25+ Dr. Seuss Activities Perfect for a Preschool Dr. Seuss Theme

Here are some Dr. Seuss activities for preschool kids to get into at the beginning of March (or anytime really)!

Be sure to keep these ideas on hand for your next Dr. Seuss theme. There’s even a blank, editable lesson plan sheet you can grab at the bottom of this post.

Related: How to Teach Rhyming

Dr. Seuss’ birthday is March 2, so it’s always fun to have a Dr. Seuss theme in preschool around that date. Lots of books to read, invented words to talk about, and of course a ton of rhyming.

Below you’ll find a variety of engaging and hands-on Dr. Seuss activities for preschool and kindergarten. I have to tell you, older kids I know have loved trying many of this ideas too!

Even if you don’t get into a Dr. Seuss theme around his birthday, the ideas below might help you with planning a few book studies with your students. I know I love delving into books with the kids!

Don’t forget the free printable lesson planning sheet at the bottom of this post.

Preschool Dr. Seuss Activities for the Cat in the Hat

These activities were all inspired by the classic The Cat in the Hat. Choose a few that your students would like, or try every single one!

Cat in the Hat Play Dough Invitation

Everything’s better with play dough. At least, that’s what the kids seem to think. Try our cat in the hat activities with play dough. You can either make your own red and white play dough, or just grab some from the store.

Then set out the play dough with a variety of loose parts and observe what the kids make. Be sure to incorporate literacy with lots of rhyming.

DIY Dress Up

A few years ago, we had a Dr. Seuss dress up day at preschool. The students dressed up like Things 1 and 2 from The Cat in the Hat.

It was a simple activity, but the kids (and teachers!) enjoyed it. It was a simple way to incorporate math and literacy into a Dr. Seuss theme, too.

Make a Cat’s Hat

This simple activity is a hit every time. Simply cut out red strips of construction paper, along with a basic hat shape from white paper.

Let the children make patterns of red and white, or just let them design their own hat for the Cat!

To take this idea a step further, you need to check out Still Playing School’s Cat in the Hat name activity. I am so in love with it (but I have a thing about fun name activities for kids).

Matching the Hats

I’ve used Joyfully Weary’s hat matching activity for a few years now.

The preschool kids see it as a tricky puzzle to solve, and their observation skills get a nice workout.

Seuss-tastic Treats

For Fun Friday, one of our awesome parents made a yummy fish-in-a-bowl snack in honor of Seuss’ Cat in the Hat. This idea came from The Metzgars’ Dr. Seuss Party, which has even more Seuss-inspired fun.

In case you’re wondering, these treats were quite yummy!

Mom to 2 Posh L’il Divas has some delicious Cat in the Hat fruit kabobs if you want something a bit more nutritious.

Rhyming Words with Magnetic Letters

For the ABC center, we talked about changing words we know into new words. We started with ‘cat’, and the children just had to change the first letter to make new words.

We also talked about how the words rhymed because they sound the same at the end.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 Puppets

I have adored Toddler Approved’s Thing puppets ever since I first saw them!

They are great for puppet shows, retelling the story of The Cat in the Hat, and for little reading pointers for the kids.

Fine Motor Hats for the Cat

Living Montessori Now has a super simple setup (oh how I love simple!) for a fine motor hat activity for this book.

You can focus on the fine motor aspect of the activity, or you can choose to incorporate some math (like patterns or color sorting) if you want.

Dr. Seuss Activities for Preschool Kids Who Love The Lorax

If the kids are wild about The Lorax, these ideas will be great book extension activities.

Paint with Your Own Truffula Trees

I have to say, this is one of my favorite Dr. Seuss art projects to do with the preschoolers!

Use a few pompoms and paper straws to make Truffula tree “paintbrushes”. Then pair them with paint for a Seuss-inspired art experience for the kids.

Lorax Masks

Mary Poppins (one of my awesome former co-teachers) had fun helping the kiddos make masks inspired by The Lorax.

I was most entertained listening to her instructions from across the room. “Paint your face orange. Now glue your eyebrows on. Oh, wait, your mustache just fell on the floor!” Yes, I am easily amused. This comes in handy when teaching preschool! 🙂

Truffula Trees

This Lorax-inspired Dr. Seuss craft was crazy fun to make with the kids! They were rather simple to make, and the kids had a great time making the colorful creations.

Use them as writing tools or part of an open-ended play dough invitation.

Make a Whisper-Ma-Phone

This Lorax-inspired science activity from Science Sparks is perfect for preschoolers! You just need a few simple materials to make it, and it’s not a difficult task.

I am imagining hours of fun with these in the dramatic play center.

Truffula Forest Sensory Bin

Lemon Lime Adventures has a great idea for a sensory bin inspired by the Lorax.

I love the combination of fine motor skills, sensory play, and pretend play!

Lorax Cupcake Liner Craft

Oh my word, this Lorax-inspired craft from I Heart Crafty Things made me smile! I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s on my list of Dr. Seuss activities to try next.

Can you imagine giving the kids these materials and just letting them create their own Lorax scene? I bet their imaginations would bring about some amazing creations!

Truffula Tree Color Matching

See Vanessa Craft’s fine motor Truffula trees would be great in your preschool math center.

The kids’ fingers get a great workout while they’re focused on sorting colors for their Truffula trees.

Ten Apples Up On Top Dr. Seuss Activities for Preschool

Ten Apples Up On Top is a wonderful addition to a preschool apple theme, and there are a ton of fun activities to go along with it.

Don’t forget your free printable Dr. Seuss theme planning sheet at the bottom of this post.

Apples Up On Top Names

You can use printable apple letters, or make your own apple letters from prints made with real apples. Either way, these apples up on top names are a crowd pleaser with the kids.

Ten Apples Play Dough Fun

Break out the play dough, and some decorative apples, for this book-inspired activity.

Lots of STEM exploration and hands-on fun from Fantastic Fun and Learning.

Ten Apples Up On Top Counting Activity

You can use your favorite math manipulatives for A Little Pinch of Perfect’s apple math idea.

Apples Up on Top Felt Board

Buggy and Buddy has an awesome felt board activity for this book! I love how she incorporates real pictures of the kids. Plus, felt board activities are just so engaging for preschoolers.

Fine Motor Math

The preschoolers will love using clothespins and rulers as part of Fun Learning for Kids’ fine motor apple math activity.

I can see making individualized versions for each of the children and keeping these in the math center the entire year.

Apples Up on Top Game

Capitalize on the kids’ love of games with Mama.Papa.Bubba’s ten apples math game.

Her use of recycled bottle caps is great, and I’m sure you could use whatever red material you already have on-hand for the game.

Even More Dr. Seuss Activities for Preschoolers

Of course, Dr. Seuss wrote quite a few books for children. Here are a few others we’ve enjoyed over the years.

Make Colorful, Scented Oobleck

Inspired by Bartholomew and the Oobleck, this fun scented oobleck recipe is sure to add fun to any Dr. Seuss theme!

We kept calling it scented slime, but how to make slime with kids is a whole other (also awesome!) concept.

Go Fishing!

In the discovery/sensory table, the children used homemade fishing poles to “catch” foam fish.

This activity related to One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

Paint a Masterpiece

I’ve often let the children choose a favorite Seuss character to paint.

The usual winner is that mischievous Cat, and I love seeing how their character interpretations turn out!

Fishy Math

The kiddos used Oopsey Daisy’s graphing freebie to sort, graph, and count their Goldfish during snack time one day.

It seems to be consistent, year after year, that children love to incorporate math into their snack time. So add this idea to your Dr. Seuss theme or your ideas for snack math for preschoolers.

For more Dr. Seuss activities, be sure to pop over to my book-inspired activities Pinterest board.

What about you? What are some of your favorite preschool Dr. Seuss activities?

Ten Apples Preschool Lesson Plans

Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, from whole class activities to small group and center ideas. Our Ten Apples theme centers around a variety of favorite apple and counting books – perfect for the fall or as a book extension theme.

Get your 10 Apples Lesson Plans at Preschool Teacher 101

Also available on Teachers Pay Teachers

This set includes active hands-on learning ideas and the following printables:

Apple Number Cards (0-35)
“Counting Apples” emergent reader
“I See Apples” emergent reader
Apple Letters (uppercase and lowercase in both red and green)
Apple Life Cycle Cards (in color and b/w)
Label the Apple Diagram (in color and b/w) with labeling cards
Apple Pattern Cards
Put the Apples on the Tree Game Mat
Editable cover and pages for a class apple book

Free Printable for Your Dr. Seuss Activities

As I mentioned above, I have a free printable planning sheet for your preschool Dr. Seuss theme. It’s a blank lesson plan sheet that you can edit to include your plans for this theme. There’s space for books, whole group activities, math, science, literacy, and center activities.

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Originally published March 8, 2013. Updated to add more activities and a few new pictures.