“You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer in any direction you choose.”

March 2, John S. Clarke Elementary Center students did an assortment of activities to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday and Read Across America Day.

Multiple teachers did special activities with their students. Mrs. Tara Hess, second grade teacher, had activities centered around the book Green Eggs and Ham including reading the book and having an activity using “Seuss Juice.” Seuss Juice consisted of two drinks, a blue one and a green one. The green juice was simply orange juice dyed with green food coloring whereas the blue juice was salt water with blue food coloring; the drink was supposed to look like blue Kool-Aid.

“I liked the green juice more,” said second grader Kharizma Harris. “The green juice tasted sweeter and the blue one tasted like ocean water. I knew that the green one would taste better.”

The students were told to not judge too quickly because first impressions may not always be what they seem to be.

“I liked doing the Seuss Juice activity,” second grader Julia Bensinger said. “The blue juice was nasty because of the salt in it.”

Mrs. Judith DiObilda, elementary school librarian, brought in two police officers to read Officer Buckle and Gloria, a story about an officer and his dog fighting crime. Instead of the officer being the main character in charge, the dog is.

“The kids asked questions afterwards about the story, but also about what it is like to be a police officer,” Mrs. DiObilda said.

Ms. Cristy Clemson, fourth grade teacher, had her students create figurative language hats. Each part of the hat contained a different part of figurative language, ranging from simile to hyperbole.

“It was fun making the hats,” fourth grader Tabitha Rauch said. “I learned what similes and personification were.”

Mrs. Regina Freiler, first grade teacher, teamed up with Mrs. Susan Ebling, third grade teacher, to create a collaborative learning lesson for both of their classes. There were four stations located around the room. One was an interactive Scholastic magazine activity shown on a SmartBoard screen that Mrs. Freiler helped students complete. Another was a trivia contest hosted by Mrs. Ebling that had students answering questions about Dr. Seuss books.

Read Across America Day happens all across the United States and is sponsored by the National Education Association and Dr. Seuss Enterprises. An estimated 45 million students, teachers and parents celebrate the day to commemorate the children’s book author.