Spring Break
URI Greeks bring 'Cat in the Hat' for awhile, Kingston pre-K color, smile
Hillary Brady
Issue date: 3/4/09 Section: News
|
The 20 volunteers crowded the brightly lit classroom for an hour of reading and activities in honor of what would have been the 105th birthday of Dr. Seuss, a famous Sig Ep, and staple of children's literature.
The 18 children, aged 4 to 5-years-old, sat cross-legged and transfixed on the carpet, while Sigma Kappas joined them on the floor and SigEp volunteers sat in tiny, kid-friendly desk chairs.
The event began with reading along to the Dr. Seuss classic, "The Cat in the Hat."
"The Cat in the Hat," played by junior Jim Elliott, Sigma Phi Epsilon's vice president of programming, came to read the story aloud. Dressed in a tall red and white striped hat, white dress shirt and red bowtie, he was met to enthusiastic pointing and exclamations from the audience.
"I have the same birthday [as Dr. Seuss]," Elliot said. His mother, who used to dress up in honor of her son's birthday, sent the Cat in the Hat costume to him for the occasion.
During the reading, the URI volunteers pointed out the colorful pictures, as the children shouted out guesses about what surprises in the plot were coming next. The children readily offered up opinions and questions to their honorary readers.
Later in the story, when the Cat in the Hat balances on a ball for the entertainment of Sally and her older brother, a young boy inquired, "Can you do that?" to Elliot.
Also to the delight and laughter of the audience, Elliot lifted his own striped cap in accordance to the Cat tipping his iconic hat.
