DR. SEUSS WEEK: PK-4

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Ana’s Week
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Dr. Seuss week was an absolute blast. Not only did we read loads of Dr. Seuss books, but we filled the week with lots of creative activities and topped it all off with a fun Dr. Seuss birthday party at the local library that had crafts and treats! This was one of the weeks that I was most glad that we homeschool, as Skylar and I got a short virus at the start of the week that made it difficult to do much. However, we didn’t have to miss any school and were able to hit the ground running when I started feeling good on Wednesday.

Once again, the favorite activities were science experiments. We had friends over on Friday and did some experiments together, but even before they arrived we did some activities because Aria was so excited to hit the ground running. I highly recommend the fizzing green eggs and the One Fish, Two Fish science experiment because they are so easy and fun for the kids. They were all fighting over who would get to use the stoppers next! I caution that the plaque attack experiment either doesn’t work or requires a very specific temperature because I was unable to make anything happen, which wasted my yeast. Up to you if you want to try it, but it definitely didn’t work for us when we followed the directions.

Other favorites were the Cat and the Hat hide and seek game and the Cat and the Hat kids game. We played it as a family and Aria had a blast learning to follow instructions while being silly. Definitely worth the cost as a first board game for your kids. We also did some great art crafts, and Aria told a wonderful story about how she would get rid of the Cat and the Hat if he came to her house.

I love that Dr. Seuss can be applicable to so many different things in life, such as teaching kids to feed their pets or clean their teeth properly, to pick up their toys, to follow instructions/maps, and even to try new foods. We were able to touch on so many different important concepts and read, read, read loads of books, which is also so very important. Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss! We are so grateful for you! ​

Jessica's Week

​Seuss was on the loose in our house this week! This is still amongst my favorite themes two years  running. I’ve heard Dr. Seuss is NOT a favorite author of many parents I know because many of the books can be tongue twisters, at times lengthy and to be honest before starting these lessons I would tend to agree. Since having T I’ve done a 180 and he’s quickly become a favorite of mine if for no other reason than the creativity his work inspires. Dr. Seuss was a free thinker (much like my daughter) who was not afraid to step outside the box and create his own words set to rhyme in ways no one else had done. Taegan too has her own little language and made up words for things. She also “plays” unconventionally and doesn’t always follow societies norms. For example her ponies can be whiny crying babies needing to be fed a bottle and her babydolls can go on adventures over a magical rainbow to another world while camping. Crazy right? She likes to be in charge, she likes to challenge authority, she sometimes rhymes everything she says and she likes to find her own unique way of living. It can be trying for me, it can occasionally make it hard for peers to understand or play with her, so I’m ashamed to admit I’ve tried to squelch these behaviors on many an occasion. Then I started learning Seuss. Maybe, just maybe, if I allow her to be creative, to live on whatever special imaginative world she wants to inhabit, to be a unique person, her inventive talents and innate creativity will flourish in ways I can’t begin to imagine. What if she’s the next Dr. Seuss taking us out of a world of Dick/Jane to something new, fun, and exciting! A great deal of the reason I’m homeschooling stems from the belief that traditional education is designed to make great factory workers, NOT great thinkers or creators. But if I keep her out of school and then replicate an environment where assimilation is paramount I’m doing it wrong. So here’s to embracing all things crazy and different, no matter how difficult or time consuming they are 😉
We read more books than I can count this week. Short books, long books, wacky non-sensical books, and classic cat in hat favorites. For each book there was at least one activity. Some involved math some involved hanging a shoe on the wall. ALL of them involved learning…..for Taegan AND for me. Hope you enjoy the activities as much as we did!!!