March is a great time to celebrate Dr. Seuss (whose birthday is March 2) as well as the color green!
You guessed it: it’s time for some Green Eggs and Ham! Many of us are familiar with this classic already, so why not expand on the story by preparing Green Egg Pretzel Bites and Ham Rolls with the kids beforehand?
Optional: During the story, have the children play the roles of “Sam-I-Am” and the “Unnamed Grump” character. As you read, have the children act out their characters with motions and silly facial expressions. For example, The Grump might stomp, shake his head, shake his fist, roll his eyes or put his hand up in a “Stop!” gesture. Sam-I-Am might wave excitedly, plead with folded hands or even pantomime a house/mouse/goat/boat, etc. (If you’re really ambitious, throw in costumes for the kids to wear.) When the story culminates in The Grump agreeing to try the green eggs and ham, direct the children to the table where they can eat their snack!
Fun fact: There are only 50 words in Green Eggs and Ham. If you don’t want to incorporate the theatrical component suggested above, read the list of all 50 words before you begin and tell the children to listen for each one!
a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you.
Green Egg Pretzel Bites
Ingredients:
- 1 bag waffle pretzels (round or square)
- 1 bag white chocolate melting wafers
- 30 green M&Ms
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 175–200°.
- Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Place 30 pretzels on the cookie sheet (make sure they are not touching one another).
- Place one white chocolate melt on the middle of each pretzel.
- Put your cookie sheet in the oven. Check every minute until the chocolate is slightly melted (2–3 minutes).
- Pull the cookie tray out of the oven. Before the white chocolate hardens, press a green M&M into each piece.
- Let the pretzels cool before eating!
Recipe courtesy of The-Girl-Who-Ate-Everything.com
Ham Rolls
Ingredients:
- Pickle spears
- Deli ham, thinly sliced
- Whipped cream cheese
Directions:
- Place a slice of ham on a plate or clean surface.
- With a firm spatula or small knife, spread a very thin layer of whipped cream cheese across the entire slice of ham.
- Position a pickle spear on the edge of the ham slice.
- Roll the pickle up in the ham like a burrito.
- Slice the ham rolls into 2-inch pieces.
Store leftovers in refrigerator for up to four days.