One fish, two fish, Starfish, YOU-fish!

In honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday and National Reading Day, we’re hosting the 1st ever Seuss-tastic basket giveaway. Why? Reading is truly FUN-damental—especially reading aloud to babies and young children.

• They learn to love sounds, words, and language.
• It stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world.
• It helps a child’s brain, social skills, and communication skills develop.

Contest timing: 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 2 (Dr. Seuss’s birthday) through Tuesday, March 3, at 5:00 p.m.

• Winner announced: Morning of Wednesday, March 4
• Chosen through: Random drawing from all our fabulous Facebook friends who “read” and followed the rules

What you might win: A Seuss-tastic gift basket filled with oodles of Seuss-themed items. Books, bookmarks, activity sheets, hoodie, jersey, socks, leggings, bookmarks . . . oh, my! Value = $150

How you can win (super simple rules): It’s all about caring and sharing! Simply do all 3 of the below.

• Like the Starfish Facebook “poll” post
• Share the Starfish Facebook “poll” post
• Answer the easy-peasy “poll question”: What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book?

Our Starfish Early Education educators come up with the most innovative projects that you can easily tackle from home with your own children. This week’s “craft-ivity” is creating tie-dye art using . . . coffee filters.

Materials (all found at your local “dollar store” or in your own home):

• Basic white coffee filters
• Bingo stampers in multiple colors
• Newspaper or paper/fabric layers to protect your table

Instructions:

Take a coffee filter and fold it in half.

Fold your coffee filter in quarters.

Daub your favorite colors using your Bingo stamper

Unfold and reveal! The ink dries fairly fast.

Check out these masterpieces made by Starfish kiddos!

It’s important to stay active even during the dreary Michigan winter months. When it’s too chilly to go outside on the playground, our teachers come up with super fun activities for our kiddos to do indoors. We’ve captured some super “chill” ideas for you to do at home.

1. Make paper snowflakes to bring the outdoors inside. And hang them in unexpected places.
2. Play board games! Yup, they still exist and it gives you a chance to introduce your kids to your favorites when you were little.
3. Build a nifty “snow fort” indoors with blankets and pillows and empty boxes. Or maybe even a rocket ship out of a large cardboard box, using recyclable materials around the house for controls (e.g., bottle caps or empty toilet paper rolls)
4. Make a pine-cone bird feeder with peanut butter and birdseed. Hang it outside your window.
5. Guess how much snow is on the ground. Then grab a ruler and see who came the closest.
6. Draw and color a winter-scene mural and hang it inside. Snap a photo and send to friends.
7. Use leftover wrapping paper to draw and cut out life-size pictures of your family.
8. Safe sumo wrestling! Clear out a space in the living room and line the corners with pillows. Let your children borrow an old T-shirt of yours, stuff it with pillows in the front and back, and let them wrestle away.
9. Marshmallow architects! Use dry spaghetti and marshmallows and let the creativity flow. Experiment with the strength of different shapes and configurations or use this opportunity to introduce geometry to your little ones.
10. A reading nook is perfect for cozy family time. Check out a giant bag of books from your local library and when you return home, build a reading nook with pillows, blankets, and favorite stuffed animals. Then snuggle down for a reading marathon.