How To Celebrate Dr. Seuss’s Birthday 2017: 10 Read Across America Day Activities To Honor Author

March 2 might be Dr. Seuss’s birthday, but it’s also annual Read Across America Day. In honor of the late children’s author, kids, teens and adults alike are encouraged to read and to celebrate the written word.

The event was started by the National Education Association in 1997 to encourage reading awareness initiatives across the country in honor of Dr. Seuss. Teachers, librarians, parents – even athletes and celebrities – host and participate in different activities created to inspire a love of reading.

Libraries, classrooms and local organizations will be participating in events across the country – but on the off-hand you would like to start an event of your own or set up a book-inspired event for your kids, here are 10 different activities you can participate in to celebrate Read Across America Day – and Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Even if you’re not a parent or an education leader, feel free to use the day to catch up on some leisure reading. The NEA’s Seussville website has a complete list of activities to participate in for March, also.

-Gather up students and kids and read aloud from “The Cat in the Hat.” Then, have the kids draw pictures or write stories of their own depicting what would happen if that character visited them.

-Read Dr. Seuss’s “The Lorax” aloud and brainstorm a list of ways in which kids could save on energy, reduce litter and waste and, otherwise, ways in which they could leave the world a healthier place.

-Have participants popcorn read from “Horton Hears a Who.”

-Of course, there’s no better way to celebrate the book “Green Eggs and Ham” than to whip up your own batch of the food-colored breakfast. Get fancy and even melt some gruyere into the eggs.

-Take inspiration from the book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” and create a collage using images of places you’d like to visit or of things you would like to see.

-Simply re-read all of your favorite Dr. Seuss books – or share them with your kids.

-Take inspiration from the Lorax’s story and use the day to tend to your plants or plant your own garden.

-Have your kids or your students create their own Dr. Seuss stories. Brainstorm fantastical characters and stick to a similar rhyme scheme. Have them create pictures to go with their stories.

-For the real Dr. Seuss fans, host a round of trivia complete with facts about the author and info about his stories.

-Flip books are another expressive craft to celebrate this holiday. Have kids create their own Who character and have them make a flipbook depicting a comical event or situation that their Who might find itself in.