Dr. Seuss, The Timeless Teacher

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dr. seuss: the timeless teacherAs we “Lion” our way into March and hopefully start thawing out here in Louisville, there are many exciting occasions to look forward to. Spring is approaching, and the days are getting longer. We look ahead to St. Patrick’s Day as well as Easter. One overlooked occasion that is often overlooked is the celebration of a childhood treasure, Dr. Seuss.

Initially when you think of Dr. Seuss, you probably picture a cat in a hat. Maybe you picture some green eggs and ham. Maybe you picture a man named Sam. Okay, I will not go down the rhyming hole too deep here. However, this is why I wanted to talk about the celebration of Dr. Seuss. He’s clearly made an impression with his writing for more than three-quarters of a century.

Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Seuss Geisel on March 2, 1904. During his own childhood, his mother would sing to him and use rhyming to educate him as a young child. His father was an inventor. The combination of this parenting gave the world the gift of Dr. Seuss and his ageless writing techniques. He penned his writing name as “Dr. Seuss”.

Why is acknowledging Dr. Seuss so important over a century later? Okay, moms, if your children are no longer babies, I want you to think about the board books you would read to your young children. Does a book called “Dr. Seuss’ ABC” come to mind? This simple, yet enlightening, book has been a staple for the early phonics teachings of reading. Dr. Seuss was brilliant in emphasizing the importance of beginning words sounds and the use of the letters as we sound these words out aloud. I know this was in our book basket at home, handy for my toddlers to see and flip through at their leisure. There was something about the writing and the unique illustrations that would gather the attention of my children’s young minds. What I mostly loved about this book is that it steered away from the usual “A is for Apple” and gave an alternative approach to early phonics.

Okay, let us talk about arguably the most popular note of Dr. Seuss’s career, The Cat in the Hat. This mischievous cat is a character that we all know and loved as a child. Tall and lanky, with his red and white striped hat, he uses his kooky nature to help small minds run wild. The lessons he continues to teach children may seem a bit wayward, but the importance ofthinking outside of the box, and creating a wonderful imaginative world, can open a beautiful world for young minds. It’s important to note that the cat does clean up the house as the end using a wild invention machine. I wonder where Dr. Seuss thought of that idea *wink wink*.

What other lessons have we learned from this infamous writer? ATTENTION ALL PARENTS OF PICKY EATERS! Green Eggs and Ham is here to talk to your kids about the importance of trying new foods. While we don’t actually serve green ham (unless you want to add some food coloring in ha ha!), this lovely book gives a creative spin on “just try one bite”. It helps parents show their kids that new foods aren’t scary, and we can try them in fun places too! “Could you would you eat these peas while you’re sitting on your knees?”. The use of rhyming and trying new things can help take the focus off of the intimidation of trying new foods and make it an exciting and fun game. Thank you, Dr. Seuss!

The creativity of Dr. Seuss’s mind is something I am so grateful for. As a parent and a preschool teacher, the excitement of reading his books is always something I love to do. From counting feet and fish, to exploring the places we can go, the continuous library of books we have been blessed with by this author is something that will never fade away. Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! I am grateful for this wonderful day in history and the impact you have made on early readers across the country for generations.


Note from the Editor :: While we do not want to diminish the impact Dr. Seuss has made on reading comprehension for more than four generations or the love this contributor has for his rhyming genius, we want to acknowledge the fact that some of his books were insensitive and contained racist imagery. The Louisville Mom Collective does not endorse those books, and we encourage you to take a closer look at what his work teaches us about the subtle ways racism has been embedded in our culture for far too long. We also encourage you to choose diverse books to read with your children.

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