Green Eggs and Ham Activities (31 Days of Read Alouds)

by Toni Herrbach

Did you know the book Green Eggs and Ham was the result of a bet between Dr. Seuss and his publisher? Dr. Seuss was bet that he couldn’t write a book using only 50 words. Even though this classic book was published almost 60 years ago, it is still favorite today.

Personally, I wouldn’t make a word bet against the masterful Dr. Seuss! The publisher lost this bet and Green Eggs and Ham was published.

Green Eggs and Ham Activities

Green Eggs and Ham was one of the earliest books I remember as a child and is still a favorite to read to my own kids. I can remember my mom making green eggs and ham when I was a kid. You can do it too, just add a few drops of food coloring to your scrambled eggs!

I loved this book because my children were able to read this book quickly after they learned how to read.

To help your children read the book on their own we’ve created a word list you can download for them to practice.

This is a great way to work on reading with your kids since there are very few sight words in this book. Use this list to review the words with your child then let them read the book to you!

FREE Activities for Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

Sensory Bin
Dr. Seuss Silly Printables
Eggs and ham muffin casserole (you can make this green too!)
Preschool Matching Activity
Printable Pack

Game (by Frugal Navy Wife)

Green Egg Candy

Word Chunk Spinners

Our favorite reads by Dr. Seuss

More Dr. Seuss on The Happy Housewife

“A person’s a person no matter how small”. ~ Dr. Seuss

See all of our Read-Aloud Books and Activities for the entire series here!

31 Days of Read Alouds: Begins Sunday

by Toni Herrbach

Do you read aloud to your kids? Reading aloud to children at a young age is a great way to develop a love of reading. Not only does it develop a love of reading, it also helps their imaginations, comprehension, and vocabulary.

Dr. Seuss’ birthday is Monday and to celebrate we’re doing an entire month of read alouds! I’m very excited about this project because my kids love books and doing activities which correlate to the books we read.

For the entire month of March I’ll be sharing some of our favorite books for young children and fun activities you can do to reinforce the story.

It’s also a great way to spend time with your kids. Many kids these days are constantly asking for screen time, let’s see if we can start encouraging a little book time. Books are delightful and sometimes a child just needs a spark to get them started.

I hope you will join us this month and share some of your favorite books for young children too!

U.S. Currency Study Ideas

by Toni Herrbach

By contributing writer Marci

Have you ever looked at your money? I mean have you REALLY looked at what is on those pieces of paper and metal discs? All those designs, letters, numbers, and symbols have meanings. In this U.S. currency study, you’ll see that money is basically a civics lesson in your wallet!

Dollar Bills

Look at the dollar bill. It is full of images and symbolism. You might want to grab a magnifying glass so you can see all the details.

The front side of the bill has the first president of the United States, George Washington, right in the center. To the right of Washington is the United States Treasury Seal. The seal shows balancing scales representing justice and a chevron with 13 stars representing the 13 original colonies. Under the chevron is a key to represent a symbol of authority.

On the reverse side of the dollar bill, there are two large circles representing the Great Seal of the United States. This seal was designed by the founding fathers to symbolize the United States.

The circle on the left side of the dollar bill contains a large pyramid composed of 13 rows of building blocks. Roman numerals representing 1776 are printed on the first row of the pyramid. The pyramid in uncapped to symbolize strength and duration. The capstone of the pyramid is floating above the pyramid and contains an eye. This eye symbolizes divine providence.

The Latin phrase “Novus Ordo Seclorum” is found under the pyramid. It translates to “A New Order of the Ages” referring to the new form of American government that the founding fathers created. The Latin phrase Annuit Coeptis arches over the pyramid and means “God has favored our undertaking.”

One of our nation’s great symbols, the bald eagle, is found inside the circle on the right side of the dollar bill. The eagle is holding 13 arrows in its left talon, signifying war, and an olive branch in its right talon, signifying peace.

On the eagle’s breast is a shield. The shield consists of red and white stripes with a blue bar above it representing Congress. There is a ribbon in the eagle’s beak with the words “E Pluribus Unum”, meaning “one nation from many people.”

Above the eagle’s head are 13 stars representing the 13 original colonies.

Pennies

Now let’s look at a penny.

On the front of the penny, you can see a picture of our 16^th president, Abraham Lincoln. Across the top of this side of the penny are the words of our national motto, “In God We Trust.” This motto has appeared on all American currency since 1955.

The reverse side of the penny has undergone some changes in the past few years. On coins made from 1959 to 2008, you can see an image of the Lincoln Memorial and the Latin words “E Pluribus Unum” on the reverse side of the penny.

Pennies created in 2009 depicted one of four different scenes from Lincoln’s life on the reverse side of the coins in observance of the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth.

All pennies since 2010 have featured the Lincoln Union Shield meant to symbolize Lincoln’s preservation of the United States as a single, united country.

U.S. Currency Study Ideas

Look at other bills and coins. Notice the symbols, images, and words they contain. Are they the same or different from the dollar bill and the penny? Create a chart or venn diagram to show these similarities and differences.
Find out what those different symbols and words mean.
Let your kids create their own family currency. Let them think about how to symbolize what your family stands for. They could include pictures, images of favorite family activities, and/or words or phrases.

More U.S. Currency Info For Kids

Penny Cleaning Experiment

by Toni Herrbach

This penny cleaning experiment a fun supplemental homeschool science activity.

Using a book like Lots and Lots of Coins by Margarette S. Reid, introduce your child to a bit of American history and some of our greatest presidents with a handful of coins. Read the book together, talk about the cool facts, observe the coins, and sort them.

Pull out a few pennies. Make sure there is a mix of old pennies and new ones. Ask your child to compare the old pennies to the new ones. The older ones will be dingy and dark, while the newer ones will be bright and shiny.

Depending on the age of your kids, you can talk to them about copper oxide. Explain that everything is made up of atoms, and sometimes atoms join with other atoms to make molecules. The copper atoms on the surface of the penny joins with oxygen atoms from the air to form copper oxide molecules, turning the pennies dark and dingy.

Ask your child what they think would be the best method for cleaning the pennies. Go with whatever they choose. My kids decided that they wanted to try plain water and a soap and water mixture. When that didn’t work, I told them that acids are often used to clean copper oxide, and since they often play with baking soda and vinegar, they immediately grabbed for the vinegar.

You can help your child come to that conclusion, or just pull out the vinegar yourself. Mix about 1/4 cup vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt together in a clear glass or plastic cup until the salt is dissolved. Then put a few pennies in the mixture.

You and your child will be able to observe the pennies cleaning right up. Take those pennies out after five minutes and rinse them well. Give them to your child to observe, then put another handful of dirty pennies into the mixture for five minutes.

Pull half of the pennies out, and rinse well, placing them on a paper plate or towel marked rinsed. Pull out the remaining pennies and spread out, unrinsed, on another plate or towel.

Leave the pennies alone for an hour, and then go back to have your child observe them again. What’s happened? Encourage your child to make observations. The rinsed pennies are still clean, but the unrinsed pennies should be dark blue-green (if not, leave them alone for a bit longer).

When the vinegar and salt mixture dissolves the copper layer on the pennies but is left on the pennies, the copper atoms from the penny join with both oxygen atoms in the air and chlorine atoms in the salt, forming a compound called malachite.

Just like the blue-green coating that covers the Statue of Liberty!

Valentines Worksheets: Free Printables

by Toni Herrbach

By contributing writer Lauren

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, so it’s time to find a few Valentine’s worksheets to pep up our school days!

In this worksheet set, your 2nd or 3rd grader can practice math and language arts with a fun Valentine’s theme.

In this Valentine’s Worksheet Set:

♥ Find the Nouns – Find the nouns in each sentence

♥ Synonyms and Antonyms – Determine if the pair of words in each heart are antonyms or synonyms

♥ Multiply and Match – Draw a line to each product in the heart

♥ I Heart Skip Counting! – Write the missing numbers in the hearts

Valentines Worksheets
February 2015 Valentines Printables Happy Housewife.pdf

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The Winter Constellation Orion

by Toni Herrbach

By contributing writer Marci

Winter is a great time for stargazing. The crisp, dry winter air makes the skies brilliantly clear, and the stars easy to see. It is a great time to learn about the night sky and the celestial bodies that roam them.

One of the most fun ways to learn about the night sky is to learn about the constellations. Orion is the perfect winter constellation to learn first.

Even a novice stargazer can pick out Orion. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, the three stars of Orion’s belt are easy to see in the southeastern sky in the early evening hours. The stars that make up Orion’s shoulders and legs branch out above and below the belt in an hour glass shape.

Who was Orion?

The constellation Orion was named after a character in Greek mythology – Orion, the hunter. There are many versions of the Orion story.

One tells the tale of a great hunter who let his ego get the best of him. He bragged that he could kill all the beasts of the Earth, so the Earth Goddess sent a lowly scorpion to bite and kill him. Zeus then placed him in the night sky to hunt and to run from the scorpion. (The constellation Scorpio can also be seen in the winter night sky.)

Another Orion story tells of his love for Artemis, the goddess of hunting. Her brother Apollo disapproved of this relationship. While Orion was swimming in the ocean, Apollo dared Artemis to hit a distant, small object in the ocean with her bow and arrow. Not knowing it was Orion, Artemis killed him with a single shot. Upon learning of Orion’s death, a devastated Artemis placed him among the stars.

Interesting Stars Found in Orion

The constellation of Orion contains some very interesting celestial bodies. Two of the brightest stars in the winter night sky and a star nursery of sorts are found in the Orion constellation.

Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetle-juice) is the brightest star in the constellation and is found in the upper left of the constellation (one of Orion’s shoulders). The other is Rigel. It is found opposite of Betelgeuse on Orion’s leg (lower right of the constellation).

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant, the largest classification of stars. According to Space.com, Betelgeuse’s size changes constantly. It measures anywhere between 550 to 920 times the sun’s diameter.

Rigel is a blue super giant. It is much larger than our sun and burns much hotter. This makes it up to 100,000 times brighter than our sun.

Learning About the Winter Constellation Orion at The Happy Housewife

photo courtesy of HubbleSite.org

If you look at the entire constellation of Orion, there is a glow in the center of the sword. This is not a star. This is the Great Orion Nebula, a cloud of glowing gas where stars are born.

Using Orion to Kick Start a Study

Take the kids out and let them gaze at the stars. Tell them the story of Orion, the hunter. Point out the super giant stars and the glowing nebula. See what sparks their interest.

Here are some directions you might take to study more after your winter stargazing:

Study Greek mythology
Learn more constellations
Learn about classifications of stars
Research how stars are formed
Look at the differences between planets and stars

Ready to stargaze with your kids?

Sensory Play with Snow Dough

by Toni Herrbach

By contributing writer Colleen

Winter is in full force, and I don’t know about your kids, but mine tend to go a little stir crazy when they have to be cooped up for too long. Whether it’s the weather that keeps us inside or colds and flu, my four kids need to be active—physically, intellectually, or with their senses.

We recently pulled together this recipe of simple snow dough, and the kids played for hours. Which was fantastic, since we’d been battling colds and fevers for days, and everyone was tired of everyone else. Even my twelve-year-old son jumped in on this snow play.

The best part? You probably already have everything you need to make this snow dough. Warning, though—sensory play can be messy. So you’ll want to contain this in a foil pan, a play tray, or a shallow plastic container.

Supplies Needed

1/2 cup white hair conditioner
3 cups baking soda
sparkly glitter (optional)

Once you’ve gathered all the materials, have your kids mix it together in a container with their hands. This dough is super fun and molds really well. If you store it in an airtight container, it will keep for several months. If it dries out at all, add a bit more conditioner.

We mixed our antarctic and our arctic toys, even though polar bears and penguins will never meet in the real world. My kids just like playing with all of their animals. They hid marbles in the snow so their penguins could search for their missing eggs.

Snow balls, igloos, and imaginative play with the toys gave way to snowman building, so we grabbed some sticks and buttons for embellishments.

There are so many possibilities the kids could explore with this dough. What are some of your ideas for fun snow sensory play? I ‘d love to hear them.

Snow Themed Worksheets: Free Printables

by Toni Herrbach

By contributing writer Lauren

I love it when I can find quality worksheets and printables that have a particular theme. Math facts and grammar are much more interesting when they are about a particular topic!

In this worksheet packet, your 2nd or 3rd grader can spice up their school day with these snow-themed printables.

In this Snow Themed Worksheet Set:

Types of Sentences: Write It! – Use the snow-themed words in the box to write three types of sentences: a command, a question, and a statement.
How Do You Build a Snowman? – Use the boxes to write the steps in building a snowman.
Division: Match the Mittens! – Draw a line from each division equation to its matching quotient.
Color That Fraction! – Color the correct fraction in each box.

Winter Printables for 2nd and 3rd Grades
January 2015 Winter Printables Happy Housewife.pdf

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Benefits of Word Games

by Toni Herrbach

Not all children learn best from a workbook or video. Some children are hands on learners. They benefit from “doing” rather than being shown something. Word games are an easy way to sneak in learning throughout the school week.

My 9-year-old son is a hands on kind of kid. He would rather do science experiments, paint, play games, or run through the woods, than sit down to read, write, or do anything that has to do with words.

why word games are a great way to teach children spelling and vocabulary

Hands on learners can be a bit of a challenge when it comes to learning how to read or teaching language arts. These learners don’t usually benefit from spelling or vocabulary worksheets.

And let’s face it… spelling and vocabulary lists are BORING! I love words and worksheets but hated spelling lists as a child. I would have much rather played a game to reinforce concepts.

Typically they learn quickly (and happily) from playing word games. Today there are many games that help kids learn basic and advanced reading and vocabulary skills.

Instead of making a child sit and write spelling and vocabulary words over and over or having them read dry lists of words, how about a word games?

Preschool Pre-Reading

I love the preschool age. It was probably my favorite age when homeschooling my kids. Still cute and sweet and eager to learn.

One of the first games we play with our preschoolers is sight word bingo. This is a great way to learn sight words without the kids even knowing they are learning.

Grab your free printable sight word bingo cards here.

Years ago at a homeschool convention I stumbled across a game company called ThinkFun. They make amazing learning games for kids.

When my children were still learning basic words we would play ZINGO almost every day. I loved this game because it includes a picture and a word. Even if the child didn’t recognize the word immediately the picture gave them a clue.

Once they were more confident with basic words we played the Zingo word builder game. These games are fun and fast paced and kept even my wiggliest kids engaged.

Beginning Readers

Remember the game Banangrams? This is a great game to help kids spell words. Players race to create words and the winner is based on speed not points.

This fast paced game forces kids to think and spell quickly reinforcing words they’ve been learning during school.

Most of my kids loved speed games. It was especially great for by antsy boys who couldn’t sit still for more than a few minutes at a time.

Quiddler is a card game that can be played with up to 10 people so it’s great for bigger families. You make works with the cards you are dealt and even short words like “at, zoo, or the” can lead to a win. This game is also fast paced (similar to Bananagrams).

Two slower paced games that help with spelling are the classic Scrabble and Upwords. My kids thought Upwords was more fun and I liked it because it gave the kids more options to create words since you can build on top of other words.

Upwords is also great for learning word groups, since you can build with just a letter. So “mate” can become “late” or “gate.”

Two of our favorite word games that have worked wonders for my son are Quiddler and Bananagrams. Both are games that involve spelling and word knowledge. Here are some of the benefits of word games that I have found.

Spelling Benefits of Word Games

My son first started playing these word games when he was 6 or 7. At that age, he didn’t know how to spell a lot of words. He struggled at first to put the correct letters together, but I let him sound the words out and try his best.

I offered help and hints when he needed it. It gave us a great opportunity to talk about phonics and let him apply it to what he was working on.

After a short time of getting spelling help from mom, dad, or big sister, and watching us spell words, he started to become an excellent speller. He didn’t need as much help from us. His confidence grew, as did his spelling abilities.

These days, he rarely asks for help, and he often wins!

Benefits of Word Games at The Happy Housewife

Vocabulary Games

While there are numerous spelling games for kids, vocabulary games are not as plentiful. However, your child’s vocabulary builds every time they are introduced to new words.

I’ve always believed that reading is the best way to build a vocabulary, however not all children love to read or like to sit still.

A game like Classwords is a great way to help children expand their vocabulary.

This is also a timed game and kids have to give clues to help their teammate figure out the answer. Classwords is available in different grade levels.

Another free option is to play a game like “Head’s Up” which is available for phones and tablets on the app store. We play this game all the time and my kids love it!

Our family hasn’t used the game Super Sleuth, but it looks like another fun way to help younger children improve their vocabulary.

Your child must be able to read aloud to play Super Sleuth.

Middle & High School Vocabulary Games

If your children are older I highly recommend Rummy Roots as a game to help with Latin and Greek word roots.

Children as young as eight can play Rummy Roots and get familiar with more advanced words, but we used it for middle and high school.

Vocabulary Benefits of Word Games

Kids have a large vocabulary. The average 6 year old knows about 10,000 words, but the learning and accumulating of words doesn’t stop there.

As my son watches the words other people in the game create, he notices unfamiliar words (especially when we draw a Z or a Q!). He is able to add these new words to his vocabulary and use them when he gets the opportunity.

We always keep a dictionary app available on our phones or tablets. (Remember the days of flipping and searching through those thick paper dictionaries?) My son is allowed to search the dictionary to see if a group of letters he put together is a word or not.

It’s important for him to realize that even though something might sound like a word, that doesn’t mean it is. And, if it is a word, he gets to see the definition. Another new word added to his vocabulary!

What About You?

Do you play any word games in your house? What are your favorites? Do you and your kids learn from them?

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Creative Indoor Play Ideas

by Toni Herrbach

By contributing writer Colleen.

Winter is here, and with it comes long days cooped up inside. What do we do to pass the time with our stir-crazy kids? Kids that may finish their work by noon or early afternoon? Kids that are tired of their toys, their siblings, and their mom?

While it’s tempting to pass the time with a movie or stick the kids on the computer, try inspiring creative play instead. Here are some creative indoor play ideas to get you started, and remember to think outside the box.

Café

Give the kids blankets, scarves, and cardboard boxes, and ask them to work together to create something. Pull out play dishes, dolls, dress up clothes, or paper, markers, and tape.

Forts are fun…but what about a café? You could be their customer and order a fancy coffee to sip at their glass tables.

Post Office

Or, maybe they can build a post office and sort mail, then deliver it to family and neighbors. Put out some fun stickers, markers, paper, and envelopes, and see what they can come up with.

City

Got little ones? Spread a big piece of butcher paper on the floor and draw some roads. Dump their blocks out, and get on the floor to help them build houses and cities alongside the roads. Then bring out the matchbox cars and trucks and take imaginary families to visit their relatives for the holidays or the imaginary toddler to the doctor to get his check-up.

Spider Web

Try spinning a spider web in your family room. All you need is a skein of yarn. Let your kids string it all over the place and then play spider.

Getting your kids to use their imagination is important. With so many toys filled with bells and whistles, it’s hard for them to come up with ideas on their own. Simple prompts like these, using everyday materials, can be big boosts to their creative thinking skills.

How do you encourage your kids to play creatively?

Platforms:	Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
Date:	January 20, 2015

Platforms:	Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
Date:	December 21, 2014

Green Eggs and Ham Activities

Download PDF Word List

FREE Activities for Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

Our favorite reads by Dr. Seuss

“A person’s a person no matter how small”. ~ Dr. Seuss

Dollar Bills

Pennies

U.S. Currency Study Ideas

More U.S. Currency Info For Kids

You might also like…

You might also like…

In this Valentine’s Worksheet Set:

You might also like…

Who was Orion?

Interesting Stars Found in Orion

Using Orion to Kick Start a Study

You might also like…

Supplies Needed

You might also like…

In this Snow Themed Worksheet Set:

You might also like…

Preschool Pre-Reading

Beginning Readers

Spelling Benefits of Word Games

Vocabulary Games

Middle & High School Vocabulary Games

Vocabulary Benefits of Word Games

What About You?

You might also like…

Café

Post Office

City

Spider Web

You might also like…

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