Dressed up to learn about rhymes

It was as if characters from Dr. Seuss' books came to life and were living at the Sweetwater County Child Developmental Center last Thursday.

From characters like Cindy Lou Who, the Cat in the Hat, Thing One and Thing Two, the children were dressed up and ready to learn about Dr. Seuss and his great books.

Throughout the building, children enjoyed dressing up to celebrate Dr. Seuss' March 2 birthday, but more seemed to be dressed up in the Seussville class, which was fitting.

CDC teacher Jennifer Rundell said Dr. Seuss' books are bright, colorful and imaginative and the children really seem to enjoy them.

"We really like the rhyming for phonological awareness," Rundell said of the books.

She also liked how Dr. Seuss' characters are made up, which is something the children may not get a lot of anymore. It inspires the children to come up and create their own characters.

For example: The class recently read Dr. Seuss' "If I Ran a Zoo." After reading the book, Rundell encouraged the children to think of what kind of animals they would have in their zoo. Most of the kids were sticking with the traditional animals such as tiger, lion and bear. Rundell encouraged them to come up with their own animals.

"It's a fun way to force them outside of the box," Rundell said.

Soon the children started creating their own characters and became more and more excited about their made up zoos.

For this particular class, Dr. Seuss characters are in the class daily as Rundell is referred to as the Cat in the Hat and her teacher aide and para-professionals are referred to as Thing One and Thing Two. But it was extra special Thursday when the teachers were also dressed in costumes.

Rundell said when the children see the employees dress up, it shows them that adults can have fun just like them.

"I think it's fun because they get to dress up and use their imagination," para-professional Ruthanne Gradjeda said.