The Amazing World Of Dr Seuss
My last post was about a visit to Emily Dickinsons house in Amherst, Massachusetts. Well, during that same trip, we also visited The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum in nearby Springfield. Since The Cat in the Hat is celebrating its 60th year in print, it seemed a good time to check it out.
Theodor Seuss Geisel Rather than go into a lot of detail, Ill mostly let these colorful pictures show you some of the highlights of my visit.I love this elevatorperfect! It was interesting to see the casting process for one of the outdoor sculptures.Unlike some museums, just about everything on display was actually used by Ted and then donated by his family.I think my favorite part was seeing this setup of his drawing studio.I also enjoyed studying this family tree mural.
You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book.Dr. Seuss
The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss is a brand new museum adjacent to the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden. Not only is there a lot to see at this museum, but with one ticket you get into all five museums in the impressive Springfield museum complex. The sculpture garden is a pleasant park and always free.
Time to go back outside and into the garden.
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. Its not.Dr. Seuss
Have Fun With The Little Ones
Dr. Seuss Day can be a very fun day to share with the little ones and at the same time they can learn about some of the many messages left by the stories of this author.
Doing activities with them stimulates their development, companionship, and creativity. Therefore, it is important that you plan ahead to make Dr. Seuss Week one of the most fun ones.
Most importantly, if you also spend time with them sharing and doing the activities, they will feel more motivated and encouraged to do them. And at the same time, they will have quality time to share together.
Have fun during Dr Seuss Week with the activity you like the most!
A Resource List Of Online Museum Tours Virtual Field Trips Zoo Live Feeds & Ways To Travel At Home For Kids
Looking for ways to keep young minds busy? Travel the world virtually, no passport necessary! Ive got tons of links for online museums, virtual field trips for kids, wildlife live feeds, kid-friendly travel documentaries, game ideas, and links for travel-related learning and play at home.
This is a great resource list for parents, grandparents, teachers and anyone who wants to help kids learn about the world and keep exploring in-between trips. Be sure to pin it for later and share with friends or family!
Ready for some armchair travel and virtual field trips for kids? Lets go!
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Guess With The Phrase
Another fun option that encourages reading is to play at guessing which movie or book a certain phrase belongs to. To get more into the Dr. Seuss theme, you can make a cats hat out of cardboard and place papers with short phrases written on them.
The idea is that everyone involved takes a phrase and the others can guess which book or movie it belongs to. We also like to do this after the children watch the movies or after a reading session.
Dr Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden
More than 3 million people have visited the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden at the Springfield Museums since it opened in 2002. The sculpture garden celebrates Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, in the city in which he was born and raised. Following Geisels death in 1991, his wife, Audrey, authorized the Museums to create the memorial, and since that time, the sculpture garden has attracted crowds of Dr. Seuss fans to frolic alongside his beloved characters. Sculptor Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, who is also Geisels step-daughter, created the endearing bronze sculptures. A gallery devoted to the creation of the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden is located on the second floor of The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, which opened fifteen years after the sculpture garden was installed.
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Create Your Own Character
Another way to allow children to use their full creative potential is to use their imagination to create a character. This can be done through a drawing or using recyclable material.
Ideally, they should actively participate in the creation of a new who or a character with a similar build to those that already exist. Once finished, O usually ask my children to explain what their character is about so that they can further develop their imagination. Once theyre finished, we sit and pretend their characters exist in the last story weve read.
Make Costumes With Recycled Materials
You dont need to be an expert to make a costume, with recycling materials you can do it easily. Making costumes is an excellent activity during Dr Seuss Week for us and our children to put into practice their imagination and creative power.
First, you need to think of which Dr. Seuss characters the costume is going to be made from and find all the materials needed to make the costume. It doesnt need to be perfect the children will enjoy both the process and the result. Once they are ready, if were not performing a little play, we make a runway show where they can model their costume at the end of Dr. Suess week, and we take fun pictures to keep as a souvenir.
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Crafty Gift Ideas For Kids
Need gift ideas for crafty kids? Kid Made Modern offers a smorgasbord of craft options for kids, including subscription boxes, craft kits, stocking stuffer ideas and even online craft classes! Top picks: a create a comic book kit, a shrink art jewelry kit, a my first painting collection, and an arts and crafts supply library to let imaginations run wild!
+ Virtual Field Trips For Kids
We are living in a strange time. Never did I think that I would be searching for virtual field trips to take with my daughter and daycare children! But here we are, trying to make the best of the situation we are living in.
Now you can experience landmarks and museums around the world with your kids from home! Check out our list of 40+ virtual field trips below. These are all interactive virtual tours that I have done with my kids. All kid-approved!
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Interactive ‘dr Seuss Experience’ To Tour North America
Readers of all ages have probably longed to step inside the colorful and whimsical worlds that exist inside Dr. Seuss’ beloved stories. Now fans can finally get their fantastical fix as “The Dr. Seuss Experience,” a brand-new exhibit, tours North America. The immersive and interactive celebration of the imagination of author and illustrator Theodor Seuss Geisel is billed as a “Seuss-tacular sensory spectacle” families won’t want to miss.
Wander through the Truffula Trees from The Lorax.
The Dr. Seuss Experience tour, which kicks off October 26 in Toronto, will offer visitors a chance to make their way through a 15,000-square-foot journey that allows them to “swing among Truffula Trees from The Lorax” or wander through a bright balloon-filled maze that will bring Oh, the Places Youll Go! to life, according to the producers. A special themed carousel and store featuring Seuss-centric merchandise make the launch even more festive. There will be nine rooms, or “worlds,” to explore.
After making its debut in Toronto, “The Dr. Seuss Experience” will travel to multiple cities across the United States, making stops in Seattle, Boston, and Houston and others, with dates and venues to be announced. As the much-anticipated event travels to different locales, the exhibit will change, too, allowing visitors to enjoy new additions based on a rotating selecting of Dr. Seuss’ beloved books.
Unless noted, photos courtesy of The Dr. Seuss Experience
Science Gift Ideas For Kids
Looking for gift ideas for kids who love science? Check out Creation Crate, which delivers hands-on technology projects and online curriculum right to your door. Club SciKids sends engaging and fun career-related science kits each month. Groovy Lab in a Box ships boxes full of hands-on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics experiments for ages 8+. And kids toys retailer Maisonette has lots of creative STEM gift ideas.
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Virtual Field Trips For Kids: Global Exploration & Cultures
Check out all of these virtual field trip resources for learning about new cultures and places around the globe. Click on the blue text throughout this article for links.
National Geographic Explorer Classroom
Explorer Classroom is a free live YouTube show that connects students with explorers around the world! All events are open to the public and are accompanied by a downloadable event guide with additional information, resources, and discussion questions. During registration, parents and teachers can even choose the option of their group being featured on-screen to interact in real-time with the presenter. Check out upcoming and past sessions on their website. Also dont miss the National Geographic Education resource Library online.
Colorful Communities around the World
Check out this Google Earth virtual tour of some of the most colorful cities around the globe. Explore neighborhoods in Semarang, Indonesia Capetown South Africa Chefchaouen, Morocco and more. Click the arrows in the bottom right of the page to jump to the next city.
PBS Learning Media: Virtual Field Trip to Africa
This virtual field trip to Africa explores the balance of humans and nature in the countries of Kenya and Burkina Faso. Students will learn the importance of grasslands and how ecotourism has benefited both the people and Kenyas majestic wildlife. Get the accompanying teachers guide here.
Virtual Field Trips For Kids
Explore national parks and tourism sites and get links to tons of virtual field trips around the globe!
Take virtual tours of more than 30 U.S. National Parks, including Bryce Canyon, Death Valley, Dry Tortugas, Sequoia and more.
Become a Junior Park Ranger!
Get ready for your next vacation by learning how kids can take part in the National Parks Junior Ranger Program.
You can also explore UNESCO World heritage sites via Google Earth These are sites for having cultural, historical, scientific or other form of significance by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. . Also, you can explore a wide variety of landmarks through Google Street view, including Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, the Roman Colosseum and the Egyptian Pyramids. The platform also recently launched the Heritage on the Edge initiative, which features five Unesco World Heritage sites under threat from climate change. The project includes 3D maps, augmented reality features, and expert opinions on how we can protect these treasured landmarks.
The Roots & Shoots Foundation, founded by English primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall, has the goal of inspiring and empowering kids to affect change in their communities and the world. Now established in 110 countries around the globe, Roots & Shoots has both a YouTube channel and website with resources for kids and distance learning toolkits and lesson plans for educators.
The Nature Conservancy
The Great Wall of China
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Dr Seuss Silly Birthday Celebration
Join Thing 1 and Thing 2 for all the fun things they do to celebrate the beloved author, Dr. Seuss!
Schedule of Activities:
- Free RIF Books from the Junior Auxiliary of Meridian
- Imagination Library sign-up station
- Cat in the Hat top hats
- Oh, the Places Youll Go hot air balloon craft
- Oobleck making with Algix
- Dr. Seuss characters from Stage 2
- Musical instrument petting zoo with Meridian Symphony Orchestra
9am 9:30am
- Green eggs & ham breakfast
10am
- Guest reader: Miss Mississippi Holly Brand
11am
- Oh Say Can You Seed gardening activity in My Fantastical Backyard
- Oh Say Can You Seed gardening activity in My Fantastical Backyard
- Guest reader: Distinguished Young Women
Animal Virtual Field Trips
-Watch over 10 different animals, from Elephants to Butterflies, in their habitats at the San Diego Zoo with these Live Animal Cams! We love the tiger cams! Plus they have a whole kids area on their website for fun educational activities.
-Observe gorillas, rhinos, and even ants on the live webcams from the Houston Zoo. I love the 6 different animal cams at this zoo. Tune in between 7 am and 7 pm CST to see them in action.
The Georgia Aquarium has some really amazing webcams you can check out. They have beluga whale webcams plus live feeds of the puffins, piranhas, gators and much more! Watch for the whale shark on the Ocean Voyager cam! Its so cool to see!
-Learn and explore the farm like never before! Take an inside virtual tour of how farms run and how food is processed from a farm. These are really interesting and well done. My daughter loved the 360 videos on egg processing and egg breaking, the way all the machinery works together blew her mind! You can also view sheep, grain, and mink farms plus milk processing plants.
-Have a shark lover in your house? The live shark cam at the Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of our favorite live cams to view. They also have a really great aviary and coral reef cam that you can view with your kids. We also like the Monterey bay cam, its fun to watch the waves!
-Walk-through the halls of the National Aquarium with this fun and interactive virtual tour.
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Interactive Virtual Field Trips
Discovering Egypt
This site is run by an artist and researcher who has been fascinated by Ancient Egypt since he was a kid. Find information on hieroglyphs, pyramids, pharaohs, mummification, games and more. Also check out the episode of Nat Geo Kids Are We There Yet: Egypt Pyramids and all of their Egypt resources.
Virtual Costa Rica
Is Costa Rica on your family travel wish list? Check out this two-part Costa Rica virtual field trip from the family blog Two Weeks in Costa Rica. It includes wildlife cameras, volcanoes, storybooks and even how to plant a pineapple! Also check out the episode Are We There Yet: Costa Rica Animal Rescue from Nat Geo Kids.
Music For Kids + Fun Stuff
The Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC is home to the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, the Washington Ballet among other performance groups. They have a wealth of digital arts learning resources online, including a playable Top 10 List of Classical Music that kids will enjoy, an instrument-spotting guide, and a musical tour of Europe.
Dr. Seuss Raps
Have you discovered Wes Tanks story raps? Head over to YouTube and check out videos of him rapping Dr. Seuss favorites over hip hop beats by Dr. Dre and others. Its super catchy and fun for both kids and adults, and kids can read/rap along at home. Find more of his original story raps at Kidoodle.tv, a free Safe Streaming platform for kids entertainment.
Virtual Disney World
This YouTube Account helps you virtually experience the best of Walt Disney Worlds attractions, shows, hotels and more.
The blog Practical Wanderlust also has their own tips from a former cast member on a how to have a virtual Disney tour.
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Make Your Own Picture Books
This is an excellent opportunity to unleash our childrens creativity during Dr Seuss Week by using the information in their favorite characters book. You can offer children a variety of craft supplies and recycled items that they can use to write their favorite story in the best way they will remember it. Here is where you can printout a Dr Seuss bookmark!
You can use newspaper or magazine clippings, glue, toilet paper rolls, egg cartons, pipe cleaners, felt, yarn, pom poms, eyes, and EVA foam. Encourage them to experiment with new textures and colors to develop their full creative potential.
Speaking of books, this is where I got the Dr. Seuss beginner set for my kids!
Make A Small Sculpture Of Your Favorite Character
An activity that children love and is a perfect fit for Dr Seuss Week is working with clay or plasticine, anything that involves kneading is perfect for them. Besides stimulating their creativity, it is excellent for their motor skills.
For this activity you will need plasticine, polymer clay, or cold porcelain. If you use plasticine, you will need it in different colors, and when you finish the sculpture, you can use glue or resin to keep it for a longer period of time. One of the advantages of plasticine is that it is non-toxic, non-messy and perfect for children to use.
If, on the other hand, you plan to use polymer clay, you should be more careful because it is a material that cannot be put in the mouth. You will need it in different colors and children will need help at the end because you have to take it to the oven so that the material can harden, and this can only be done if youre around to keep an eye on them. The advantage is that you can find it in very vivid and bright colors, besides, it is a flexible material and easy to work with.
Finally, if you want to use cold porcelain, you will need paints so that children can color the sculpture since cold porcelain usually comes in white or translucent colors. Although cold porcelain is made with non-toxic materials, the paint and other painting implements can make it harmful to children if they decide to put it in their mouths.
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