My apologies to Dr. Seuss

Imitation is the highest form of flattery right?

In that case....

The sun did not shine.

It was too wet to play.

The teachers were trapped at indoor recess

All that cold, cold, wet day.

We sat there with our short people,

We sat there, we twenty two.

And we said, "How I wish

We had something to do!"

Too wet to go out

And too cold to play ball.

So we were trapped in our classroom

which is no longer any fun at all!

So all we did do is get 

cabin fever and headache after headache

And we did not like it.

Not one little bit.

...like seriously, so OVER indoor recess!

And then 

Something went BUMP!

How that bump made us jump!

We looked!

Then we saw 'her' step into our room!
We looked!

And we saw her!

Mother Nature came in with a zoom!
And she said to us,

"Why do you sit here in such a gloom?"

"I know it is wet

And the sun is not sunny.

But we can have 

Lots of good fun that is funny!"

"I know some good games we could play,"

she said.

"I know some new tricks,"

Mother Nature said.

"A lot of good tricks.

I will show them to you.

Your teacher

will not mind at all if I do."

The twenty two short people

did not know what to say.

"Our teacher is tired of being stuck inside.

We think she ran to the closet to hide!"

But the class fish said, "No! No!

Make grouchy Mother Nature go away!

Tell her

you do NOT want to play.

She should not be here.

She should not be about.

She should not be here

when your teacher is out!"

"Now! Now! Have no fear.

Have no fear!" said Mother Nature,

"My tricks are not bad,"

said Mother Nature.

Uh really?  Can you say Polar Vortex?
Can you say an inch an hour of snow?

Can you say 30 below 'real feel' temps?

Mother Nature...You're one cranky chick!

"Why, we can have

lots of good fun, quite a hit,

with a game that I call

Outside recess.

Ever heard of it?"

"Heard of it?" said all twenty two.

"We've heard legends of old,

when children went outside when it wasn't too cold."

Mother Nature just listened and just sat.

She started to wonder...

...have I been as cruel as that?!

She realized this just won't do,

so out to the sky she flew.

With a flick of her hand,

Mother Nature started to thaw the land.

Snow melted,

Warm breezes blew.

The sun came out,

the teachers didn't know what to do!

They all realized that this brutal winter

had been just a bad dream.

They now looked forward to recess

when the kids are outside when they scream.

My apologies to Dr. Seuss,

as I've butchered his famous book.

But it got my teacher peeps

to come to the blog for a quick look.

May the outdoor recess sun shine on your face,

May these freebies make your classroom a happy place!

From sunny Florida,
Comes Queen Chaos to the rescue!
I've been working hard
On making these freebies...just for you! 
Remind me of your winter blues,
When August is not fun.
I'll be melting in the sweltering heat
From Florida's unrelenting sun.
Valid point sista!

Maybe then (just to be nice),
Someone up north could ship me some popsicles on ice.
I'll hook ya up!
 

Here are some Cat In The Hat writing papers from me to you!

Several different choices to give your kiddos something to do!

The Cat In The Hat: Writing Paper
Fat lines, skinny lines,
Or no lines at all,
Choose your favorite type of lines,

Print, write, draw & tack them to the wall.

Full sheets, half sheets,

Choose whichever sheet you like.

Quick! Keep your kiddos busy

Before you feel like going on strike!

The Cat In The Hat: Writing Paper
Have your students write about
Their favorite story part.
Then have them draw a picture
In the box to add their art.

Have your kids
Label The Cat In The Hat

It'll take up some energy.
What do you think about that? 

 The Cat In The Hat Labeling Sheets
For the quickest way to label,
Grab a pencil and write at a table.

If TIME
Is what you're trying to lose......
Students can cut & glue the labels
When you're feeling the cold weather blues.

Just in case you want to see...
More labeling sheets from me!

With all of the talking
That the children like to do...
Have them retell the story,
With the puppet I made just for you!

This Cat In The Hat Puppet
Is super simple & made for you with love.
I'm crossing my fingers that Mother Nature
Stops sending you snow from above.

 I made some Cat In The Hat Organizers
To use when the skies are gray.
Have your kids write, write, write, write
On the next cold, cold, wet day.

Have kids write 3 sentences,
Super duper easy,
Have them write and have them read....
Easy, lemon squeazy.
The Cat In The Hat is... 
The Cat In The Hat has...  
The Cat In The Hat can...  

 Choose the lines that are best for your class.

 Print in black and white
To save on ink,
Just trying to save you $$$....
Good idea, don't you think?

Broke, broke, broke,
What's worse than being broke?
Being broke, cold, & exhausted from all that noise, noise, noise....
That's MUCH worse than just being broke!

Here are some bubble organizers
To write about The Cat.
I made them extra big for writing...
They're wide and nice and fat.

Have your students write 3 things
About that silly cat.
Maybe: "He is tall.  He likes to rhyme.
He wears a striped hat."

Cat In The Hat Guided Reading Sheets With 3 Levels Of Reading:
Have your students read,
and bubble in the answers on the sheet...
So that when they have to take the state mandated test
They'll be prepared for the multiple choice questions that they'll meet.

This first one is simple,
Just fill in the sight word that makes sense,
So that when they see pages and pages of bubbling in May
Our little kiddos won't get all tense.

If you like these sentence bubbles for your students to do,
There are more available....just for you!

This second set is harder
We get better every day,
At reading, reading, reading....
Practice makes perfect, I've heard them say.

 

Differentiated Instruction is the way to go, 
Have your students read on different levels while outside you still see snow.

To keep it simple for my brain

I use the same question and answer sheet,

For the mid and harder levels....

Students' needs I will meet!

Saving ink, saving ink,
Print this next set to save your ink!

The Cat In The Hat Sentence Structure Circles
Differentiated Instruction: 2 levels
Sentence Structure Circles are my new brain child,
See if you can use this when your students are going wild!

The Cat in the Hat, the Cat in the Hat,
Let's just draw the Cat in the Hat!
Review the author and the illustrator
Then just have your students draw the main character!

 Cat In The Hat Drawing Paper:

Thing One and Thing Two have come here to play,
Keep Kinders busy reading & writing on a desperately cold day!

Cat In The Hat...Thing One Labels

 "Label me! Label me!" Thing One will say.
"Label me! Label me, on this cold, cold wet day!"

Cat In The Hat...Thing Two Labels

 "Hi there, all of you!
My name is Thing Two!
I have an activity for you to do...
I want you to label me, too!"

Thing One and Thing Two Organizers

Three simple sentences for one and all.

Make writing fun, let your kids have a ball! 
Thing One and Thing Two are funny.
Thing One and Thing Two have blue hair.
Thing One and Thing Two can run fast.

Bubble Organizers For Thing Two and Thing One.
Our writing time is never done.

Have your students write 3 things
About Thing One and Thing Two.

How about: They are small.

They made a mess. Their hair is blue.

As more ideas pop in my head,
I'll add them here for you,
You might want to come back and look to see
If I added more to do.

Thank you Regina for all of this awesomeness!
I think I'll hate winter a little bit less!