win this prize. My kids love the near-disaster of the Cat in the Hat story and the miraculous clean-up. They say that “mom wishes she had one of those machines.”
What I love about The Cat in The Hat is that we all like him. He’s fun and teaches at the same time. Makes a mess and cleans it up as well.
We love the rhymes!
I love the wit. I just do.
Dr Seuss is our FAVORITE author ever! The Things are the kids’ favorite part, but of course, as a mom, my favorite is the brother & sister relationship blossoming. 🙂
I pinned the post! 🙂
We love The Cat in the Hat. I especially love that it gets my kiddos rhyming and thinking about words. (This year we’re dressing up like our favorite characters. What fun!)
The Cat in the Hat is a marvelous early-reader that transports every reader and listener to the magical world of Dr. Seuss. My 6 year old has reading this book down to a science, and LOVES reading it to her 4 and 2 year old brothers. She gets so excited when she is successful with reading, and so many giggles are heard from three happy kids using their imaginations!
I love Cat in the Hat because it gets children excited about reading with its rhyming and silly story line. My one year old already enjoys hearing us read it to her.
I also pinned the post. Thanks!
Is it corny to say that I just really like the rhyming? We do it all the time anywho.
I love the CAT in the HAT … it is one of the first books my kindergartner son learned to read and now I have caught him trying to teach his sister who is 4 how to read CAT in the HAT. Love IT!!!!.
I love that all three of my kids -3, 5, 7 – enjoy it together. They watch the show together, my son reads the books to his sisters and they all love giggling at the rhyming.
https://twitter.com/#!/everydaymom23/status/174949656466432000
THE CAT IN THE HAT book inspires creative play, which can be messy, and responsibility and cooperation b/c outstanding creativities become EZ clean ups by working together.
Love that tall red and white hat from Cat in the Hat.
I love the Cat in the Hat and the excitement about reading he creates. I love the fact that he lets the imagination run free, with nonsense words in far away unknown lands. The learning is unending with the Cat
I also shared on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/index.php?lh=4fe35504f1b6f86d78c453b70671ab56
I love the Cat in the Hat’s trademark hat, but I really enjoy watching the TV show with my kids. The show is one of those great PBS kids that grabs a nice range of ages of kids to watch.
I love The Cat in the Hat because of the pure joy he has brought my daughter since she first discovered him three years ago. I love that he’s helped create a love of reading. Later, I’ve loved the science oriented books and the show. I’ve learned from those books and the show!
Pinned this post! Thanks for the links! We’re having a week of Seuss celebrations here.
What do I love about The Cat in a Hat? Pretty much the fact that my four year old loves it! I really like it when she gets excited over a particular book.
I tweeted about the giveaway https://twitter.com/#!/DebWorldOfBooks/statuses/175128367002165249
I pinned this post: http://pinterest.com/pin/238550111482295661/
I shared this on my FB page but wasn’t sure if there was a particular link I need to copy from there in this entry.
What I love the most about the cat and that hat is no matter how old you are or what type of reader you are, opening that book makes you break into a smile and feel like a true reader!
I love that these books are helping teach my son how to read and rhyme.
I shared your post on my FB page https://www.facebook.com/UsborneBooksWithKristine
I pinned this to my Pinterest page http://pinterest.com/usborne/
I Tweeted this at https://twitter.com/#!/funbooksforkids
I love how Dr. Seuss books get my 5 year old excited about learning.
Love your ideas. We just did an entire week of Dr Seuss activities leading to today.
Love how the Cat in the Hat is actually kinda sneaky naughty, at least in the books.
I love that my not-yet-reader can “read” some Seuss by anticipating the rhymes. We also happen to enjoy the PBS show…I personally like that Cat better than books’ character. 🙂
We love his attitude and spunk!
I tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/MommaStaciA/status/175660190568431616 Thanks!
It’s so much fun to read aloud!
I love the fun rhymes 🙂
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/khmorgan_00/status/175705173916782594
I love Dr. Suess because I find his books so timeless–and creative!
I love how the Cat always makes things worse by trying to make them better – so funny!
Oh I just love how the Cat In The Hat always seems to get into mischief! Love his hat! Such a great character that has been around for so long!
Tweet
https://twitter.com/#!/Ilovemybeagle2/status/176081074483511296
I shared on my facebook
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=166889113428615&id=100000287692116
I love how Dr. Seuss used nonsensical words. I also like how how he invented new species of characters like Thing 1 and Thing 2 and the Who’s.
I really love the way Dr. Seuss came up with very imaginative stories. His illustrations only add to the imagination and zany wordplay. I have always been a Dr. Seuss fan and my kids are too!
I still love the illustrations the best because they are so engaging and fun! Thanks for the chance to win.
I love how imaginative he is
tweet https://twitter.com/#!/phxbne/status/176758621173067779
The wit in this book is timeless!
https://twitter.com/#!/mrsshukra/status/176825995666534400
What don’t we love about Dr. Suess? Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb was my son’s first favorite book!
We LOVE the Cat in the Hat in our house – one of our favorite Dr Seuss books!
https://twitter.com/#!/NNIMHOCHOIR/status/177443615407218688
Shared on Facebook – Niamh Ni Mhochoir
I love that Cat in the Hat is a story that has lasted so long and parents can recall memories of it with their children. The illustrations are colorful and the rhyming words are catchy. Thanks.
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com
tweeted
https://twitter.com/#!/partymix25/status/178038272579215362
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com