Rachel Heaton covers education in Beaufort County. She is an Oklahoma native and Missouri transplant. She graduated from the University of Missouri and previously worked at a local news website in suburban St. Louis. | 
Whether it was green eggs and ham for breakfast, or guest readers in each classroom, many local schools planned celebrations for “Read Across America Day.”
The day, which takes places each year on or near March 2 — the birthday of Dr. Seuss — has been organized by the National Education Association for 15 years, according to its website. The day is part of a year-round effort to motivate children and teens to read.
Schools in Beaufort County celebrated the day in several ways. Here’s just a taste:
- Lady’s Island Elementary had green eggs and ham for breakfast. Students could dress up as their favorite book character, and the Cat in the Hat visited the school. Guest readers also came to classrooms, and there was a door-decorating contest.
- Riverview Charter School was visited by the Lowcountry Alumnae Club of Pi Beta Phi and had a special assembly Friday morning. Third-graders read original poems, such as “The Tale of the Yellow Jello Man” by Henry Harper and “The Tale of Sadie the Lady in Blue” by Grace Trask. Students also learned about Dr. Seuss and were read his book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”
- Prekindergarten students at St. Francis Catholic School had an old-fashioned birthday party. They played “pin the hat on the cat,” had a green egg relay race and created a game called “One Fish, Two Fish ... Go Fish.” There was face painting, a birthday cake and a story time with Dr. Seuss’ “Happy Birthday to You!”
- Third through fifth grade in the Advanced Math, Engineering and Science Academy at Pritchardville Elementary School brought the popular book “The Lorax” alive while practicing their math and science skills. Third-graders decorated their classrooms with brightly colored truffula trees and identified the fractional parts of each color. Fourth-graders had a combination of colored truffula trees and dying ones and explored the probability of the Once-ler cutting down the different colors of trees. Fifth-graders discussed the destruction of forests and the conservation of nature, which ties into their study of ecosystems.
- The principal and office staff at Mossy Oaks Elementary School greeted students and parents dressed as the Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 through Thing 5.