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Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

By Cheryl Trowbridge 15 Comments

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Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener

On March 2nd we celebrate a very special birthday in our Kindergarten classes… that of beloved children’s author/illustrator, Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka “Dr. Seuss”. In his lifetime, Dr. Seuss published over 40 children’s books which have inspired and motivated the reading skills and imaginations of generations of children.

The birthday of Dr. Seuss was appropriately chosen to be the date for “National Read Across America Day”, an initiative of the National Education Association. So, to celebrate and honor Dr. Seuss on his birthday, my kinders created Seuss-inspired creatures of their own, based on his book, “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket”.  I think Dr. Seuss would have been proud of these charming, imaginative creatures. Add some jiggle eyes for extra fun!

Make a Seuss-inspired creature

Materials: 

  • 12×18 white construction paper
  • pencil
  • black “F” Sharpie
  • crayons (some broken with the paper peeled off)
  • jiggle eyes and white craft glue (optional)

Directions:

First, read the story

1. Read the story, There’s a Wocket in My Pocket, by Dr. Seuss.  Ask students to pay special attention to the fun rhyming pattern and to what each of the creatures illustrated in the story has in common (long, skinny arms, legs, necks, tails, fingers, and toes… stripes, polka dots, bright colors… crazy hair, fur… big eyes, eyelashes, etc.).

Draw your creature

2. Working vertically on your paper, lightly sketch a circle or oval just above the middle of your paper.  Then, lightly sketch a larger circle or oval just below the middle of your paper.  Make sure you leave some empty space between them.  Now put your pencil away… you’ll be finishing your drawing just using your Sharpie! (It’s harder for Kinders to trace over their pencil lines than it is to just “go for it”!)

3. Using the two shapes you drew as guidelines, draw some fur on both shapes with a zig-zag line using your Sharpie.

4. Next, connect the two shapes with a long, skinny neck.  Add long, skinny arms, legs, fingers, toes, tail, etc.  Don’t forget some feathery, crazy hair!  Fill your whole paper… make your feet touch the bottom of your paper and your crazy hair-feathers touch the top!  Add stripes and polka dots, eyes (with eyelashes), nose, and mouth.  You can even glue on some jiggle eyes for extra fun if you wish!

Give your creature a silly name

5. Now, it’s time to name your creature!  Start by thinking about where he/she might be.  In a park?  At the zoo?  On the beach?  Then, make a silly, rhyming word by changing the first letter of that word.  Write this on your paper, right above your signature.  For example, my students created “A Zark at the Park”, “The Zeach at the Beach”, “The Zool in the Pool”, etc.

Add lots of color!

6. Finally, play “Hide the White Paper”, and color your creature with bright colored crayons.  Use the sides of broken crayons (with the paper peeled off) to fill in large areas quickly. 

Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener
Dr. Seuss-inspired creature by Kindergartener

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
~ Dr. Seuss

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Filed Under: Famous Artists, Books, Crayon, Fantasy, Holiday / Event, Illustration, Lessons, Markers / Pen and Ink, Medium, Mixed Media, Other, Seuss, Dr. Tagged With: artist birthdays, artist Dr. Seuss, imagination, There's a Wocket in My Pocket

Comments

  1. Lori Decoite says

    at

    soo funny.. I save lessons that people post in word documents with links to their sites.. I save this one from last year and did it last week with 2nd graders..they loved it and the finished product looks great. I will post this week! Thanks for sharing your lessons : ).

    Reply
  2. Shawna says

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    These are so cute…I love them!
    Shawna
    The Picture Book Teacher's Edition

    Reply
  3. Kirsten Larson says

    at

    Love this! Thanks for the fantastic Dr. Suess activity.

    Reply
  4. Karen says

    at

    So charming! Those pictures just made my whole day brighter! Can't wait to see what my kids come up with!!!
    Warmly,
    Karen
    http://www.layers-of-learning.com

    Reply
  5. Hannah- Art.Paper.Scissors.Glue! says

    at

    love them! theyre adorable!

    Reply
  6. Melissa @ The Chocolate Muffin Tree says

    at

    Love this idea! And love this book?

    Reply
  7. Janvi says

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    This is really an informative blog. Thanks for sharing with us. Best schools in Delhi

    Reply
  8. Mrs. Polizotto says

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    Thank you for this great idea! I did this project with my first graders and they loved it! Your directions were great. I liked that it had specific directions of shape placement and then it was all creative from there! You can see some of the results on my pinterest board Phippsburg Elementary.

    Reply
  9. Miss says

    at

    What fun, whimsical project! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  10. Art Project Girl says

    at

    So so cute! I forgot about this project! I did it too but a little different a few years back and now I'm going to pull it out of my Dr. Seuss folder for tomorrow. Thank you I was pulling my hair out on what to do next with a particular class who can't handle the painting project the rest of the grade is doing! I think the NAEA is on the West coast next year you should go! TEXAS

    Reply
  11. Maru Jiménez says

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    I recently tried this project out using different materials and the results were even better than I ever thought! Thanks for sharing!! The results can be seen here: http://martclass.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  12. Anonymous says

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    I love this pictures..they are looking beautiful and awesome.Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing it.

    Reply
  13. Rina says

    at

    Hi Cheryl

    I taught your lesson to both the kindergarten and first grade today. PERFECT! Thanks so much for sharing this one.

    Reply
    • Cheryl Trowbridge says

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      Glad you liked it, Rina! It’s always one of my favorites!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Best Art Projects of the Year: Kindergarten » K - 6 Art says:
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    […] Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! plus book There’s a Wocket in My Pocket  by Dr. Seuss (from Teach Kids Art blog). March […]

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