Dr. Seuss Rooms and Reading Nook Ideas

Dr. Seuss’ birthday is this weekend. Our family is sitting down in our Dr. Seuss style reading nook to read a few of his books.

This is a corner of our play room. Behind me taking the photo is a mess of Legos, train tables and a Barbie house. But this corner is our reading spot.  Dr. Seuss once said to “Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks!”  We have taken that quote to heart at our house and filled every corner with books.

 

We also added a swing to this spot in our playroom. It is a huge hit. I wish we had room to add more swings because with three kids, they fight over taking turns all the time. They normally don't read on the swing but I had my son hold the book for a quick photo. The prefer the chairs in the corner for reading time.

The ceiling hooks were purchased at IKEA. THen we added carabiner hooks from Home Depot and a swing from our outdoor playset. IKEA has darling swings you could use too. We just figured we could use what we already owned. We can take it down easily to get it out of the way for other play time.

I hand painted the water color Cat in the Hat and framed it.
I found the red magnet board for $2 at a thrift store. We use Dr. Seuss magnets on it.
The lower left round stool is a Dr. Seuss popcorn tin from Christmas back in 2003. The kids keep toys in it and use it as a stool.

See the Bean Bag above? It is filled with Dr. Seuss stuffed animals but they kids love to sit on it while they read.  See how I made the Bean Bag here.

Who Let the Cats Out of the Bag?  Can you ever have too many Cat in the Hat toys? The one hanging on the door is a laundry holder. The kids unzip the bottom and use it as a basket ball hoop.

There are two windows in this room. I made the curtains years ago using Dr. Seuss fabric for my daughter’s room. I made the tab tops look like the Cat in the Hat striped hat.  I found 2 white floating shelves at a yard sale for $5 and they fit my windows perfectly so I hung them up top and set Dr. Seuss books on them. These are duplicate books we own so the kids don’t need to try to get them down.

The photo below has a poster of a photo collage of our trip to Universal Studios, Seuss Landing. The kids love to see themselves having fun on the rides there.

I remember the rotating bookshelf below from my childhood school library. I’ve always wanted one of my own, so when I saw it listed in the classified ads for $15 I went to get it right away (only 5 blocks from my house). It has the ABC’s on the sides so I just taped on the Dr. Seuss book covers from a bulletin board set I found.
  The rocking chair was also from the classified ads. It was a Winnie the Pooh style chair and I recovered it with Dr. Seuss fabric. I made the pillow cover with classic red and white striped fabric.
Our kids love to pull down the Dr. Seuss finger puppet theater and Jack-in-the-box to play with.

DR. SEUSS BEDROOM
Sarah from the blog Bombshell Bling just shared this SEUSStastic bedroom she created for her son.  Check out the Truffula trees in the corner, the book page bunting and the hand made Dr. Seuss quilt and pillows.

The box above is used for dress-up clothes. She used book pages to create the design on top and lined the entire inside with book pages too. Click to see more photos.
She used Dr. Seuss fabric to cover cork boards for the wall and seat covers for the stools. She used a bulletin board kit for the multi-signs post.

I think my favorite part of the room is this hidden book nook. She turned his closet into a reading spot. There are books inside and the huge Cat in the Hat cut out. I love the little turquoise chair too. Notice the Dr. Seuss quote framed by book pages on the wall, she is going to post the quote as a free printable on her blog soon.

There are so many more details to this room. Click here to see more photos and ideas to help you create a fun Dr. Seuss style room.

Home Diner: Reading Spot

Literacy in our Home Diner:
Our kitchen is decorated as a diner. We call it our ‘Soda Shop.’ Having a diner in the home has been so fun for our family. We try to teach our kids good restaurant manners and it offers a variety of literacy opportunities.

The kids read our custom snack menu and use a waiter notebook to take orders.

Our snack menu has 15 items I always have on hand (chicken nuggets, quesadillas, grilled cheese, tomato soup, chips and salsa, french toast, green eggs and ham and more). I found pics on Google of each item then put it in Microsoft Word and labeled each. I printed it and put it inside a plastic sheet protector. The younger kids love the visual menu. The older kids love to write down the order.  We also just got a dinner bell they can ring and say “Order Up!”

They can write on the menu chalk board which also becomes a message board for special days.
 

We do homework together sitting at the booth every day after school. Notice the menu hanging on the chalk board.
When friends visit they sign our Graffiti Wall. The kids love to write on the wall and leave their mark.
 
Then there are all the fun signs to read. I collect vintage signs and have found some reproduced vintage looking metal signs.
We have two booths and a bar that can seat a total of 16 people. I found both booths in our local classifieds. We eat dinner at the black one. The kids do crafts and have snacks at the smaller red booth and we eat breakfast at the bar.

The kids love to watch PBSKids on TV during breakfast. Chrome lined bar, Bread Box and Bar Stools. Napkin Holder and Straw dispenser. We put crayons in the little red striped bucket. We are planning to add a chrome plate (diamond plate) to the wall below the bar so when the kids kick the wall it will be easier to clean.
I love the Juke Box CD player I found in the local classifieds for $20. I found the neon clock at Checkers Auto store. 
We just recently put an IKEA Expedit book case under the window to hold all the kids crafts and some toys to keep them busy while I’m baking.  See the Mr. Potato Heads on the floor? Also notice the new indoor awning I sewed last month. It makes such a difference.
It’s all in the details. Click here to see smaller items we’ve added to decorate the diner.

View Full Album

 

Our ice cream glasses were found at a vintage consignment store in Salt Lake City. I like to stick apples in them for display. Our beta fish and dwarf frogs like to hang out on our vintage pie closet. This holds all our cook books, including Diners Drive-ins and Dives on top.

These are pics I took at Ruby’s Diner in Newport Beach, CA and at the Road Island Diner in Utah. I printed them on canvas and hung them in our diner.
I grew up eating Grits (ground up corn boiled and soaked). I remember my mom quoting the waitress Alice from the TV show ‘Mel’s Diner’. She would always say “Kiss My Grits.” So I found this board with hooks and the checkerboard tile and stuck her picture in the middle. It makes a great hot pad holder next to our old fashioned phone from Pottery Barn I found at a DownEast Outlet for $5.00.
Here are a few more pics of the room including making the indoor awning curtain valance.

View Full Album

See more 50's ideas at our Sock Hop Party.

Listed this project at:
Tatertots and Jello's Weekend Wrap-Up Party.
Home Stories A to Z, Tutorials & Tips


BOOKS FOR KIDS: Linking Literacy to Life
Try this book: What Happens to a Hamburger? What happens to food after you eat it?
Amazon Review:
This book is about a diner cook who loves to eat healthy food and we find out what happens to that food in this well written and illustrated book by Paul Showers and Edward Miller. There are little experiments and up close photos of digestive organs which can delightfully gross out your child while one reads and learns about this important system of the body. My 4 year old daughter wants to be a doctor when she grows up so I am always on the look out for books about the body. I love all of the "Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science" books and they have several very good books available regarding how the body works. – by Moon Dancer, Reviewer

What Happens to a Hamburger? (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) (See all Children's Diet & Nutrition Books)


Diner Picture Books

Diner Recipe Books

Quick Pumpkin Activities

If you don't have time to carve a pumpkin this Halloween (or if you want to avoid the mess) try some of these quick pumpkin activities.

FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS:

Start with a book at bed time. This one is great for toddlers too.

It has been a traditional rhyme since my mom was a little girl. She taught it to me and I'm sure most people have heard it.  The poem, "5 Little Pumpkins," can be found in this cute book by Dan Yaccarino or below. Remember to clap your hands (or really turn out the light) at the part where you say "Out went the light"

Five Little Pumpkins

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "Oh, my it's getting late!"
The second one said, "There are witches in the air."
The third one said, "But we don't care."
The fourth one said, "Let's run, let's run!"
The fifth one said, "Isn't Halloween fun?"
Then woooooo went the wind
And OUT went the lights.
And those five little pumpkins rolled right out of sight.

Another Quick Idea
REAL ORANGE PUMPKINS:

Get some cute Clementine oranges and give your kids some permanent markers to decorate faces on them.

Under adult supervision my 4 & 6 year old loved this. Then they gave a bag to our neighbors.

PIPE CLEANER PUMPKIN: Use pipe cleaners to decorate a pumpkin in under 5 minutes. Curl a few or leave them straight.  Use siscors to cut them (they are way too hard to pull apart by hand - trust me, I've tried. Remember there is a wire under that fuzz).

POTATO HEAD PUMPKIN: Use pieces from Mr. Potato Head toy or buy pieces at the store that have a little bit longer and pointy tip. You can find them all over. I've seen them at Target and WalMart.  Our kids like to change the look every day for a fresh spooky surprise.  Or try 4 faces at once (on each side) so you can rotate it to your favorite each day.

PUMPKIN PRETZEL KISSES: These are a favorite new treat.  The kids did all the work for these. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees. My 6 year old lined up pretzels on a cookie tray, my 4 year old unwrapped all the kisses (Pumpkin Spice, Candy Corn and Carmel Apple flavors) then set one one each pretzel.  Then I popped them in the oven for 5 minutes to melt, took them out and pushed them down a little with the bottom of a spoon.  The carmel ones got messy and stuck to the tray but the others turned out great.

Here is one of my little helpers and my cute little 3-month-old pumpkin.

Linking up to Today's Creative, Get Your Craft On
Skip To My Lou, Made By You Monday
Ain't She Crazy Theme Party Thursday 
Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrapup Party