"Each Book That I Read Puts Smarts In My Head"

 Across America on Monday, March 3rd, many schools will be celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday.  NEA coined the event Read Across America and at Twillman, this will be our 3rd year inviting community guests to read.  I started coordinating the event the first year I came to Twillman, so I feel it is my signature event in a way.  My motto is that it never hurts to ask--which is how I end up with enough guest readers to visit one classroom each.

My favorite part is getting the students excited about the day by having them help decorate in some way.  They either help with the signs put up around the school or they work on a letter to Cat in the Hat or Thing 1 and Thing 2 or some other Seuss related activity.  My younger students simply colored a Cat in the Hat portrait and I'm cutting those out to make a party streamer to hang up.  I have a Pinterest board chock full of ideas here.  

This year, I hope to make the whole idea of celebrating Dr. Seuss stretch into a several week period by working in graphing students favorite Seuss books on a bulletin board (one of the ideas I spotted on Pinterest).  The lingering idea of Dr. Seuss and our celebration usually does stretch on for awhile because I have the classes write thank you letters to their guest readers during library or their classroom teacher will ask them to write thank you letters.  These letters are sent to the readers soon after.  



Image from MNEA Read Across America site: http://www.mnea.org/Missouri/ReadAcrossAmerica.aspx