Cat in the Hat Math Play Dough Mat

The Cat in the Hat’s hat has to be one of the most recognizable examples of an ABAB pattern ever. Capitalize on this with some play dough pattern practice. It’s such an easy way to get kids excited about making math patterns and simple to prep with this free printable play dough mat!

Cat in the Hat Play Dough Mat:

• Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat Play Dough Mat
• Contact paper or laminating supplies
• Colored play dough

This may be one of the easiest busy bags ever to put together!  All you need to do is print and laminate the play dough mat and get out some play dough.  You can use your favorite homemade play dough recipe or buy some at the store.

 Once your play dough mat is ready then it’s time to play!  We used the mat to practice math patterns on the Cat in the Hat’s hat.

The red and white stripes of the hat are a perfect ABAB pattern to start with.  You can then work up to AABB or ABC patterns using different colored play dough.  The kids can also just use their imaginations to create new designs on the hat too!

More Busy Bag Ideas:

• Lady Bug Math Game
• Pumpkin Number Matching Busy Bag
• Weaving Busy Bag
• Pool Noodle Blocks Busy Bag
• Shoe Tying Practice Busy Bag

A note from Megan:

I love that Dr. Seuss has inspired so many to read and am so thankful that I have had the opportunity to experience it first hand.  I had never really loved his book, There’s a Wocket in My Pocket!, until one of my high school students, who had struggled with reading his whole life, rapped it for the elementary school kids at their school celebration.

This big, cool high schooler spent days practicing and totally rocked his performance!  That day not only fostered a love of reading in the little kids who were attending, it made him and the other kids in my class love and value reading as well.  Needless to say There’s a Wocket in My Pocket! had a very special place in my heart.

But I have to say the more I’ve learned about Dr. Seuss the more complicated my feelings about his books became. His early racist ads are quite shocking if you haven’t seen them yet and as I have read more about him the more I realized the racist overtones of some of his books. I personally have made the decision to no longer write book activities for his books. As Oprah says, when we know better, we can do better and it no longer feels right for me.

We have a large collections of his books and I am not getting rid of them. But I will be teaching my kids more about his past including the racist parts. It’s important to know our history and the impact it’s had on others. And it’s important to me as a blogger to share things with you I would use in my own classroom or family.