“Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like them, Sam-I-am.” Published in 1960, this classic children’s book has truly passed the test of time. If you loved this book as a kid, you can relive great childhood memories as you read it to your child or grandchild. If it was one of your childhood favorites, the chances are that you can recite it by heart!
Before, During and After Reading
Oral Language
Read the title and talk about the illustration on the cover. Ask your child if she has ever eaten green eggs and ham. Ask her if she thinks she would like them.
Phonological Awareness
You can expose your child to lots of rhyming as you read rhyming books in a rhythmic tempo. Read the story with expression. Place extra emphasis on the rhyming words on the page. For example:
"Would you like them in a house? Would you like them with a mouse?"House/mouse. They rhyme. They sound the same at the end.
After you have read the story several times, you can leave off the last word and see if your child can fill in the missing rhyming word. For example:
"Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a ____?"
Beginning Writing
Tell your child she will get to make a green egg. Cut out a piece of construction paper shaped like a fried egg. Put a spoonful of blue finger or tempera paint and a spoonful of yellow paint on the construction paper. Ask your child to finger paint and find out what happens when the blue and yellow paint mix. Let her have fun fingerpainting!
Phonological Awareness
Create rhyming cards using rhyming words from the story. Some rhyming words from the story include house/mouse, box/fox, rain/train, goat/boat. Find pictures of the rhyming pairs and glue them on 3"x5" index cards. Place one card from each of the rhyming picture sets on the floor or table in front of your child. You can hold the remaining cards and call them out one at a time. For example, after you place the house, box, rain and goat pictures on the floor, you might say:
Here is a picture of a mouse. Does "mouse" rhyme with "box"? No. Does "mouse" rhyme with "rain"? No. Does "mouse" rhyme with "house"? Yes it does! Put the mouse and house together.
Explore more recommended children's books and at-home reading activities for three-year-olds, or take the Reading BrightStart! Preschool Reading Screener. The screener can help you determine if your child is on the path to reading readiness, and provides a free plan for moving forward.