West Roxbury YMCA Wishes Dr. Seuss a Happy Birthday

Editor's note: The following was written by Becky Peluso of the YMCA.

On Sunday, March 4, 2012 the gymnasium was transformed into a Seussical Birthday Extravaganza. Children of all ages were invited to join the Y in celebrating the life of Dr. Seuss, in honor of "The Lorax" book. The decorations on the wall included Dr. Seuss characters, streamers, balloons and a giant Cat in the Hat to name a few.

All those who entered were able to receive and wear with pride a splendiferous Dr. Seuss hat. The visitors to the party included members, after school participants, small fry participants and community members. The visitors were able to partake in activities that included making Oobleck, play Cat in the Hatgames, make Truffula Tree bookmarks out of yarn and took part in story time with Russ Lamberti, who read "The Lorax" aloud.

The gym was separated in halves. When families first came in they walked into the first half where a plethora of themed games were taking place; all were based on Dr. Seuss and were fantasmagicorical. Families then strolled over to the activity side. The tables that were set up were all named after Dr. Seuss books and the activities were based on those specific books. Activities included, pinning Green Eggs on Ham, Truffula Tree bookmark making, a Cat in the Hat I Can Do That game, along with others.

During story time all the families piled on to the soft play area where seating was available. Russ Lamberti read “The Lorax” aloud with wonderful enthusiasm that kept the children interested and engaged. The afterschool directors from all the West Roxbury YMCA school sites and some afterschool staff were arranged around story time with extra books so that children could see the story and follow along with ease, while some parents and children read together. After the read-aloud the children were able to leave with a book, bookmark and pencil; all Dr. Seuss themed, of course.

Light refreshments were served, but what is a birthday party without a cake? A generous donor hand-decorated the cake to ensure the birthday party was just that!