Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

As long-time Cat-in-the-Hat fans, we couldn’t let March 2 pass without paying homage to the memory of Theodore Seuss Geisel and his masterful literary creations. So here are the activities we have planned for Dr. Seuss’s birthday.

Deck the Halls

My early risers helped with some party decorations. A festive banner and some bright balloons a la Nesting Instinct helped set the theme.

I didn’t have a tank of helium handy, so we just blew ours up and hung them upside down from the ceiling. The pennant banner was quick and easy to make. I just cut triangles out of patterned scrapbook paper and string them along a piece of yarn or twine. But our brightly colored birthday banner would also serve well.

The Most Important Meal of the Day

Then we woke up the rest of the crew for a breakfast of green eggs and ham. Instead of food coloring, I use spinach juice to dye our eggs, as so brilliantly suggested by Itsy Bitsy Foodies.

After a quick kitchen clean-up, we snuggled on the couch and re-read a few Dr. Seuss classics.

Our Favorite Books by Dr. Seuss

Seuss really was a genius, don’t you think? I love the great life lessons he wove into so many of his tales. What titles are your favorites?

Dr. Seuss Themed Craft Ideas

Then we headed back to the table for craft-time. My kids love making puppets and marionettes, so these Thing 1 and Thing 2 puppets from Crack of Dawn Crafts were right up their alley. It’s a good thing I had an ample supply of brass brads on hand for the movable arms and legs.

These handprint Things from Little Kinder Warriors were also adorable and super easy. They’d look great painted on some lime green T-shirts, too — something I’ll keep in mind for next year!

For the head of these cute little fellows, you simply paint palm of one hand white and fingers blue and stamp it on yellow paper. Then make the body by painting the other hand red (except for the middle finger) and stamping that handprint directly underneath the first, holding the three middle fingers together and extending thumb and pinky to the side (to form arms and legs). Aren’t they adorable?

I let the children do some Dr. Seuss themed worksheets while I made lunch. Bing Images had a whole slew of free printables that fit the bill.

Pack a Picnic

And while we couldn’t eat lunch on a boat or with a goat, I did pack our meal to go. I drew inspiration from this post on How Does She? which featured strawberry-yogurt parfaits, bright blue jello, green boiled eggs, and “Pink Yink Ink” lemonade.

A Few Fine Feathered Craft Projects

After lunch, we read Gertrude McFuzz. Then I let the little ones make these paper bag puppets from Free Kids Crafts, which remind me of Gertrude.

Then it was off to bed for the babies. While they were napping, the rest of us made like the Cat in the Hat and cleaned up the place, including putting away the laundry that was neglected yesterday while we spent all afternoon and evening at a track meet!

By all working together, we finished in short order. We even had time to get out the hot glue guns before nap time was over so that the middle kids could make these fluffy-topped pencils that remind me so much of truffula trees, especially since we use striped pencils. Visit 4 Crazy Kings for how-to instructions. And be sure to make enough to share with younger siblings.

Dr. Seuss Themed Activity Sheets

When the littles wake up from their naps, we let them snack on Goldfish while practicing a few math facts with these placemats from obSEUSSed.com.

They were a huge hit. Our kids not only love goldfish, but they love math, too. So combining the two was a definite win-win. Update: I eventually made a few Cat in the Hat Activity Sheets of my own.

There are several activities to choose from. Pick your favorites!

Getting Your Just Desserts

I was pretty sure Dad wouldn’t be too happy with more green eggs for dinner, so we made spaghetti tonight instead (his favorite). Nevertheless, he was thrilled with our Seuss-themed dessert, though: Yertle the Turtle Caramel Turtles.

I bought rolled Rolos for this project, not the bagged, which saved time when assembling them. Even Abigail got in on the action making this fun treat!

We thought if Dad were up for it, we’d head to the theater after dinner to watch The Lorax on opening night. If not, we could always pop some corn and watch a few classic Seuss videos right here at home.