The late Theodor Seuss Giesel, more popularly known as Dr. Seuss, penned and illustrated more than sixty books for children, which were translated into different languages and sold millions of copies.
One of his most popular books is the timely “Green Eggs and Ham,” written and published in 1960. This story is about a character named Sam-I-Am who relentlessly offers another man a plate of green eggs and ham.
Let’s look at ten activities that perfectly go with this book.
Great Green Eggs and Ham Preschool Activities
Make this paper plate filled with green eggs to go with the book. Use this as a prop when retelling the story. This craft is so simple that young children can put these together in no time.
Children will improve their fine motor skills as they cut, paint, and glue the pieces to complete the craft. Their narrative skills will also improve as they retell the story.
Download and print the egg template. Trace on white cardstock One can also draw an egg outline as an option for printing. Cut out the eggs.
Trace two circles from the green cardstock and cut these out. These will become the yolk. Glue these on the white egg.
Cover the paper plate with silver or gray paint and set it aside to dry. Stick the eggs on the paper plate. Cut out a handle from the gray cardstock. Attach this to the paper plate using a stapler.
For this activity, you will need:
- Printed egg template
- A large paper plate
- Silver or gray paint
- Paintbrush
- Cardstock
- Glue
- Scissors
- Stapler
For more information on this activity, go to GluedToMyCraftsBlog.com.
Extend the story of “Green Eggs and Ham” by using this printable in teaching letter recognition to young children. This activity will help children identify the letters of the alphabet as they color the yolk part of the egg green.
Download and print out the free activity sheets from the site. Printing on both sides of the paper is recommended to minimize paper usage. Next, give each child a green dot marker to color the letters they can identify.
Vary this activity by cutting out each egg. Lay these on the floor, on a table, or stick these on the wall. Let the children choose the egg with a letter that they can name.
Let the child use the green dot marker to color the yolk part and place the egg on a paper plate.
Another variation is placing each cut egg in a box and having each child take turns getting an egg. Let them take it out of the box and color the egg with a letter they recognize.
For this activity, you will need:
- Printed letter recognition activity sheets
- Green dot markers
For more information on this activity, go to StillPlayingSchool.com.
Create a fun board game that children will enjoy playing for hours. Make this the game tic tac toe based on the story “Green Eggs and Ham” as a wonderful activity for children to have fun. However, instead of ham, this game uses bacon.
Children will learn to cut and glue different shapes from paper to complete this board game. They will also learn to strategize to win over their opponent.
Start with opening a folder. Cut four long strips of blue colored paper and use them to make a grid. The paper will create the borders for each area where the game pieces are placed.
Next, cut out a wavy strip of white cardstock. Cut out another way strip from the red colored paper. This strip should be narrower than the white strip. Attach the red strip to the white. Stick two of these to form an X. This will be the X piece of the board game.
Make the green eggs by cutting out an outline of an egg from the white cardstock. Cut out the green yolk from the green-colored paper. Glue these together. They are now ready for several rounds of the game.
For this activity, you will need:
- Cardstock
- Colored paper
- Folder
- Scissors
- Glue
For more information on this activity, go to JDaniel4SMom.com.
Realistic green eggs are perfect to use as props to retell the story. Using slime will expose children to a different texture through tactile sensory play.
They will become comfortable with this stretchy texture as they make and enjoy playing with these green eggs. Remind children that while it represents green eggs, these are not edible and may cause harm if ingested.
Prepare two separate bowls for each color of slime. Each bowl should have a bottle of glue, a half cup each of liquid starch, and water.
For the green yolks, squeeze the glue into the bowl and add the food color. Add as much or as little until the desired color is achieved. Next, add the water and mix well. Lastly, add the liquid starch and mix to thicken the mixture and form the slime.
Repeat the process except for adding the food color for the white part of the eggs.
Once the eggs are ready, assemble them by placing ample white slime on a plate. Add the green slime on top. Repeat this process to make two green eggs.
For this activity, you will need:
- White glue
- Green and neon green food coloring
- Water
- Liquid starch
- Mixing bowl
- Spoon or stick for stirring
For more information on this activity, go to KidsActivitiesBlog.com.
Challenge the little ones to make their green eggs without using green paint. Brainstorm with the children on the possible ways this can be done. Children who are familiar with color mixing may be able to figure this out.
Children will not only understand the characteristics of colors but also learn to prove that such a theory could be proven through experiments.
Conduct an experiment to show children that this idea is possible. First, cut out egg shapes from the white cardstock. Next, squeeze a small amount of blue and yellow paint on a piece of paper or a small container.
Dip one side of the cotton swab in blue paint and the other in yellow. Mix both colors in the center of the white egg. Let children become fascinated with the results.
Ask children about their observations during the color mixing activity. Start a discussion with the different colors that can be mixed to make a new one. If possible, show children a color wheel to better understand the concept.
For this activity, you will need:
- Cardstock
- Yellow and blue paint
- Cotton swab
For more information on this activity, go to PreschoolSTEAM.com.
For sensory play, make this Green Egg and Ham-themed sensory bin. Children will improve their fine motor skills as they scoop the beans and the Green Eggs and Ham items from the bin.
Make the green eggs by cutting an egg shape from the white felt. Make as many as possible. Sew on the green pompoms in the middle of the felt for the yolk.
Next, make the green ham, cut out two pieces of ham shape from the green felt. Sew the edges to secure the two pieces of felt, but leave the widest part unsewed. Children may fill the ham with beans through the opening.
Fill the plastic bin with dry pinto bins. Use as many bags of pinto beans to cover the bottom part of the bin. Place the green eggs, ham, Sam-I-Am figure, erasers, and scooper on top of the beans or hide them underneath. Let the children enjoy playing.
Children will enjoy searching the hidden objects and collecting them, much like a treasure hunt.
For this activity, you will need:
- A huge plastic bin
- Dry pinto beans
- White and green felt
- Green pompoms
- Needle and thread
- Scooper
- Dr. Seuss-themed erasers
- Sam-I-Am figure
For more information on this activity, go to TeachingMama.org.
After reading the book “Green Eggs and Ham,” extend the activity by helping children master rhyming words. Children will learn to cut the eggs and the different lines that divide the egg in half.
They will also learn to find the pair of words that rhymes. This activity will improve their listening ability by discriminating sounds.
As they put together the puzzle pieces by gluing them on paper, they will practice their eye-hand coordination skills when aligning the pieces to make the egg whole.
Download and print the egg rhyming words from the site. Let the children cut out the pieces. Lay one part of the eggs on the table. Place the other half of the egg in a container.
Let the child pick one from the container and read the word. Have the child find the matching pair by reading the words on the pieces that are on the table. Next, glue the matching pieces on paper to make the egg whole again.
Repeat the process until all egg pieces have been matched and glued on paper. Assist children who are non-readers by reading the words for them.
For this activity, you will need:
- Printed egg rhyming words
- Scissors
- Glue
- Colored paper
- A small box for the egg pieces
For more information on this activity, go to Teacher’sMag.com.
Here’s an eating activity inspired by the book “Green Eggs and Ham.” True to the theme of Sam-I-Am trying his best to convince a man to eat the food he was offering, this activity presents a similar idea.
Children who hesitate to try new foods may find this activity appealing. They will become taste testers and will provide their opinions about the food as they give their reviews.
Head to the site to download and print the free activity sheets. It is recommended to laminate the placemat for durability. Ensure that the placemat is sanitized before use.
Place the food on the center part of the placemat. Let the child try them out. Next, ask the child, “Would you eat it?” in an animated voice.
Record the children’s responses to the food on the tasting tracker sheet. Write the name of the food and check the appropriate box. Use this to help children try out new food and to plan meals.
For this activity, you will need:
- Printed placemat and tracker sheet
- Food
For more information on this activity, go to SunnyDayFamily.com.
This activity is Dr. Seuss meets science. Let children become fascinated with this fizzy experiment using baking soda and vinegar. Ensure that the plastic eggs are placed on a tray to catch the fizz that will overflow.
Use clean and dry green plastic eggs. Place half of the plastic eggs on the tray. Use sticky tape to hold the plastic egg in place so it won’t wobble or tip on its side.
Scoop some baking soda into the egg about halfway full. Squeeze a few drops of green food coloring on the baking soda.
Control the amount of vinegar poured using a dropper, a squirt bottle, or a small ladle. Slowly add the vinegar to the baking soda.
Watch as the mixture fizzes. Repeat the process with the other eggs. Let children observe the reaction in the mixture.
Using lemon juice as a substitute is also suggested to see if the mixture will fizz.
For this activity, you will need:
- Green plastic eggs
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Green food coloring
- Tray
For more information on this activity, go to LittleBinsForLittleHands.com.
At Dartmouth College, where Dr. Seuss studied, new students are fed green eggs in honor of the late author. The yolks are dyed using green food color and served with ham.
This sweet version of these edible green eggs will surely delight children. They are great to eat after dinner and are perfect giveaways during trick-or-treating.
Place each color of candy melts in separate microwavable dishes. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for half a minute. Take it out and stir; if the texture is still thick and difficult to mix, heat again to melt completely.
Once fully melted, spoon some white chocolate on a non-stick baking mat. Shape the chocolate to resemble an egg. Make an indent in the middle of the white egg to hold the green yolk.
Next, melt the green candy melt in the microwave. Place a dollop of green chocolate on the white egg. Use the spoon to shape it to look like a yolk.
For this activity, you will need:
- White and green candy melts
- Microwavable dish
- Spoon for stirring
- Non-stick baking mat
- Microwave
For more information on this activity, go to LittleCooksReadingBooks.com.
Conclusion
The book “Green Eggs and Ham” has become a beloved classic for children since its publication more than half a century ago. This book remains relevant in classrooms and has inspired many creative ideas for children to enjoy.
We hope you will try the activities on this list. Consider them as you make lessons for children. Thank you for reading.
People Also Ask
Green Eggs and Ham is a story that teaches several lessons to young children. First, it talks about patience, determination, optimism, and innovation.
When Sam-I-Am’s offer was rejected, he did not give up and continued offering the food to the man. He never felt discouraged. Instead, he thought of different ways to make the man try the food.
Sam-I-Am was very patient and remained positive that somewhere along the way, there might be a possibility for the man to try the food.
It also promotes being less prejudiced or critical based on appearance. The green eggs and ham may not look very appetizing, but it does not mean they do not taste good.
