By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer
Students rhymed and read and listened to what their teachers said during a special event at MaST Community Charter School on Friday.
The cause for applause was the birthday of The Cat in the Hat creator Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. The popular author died in September 1991 at age 87.
The Cat in the Hat also celebrates a milestone 50th birthday this year, while the month of March marks the 10th anniversary of Read Across America, a nationwide literacy campaign.
Kids at MaST, a K-12 school at 1800 Byberry Road, were excited to take looks at books throughout the day.
Principal Linda Coger said students in each classroom stayed in the Dr. Seuss loop by doing projects in a group. Students and staff also dressed up like Dr. Seuss characters, donning red-and-white-striped Cat in the Hat top hats and shirts deeming them "Thing One" or "Thing Two."
In the library, kindergartners sat wide-eyed and yelled rhyming words with pride as librarian assistant Susan Nolan read — and dressed up as — the Cat in the Hat.
"The rhyming works well with learning vowel sounds and repetition," said their teacher, Amber Weaks. "They get really enthused about reading."
In Jeannine Behr’s kindergarten class, students worked with their fifth grade buddies to paint fish bowls from the book One Fish, Two Fish. With fingers sticky and blue, they helped one another glue tiny fish cracker treats to the bowls on their paper sheets.
"I always enjoy coming to the kindergarten class to work with them," said Ryan Lash, 11, whose buddy happens to be his 6-year-old brother Brendan. "We do art projects. They’re always a lesson in reading and writing."
Third-graders reading Bartholomew and the Oobleck created the green gook from the book with cornstarch, water and dye. In a nearby second-grade room, no normal creature did student Eddy McAnally feature, as a made-up animal he drew to match the ones in If I Ran the Zoo.
"It’s called a ‘Big-Bird Dragon Thing,’" said Eddy, whose favorite Dr. Seuss book is Green Eggs and Ham.
But as far as Eddy can see, it’s an author, not a zookeeper, that he will someday be.
Swearing it was true, Eddy said with a confident nod of his head, "I want to write books, too." ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com