Students Were ‘Toadily’ Croaked

March 22, 2007 - “A Year with Frog and Toad” sounded like a good idea to nearly 150 Pfeiffer-Burleigh kindergarteners, but since that wasn’t possible, the students happily settled for an hour and a half at the Erie Playhouse on March 8.

The Erie Youtheatre production, sponsored by Erie Insurance, was based on author Arnold Lobel's award-winning children’s books. The musical follows two friends, easygoing Frog and worrywart Toad, through four fun-filled seasons, teaching lessons of friendship and acceptance along the way.

For the past 19 years, Erie Insurance volunteers have been helping Pfeiffer-Burleigh students build the reading skills they need to enjoy books like Lobel’s Frog and Toad series.

Pfeiffer-Burleigh kindergarten representatives Marti Garofalo and Julie Muse organized the recent event with assistance from volunteer readers Donna Brigham, Jolie Gutting and Julie Kennerknecht. All five Employees volunteer to read to five- and six-year-old students at the school for a half hour each week.

Pfeiffer-Burleigh Assistant Principal Dave Eubank believes that seeing the show encouraged students to build their reading skills.

“Children who see productions like Frog and Toad will look for the book associated with the musical,” says Eubank. “Then, they’ll try to find adults to read the story to them. That’s exactly the kind of interaction we want to promote.”

Pfeiffer-Burleigh kindergarten teacher liaison Kim McCain, who regularly works with Marti Garofalo and Julie Muse to create meaningful activities for the kindergarten class, says that very few of her students had ever been to a play before seeing “A Year With Frog and Toad.”

“Erie Insurance does a lot by exposing our kids to arts and culture,” says McCain. “We’re very grateful.”

Students Were ‘Toadily’ Croaked

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