Read Across America Day on March 2nd is often recognized in schools with a whole lot of literacy fanfare and Dr. Seuss love, it’s also important for families to have a little background on the event as well so the celebration can continue on at home.
Read Across America Day is celebrated on the birthday of the beloved author and illustrator, Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss, officially known as Dr. Theodor Geisel, was born on March 2, so most Read Across America Day celebrations take place on or around that day.
Schools often mark the day with read-a-thons, read-alouds, reading workshops, speakers, or reading marathons, and many teachers and school employees come to school with a large, floppy, red and white hat on their heads, mirroring the famous Cat in the Hat’s hat. Some teachers go as far as serving their students green eggs and ham (like Dr. Seuss’s book by the same name), which always gets giggles from kids.
What does this mean for families? How can parents bring the Read Across America excitement home? Consider these five ways:
1.Bring home Dr. Seuss books! Hit the library and borrow a handful of Dr. Seuss classics: The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, The Lorax, and Fox in Socks just to get you going. Set them up around your house—and then read, read, read.
2.Start your kids’ days with green eggs and ham. Really. Have a super-silly hot breakfast waiting for them on Read Across America Day and see what they do! Will they notice their green eggs? Will they rhyme as they eat their ham?
3.Talk like the Cat. Do a whole lot of rhyming—silly rhyming!—throughout the day. Instead of giving your kiddos the same instructions that you always do (Get dressed, make your bed, and brush your teeth, please.) add a little rhyme to the mix: Brush that bed head instead of playing—I’m just saying! And put on your shirt and pants—do a quick ants-in-your-pants dance!—and then clean those pearly whites just right.
4.Dress like the Cat. Wear a super-tall top hat, complete with white and red stripes (get crafty with construction paper), or just wear a lot of red, white, and black.
5.Really READ across America. Call a loved one, a grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, or friend, and either have your child read to that person or ask that person to read to your child. Of course it should be a Dr. Seuss book, but sharing this meaningful time, celebrating a work from the birthday boy himself, is really what this day is all about.
Source: https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/5-ways-to-ring-read-across-america-day-home.html