During the morning announcements the students learned about the history of Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Ted Geisel. Seuss was born March 2, 1910 and grew up on 74 Fairfield Street, in Springfield, Mass.
He feasted on books and was wild about animals. Dr. Seuss lived three blocks from the library and six blocks from the zoo. He drew pictures of animals, even on his bedroom walls, as his mother encouraged him to be creative.
Seuss was his mother's maiden name.
No one on Fairfield Street would have guessed how Geisel would turn out, especially Geisel himself, said the announcement read to the students.
He didn't always fit in at school and couldn't find a job when he finished college, but he didn't get discouraged. Dr. Seuss started getting jobs writing cartoons for newspapers. The he decided to try writing a book.
Dr. Seuss became an amazing author of children's books, the announcement said.
“His books teach children about rhyming words and opposites, and most of all to have fun with reading.”
Every year children across the country celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday with “Read Across America Day”, an event developed by the National Education Association. Now in its 16th year, the year-round Read Across America program focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources.
In addition to learning about the history of Dr. Seuss, students at Ayres Elementary got to make their own Dr. Seuss hat. They also participated in a variety of Dr. Seuss inspired activities in gym and music, from balancing “Green Eggs and Ham,” on a spoon to bouncing on a ball in honor of Dr. Seuss' book “Hop on Pop.”
Additionally, some retired teachers stopped by the school to read their favorite Dr. Seuss books.
Callie Jones: (970) 526-9286; firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow CJones _JA on Twitter.