Dr Seuss Day activities, lesson plans crafts, printables for learning centers

Hello my friends of the Omschool, teacher Omi (grama) here with free Dr. Seuss Day lesson plans, activities, crafts and printables. The Cat in the Hat doffs his cap on March 2, to honor the birthday of his creator Dr. Seuss (Ted Geisel). To celebrate things Seuss, the NEA (National Education Association) hosts "Read Across America"  on March 2, to kick off March as National Reading Month. You can explore Dr. Seuss and reading in preschool learning centers with these Dr. Seuss activities, perfect for homeschool as well. 

Reading learning center. Dr. Seuss is right at home in the book or library learning center. Fill your book corner with Seuss books. Scatter some comfy pillows and Dr. Seuss character toys (Cat in the Hat, Lorax, Grinch etc). Emergent readers will love the pictures. Visit Seussville for book lists and ideas.  Throw a Seuss story party. Details to follow. 

Dr. Seuss activities for the art center. Display Seuss books: The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, Bartholomew and the Oobleck and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Each day of Read Across America week, create Seuss inspired artwork. Paint Seuss creatures at easels with brightly colored and neon paints. Model creatures in modeling clay or playdough. Create sculptures by poking recycled materials in Styrofoam blocks. 

To teach Dr. Seuss at the Collage center, make Seuss toys from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Put out oddly shaped cardboard containers, egg cartons, aluminum foil and cans, plastic containers and colored fabric scraps. Students can design their own version of toys from Whoville

Jing Tingler

Flu Flooper

Tar Tinkers

Who Hoover 

Who Carnio Flunx 

To teach Dr. Seuss in the Music Center, make homemade musical instruments. Create noise makers like the Grinch's hated 

Gar Ginkers 

Trum Tupers 

Slu Slumkers 

Blum Bloopers 

Who Wompers 

Zu Zitter Carzays. 

Encourage students to give their musical instruments silly Seuss-ish names. 

To teach Dr. Seuss in Dramatic Play or Dress Up center, have students make masks of Seuss characters: Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose

Horton the elephant

Yertle the Turtle

Maisie the bird

the Wickersham monkeys

Kangaroo and her joey

Have children create their own Seuss creatures. Have a Dr. Seuss parade like the one in his first book "And to Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street." Dress in homemade Seuss costumes, play musical instruments and show off homemade toys. 

To teach Dr. Seuss science center, use the Lorax. The Lorax deals with environmentalism. Set up an experiment on decomposition and pollution. Place different pieces of trash in zippered bags with a little water. Monitor them over time to show students how slowly trash decomposes. Here are more free printable Lorax science lesson plans. 

Students could also tend "trufulla seeds" (use any flower seeds, sunflower, cosmos or daisy). 

Make Oobleck mixing liquid laundry starch and white school glue. Here are more free printable recipes for Oobleck, moon sand, noise putty, etc. Use for early chemisty lesson plans. 

To teach a Dr. Seuss practical life area, use "The Cat in the Hat", "Green Eggs and Ham" and "Horton Hears a Who." These books deal with caring for others, preparing food and house cleaning. Do a Cat in the Hat tidy up relay race. Cook green eggs and ham. Care for an insect or goldfish. Use these free printable Dr. Seuss activities in your lesson plans, too

Recycle bin cardboard puppet crafts with free printable puppet patterns

Hello my friends of the Omschool (that's Omi or grama school). Raise your hand if you're sick of winter? With all the snow days in cold regions, stuck-at-home kids can get pretty bored. Well, hang on because Teacher Omi has some recycle bin cardboard crafts for kids. Use these lesson plans for Earth Month, right around the corner. Today we'll make a recycled cardboard puppet theater and and homemade puppets from all from your recycle bin! Children of all ages will love making homemade puppets and a cardboard puppet theater. Then they can write puppet plays and act them out. Homeschoolers will love these crafts because even the youngest learners can participate! 

I've included links for free printable puppets (this one takes you to Picklebums; it's that a cute name?)

First School has free printable paper bag puppet patterns here. 

DIY Craftsy has a bunch more paper bag puppet printables. 

Visit Activity Village for all kinds of free printable puppet patterns including seasonal, holiday, animal and themed puppets. 

PJs and Paint (another adorable name!) has free printable paper puppet templates. 

To make the homemade cardboard puppets, you will need: 

 4-6 brads (also called paper fasteners) per child 

narrow hole paper punch

 stapler 

assortment of recycled cardboard scraps in many shapes, sizes and patterns. You can use scraps from other recycled cardboard crafts and projects. There should be some plain geometric shapes and also some more complicated shapes. Each piece should be no larger than 6-8 inches in diameter and no smaller than two inches or so in diameter. There should be long, thin shapes as well as broader shapes.

inch-wide strips of cardboard (keep separate from assorted ones) for moving puppets

decorations: (these are all optional; use whatever you have available) wallpaper sample books, recycled bin paper scraps--gift wrapping paper scraps, tissue paper scraps, recycle bin construction paper scraps. recycled paper tubes, ribbon, crepe paper and yarn scraps, faux feathers and gems, glitter or glitter glue, buttons, silk flowers, pipe cleaners 

markers, paint  or crayons

Procedure to make homemade puppets. Children will assemble a puppet from found pieces of cardboard. Found means children must use recycled cardboard scraps as they are, no cutting or reshaping. The idea is to assemble puppets using whatever is available. Puppets may represent people, animals, fantasy creatures, aliens or even non-living things like vehicles. Our youngest son loved construction vehicles and made his puppet a personified "scooper-upper truck" (power shovel). 

Kids should lay out pieces recycle bin puppets before assembling. Puppets should have at least two body parts, preferably 3-5. Cover or decorate each individual piece before assembling homemade puppets. Children may trace and cut paper to fit puppet pieces and glue paper on. They may paint or color puppet pieces. Feathers, gems, flowers or other embellishments should be attached after puppets are assembled. 

 Assemble puppets in this way: Attach moving parts--arms, tail, head, legs--with brads. Punch holes through the fixed and moving part of cardboard. Push fastener through and fold metal prongs back. Attach stationary parts with tape or stapler. Attach embellishments with stapler, glue or tape. Attach two recycled cardboard strips, sticks or rulers to use as handles to move the puppet. 

For very little ones, make puppets as high chair crafts. Let them select pieces and decorations. An older child can assemble them and let the littles decorate with crayons and glue stick for decorations. 

Children should work together in groups to create a story using incorporating each of their homemade puppets into the plot. They might even create invitations and advertising posters for their play. 

Make a simple puppet theater cardboard crafts for kids from a large refrigerator box. Cut a closable flap window. Kids get inside cardboard puppet theater and animate their homemade puppets in the window. When finished store puppets in the box and close the flap. You can also make smaller puppet theater crafts for kids by cutting open a cardboard box. Stand box on table and have children stand on chair behind puppet theater. Stay tuned for more recycle bin cardboard crafts for kids.