As Read Across America week winds down, I thought I’d share about my fun afternoon with J’s class today.
Dr. Seuss reminded us that Life’s a Great Balancing Act (Just never forget to be dexterous and deft). Which is why I chose to read Oh, The Places You Go! in class today. In my trajectory as a writer and parent, I want to believe that it was his suggestions and wise words that have pointed me in this direction. (More on this later…)
Even though Oh, The Places You’ll Go! can be verbose for young five year olds, the class very much understood Dr. Seuss’ ideas and emphasis on imagination.
After reading to the class, we continued the conversation about Dr. Seuss with What’s in the Cat’s Hat, a hands-on game game from my friends at Wonder Forge.
This game is a classic guessing game, where the kids can utilize their senses by guessing what’s hidden IN the Cat’s hat. Each kid took a turn poking and shaking the hat, even reading off prompted questions from the cards. We heard silly guesses, but once the kids started getting their guesses right based on clues, the momentum of their deductive reasoning started to roll. I can’t say enough good things about Wonder Forge; this fantastic company has won numerous awards for their games and it’s no wonder why. Beyond What’s in the Cat’s Hat, Wonder Forge has various Dr. Seuss puzzles and games, including an app-centric game called Fun Machine.
Dr. Seuss apps from Oceanhouse Media
And speaking of apps, Dr. Seuss has an app—quite a few, actually. Oceanhouse Media has done a great
job with bringing Dr. Seuss titles to iPhones, iPods and iPads. While I love my technology as much as the next geek, there’s nothing quite like a real book. Nevertheless, you can’t beat having access to a myriad of Dr. Seuss titles while on the go. Green Eggs and Ham while in the dentist waiting room? Why not. Fox in Socks while on a 2-hour road trip? Don’t mind if we do. The best part of these apps is that they’re interactive where you can record your voice while reading and even share those recordings. Oceanhouse Media has a number of Dr. Seuss classics in the $3-5 range, as well as a few free apps.
Dr. Seuss Camera
Another app that gets rave reviews from my favorite five year olds: The Dr. Seuss Camera, also from Oceanhouse Media. This app simply utilizes the iphone, ipod touch or ipad camera and frames the subject with several different Dr. Seuss characters and imagery. Point, shoot, edit and create, this app is endless Dr. Seuss fun and is free. This app is a great way to continue the Dr. Suess conversation and branch it out to digital media. In fact, we took pictures of J’s entire class and the kids had a blast picking and choosing which characters they wanted to be. Sally, by the way, was the class favorite—for boys, too! Go, Sally!
I loved talking to the kids about my job today. Since most of the kids aren’t reading quite yet, I didn’t bother telling them about NKT, other than the topics that I focus on. It was cute getting questions from parents asking me if I work FOR PBS. No, but I am a proud VIP.
Forging my own path as a writer and blogger has allowed me to merge my interests and experience as a journalist with parenthood. When I left my office job as an editor in the city, saddened by the decline of print media opportunities, I insisted that I would have it all one day. I might not move mountains for a living, but in the eyes of my kid, it sure felt like I did today.
Having focused on the parenting and kid product realm for several years now, I’ve been to Sesame Street, we’ve chuckled with Mo Willems and we’re always playing with the latest toys and games. But as a writer, it’s Dr. Seuss-inspired games and books that always have the most significance to me as.
Did you know Dr. Seuss’ first children’s book, And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected by over 43 publishing companies? Pretty amazing, considering he went on to pen over 40 timeless children’s books…
Kid, you’ll move mountains one day.
—Dr. Seuss
