I’ve talked about it before, and I’ll talk about it again- March 2 is Dr. Suess’s birthday and it’s Read Across America day! I am a BIG advocate of reading with children. I grew up loving books, and as a Special Education major and a homeschooling mama of 5, I have seen personally what a difference it makes in the life of a child to be able to read- and read well! My oldest is reading way above grade level, and my second is following in his footsteps, and I couldn’t be more thrilled at the amount they read. It truly brings me joy.

So you can understand my excitement and enthusiasm for this unique holiday. Anything to get kids excited about reading, and I’m in!

There are so many fun ways you could make this day special and fun. One of the silliest and sometimes overlooked characters in Dr. Suess’s stories are Thing 1 and Thing 2 from The Cat in the Hat. They’re rambunctious, mischievous- and fun! And they’re bright red suits and crazy blue hair make them fun and easy to recreate through snacks and deliciousness!

• Utilize red cupcake liners. Bright red liners and cupcakes can easily work some magic! A pile of blue frosting, cotton candy, blue sprinkles, blue-dyed whipped cream- all would make the perfect and delicious topping.
• Speaking of cotton candy, simply serve bright blue cotton candy in red cups for a super simple and festive snack!
• Strawberries! Add a dollop of blue whipped cream on top for an easy, tasty, and fairly healthy snack.
• Kabobs are always fun, and you could create a few different versions. Marshmallows- one plain, one dipped in blue sprinkles, and one covered in red candy melts. A healthier version- a raspberry, a blueberry, and a small cube of mozzarella. A combination- A strawberry and banana slice topped with a little bit of bright blue cotton candy. There are so many different things you could do with this one simple idea.
• Red Jello. You can buy the premade stuff and stick a handful of blue cotton candy on top for one of the easiest fun treats ever! You could also go the homemade route, and top red Jello with some blue Jello for a similar effect.
• Embrace the red, white and blue. If you have some patriotic M&M’s left over from last year, this is the perfect time to pull them out! You could cover a fruit pizza in blueberries and strawberries. Serve an ice cold drink with frozen blueberries and raspberries. Blue tortilla chips with salsa and mozzarella cheese. Pancakes with whipped cream and fruit. There are many ways to create red, white and blue foods and they’ll all be in character with fun Thing 1 and Thing 2!

Whether you focus on Thing 1 and Thing 2 or not, hopefully you find some way to make March 2 a little more meaningful and special for the children in your life- because encouraging a love of reading is one of the best things you can give a child!