March 2, 2011 is Dr. Seuss' 107th birthday! It is also a national reading awareness day. I am proud to say that I celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday in the best way possible.
Sierra Nevada College hosted a Literacy Awareness night, put together by my Language Arts Professor-who asked the class to be "celebrity readers". The night went great! I showed up and help set all the free children's books out. As children walked in they were so excited to see a cat-in-the-hat running around the room passing out gift certificates to a local book store, cookies, juice, and free books. Everyone gathered inside a large room where a presenter explained Read Across America and Dr. Seuss' birthday. Each celebrity reader went to their designated spot and to read a Dr. Seuss, or P.D. Eastman, book. I read "Flab Your Wings" by P.D. Eastman to about 25 kids of all varying ages. They were so excited - it warmed my heart to see their smiles and hear their laughs. I also lead them in a Reader's Pledge. After the children heard a story they got to pick a free book (sponsored by a local book store, Sierra Nevada College and Scholastic).
It was a great community event to raise awareness about how important reading is. It was fun, exciting and educational. I cannot wait to be a part of it again!
Here are some helpful links:
- www.seussville.com: This is the main link but the best part, in my opinion is the 'Educator' link. Has great resources on how to teach a unit on Dr. Seuss.
- www.nea.org/readacross : National Education Association's web-page for Read Across America. Great news, resources and ideas for parents and teachers.
