U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin Reads to UAMS Head Start Students

By David Robinson

 UAMS Head Start students were entertained by Congressman Tim Griffin's reading of

April 25, 2011 | U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” to students during a recent tour of the UAMS Head Start/Early Head Start in Little Rock.

Griffin visited each of the classrooms at the UAMS Head Start Central Office/Davis site. He also engaged with children as they “cooked,” danced and ate their mid-morning snacks.

Before reading to the class of 4- and 5-year-old students, Griffin told the group that the book is a favorite at his house.

“My little girl is almost 4, and apparently she likes to hear the same book over and over again, so if you’ve heard this before I hope you still enjoy it,” Griffin said. During the reading, he and the students chatted about the kinds of food the caterpillar ate and how it led to the caterpillar’s stomach ache and transformation to a butterfly.

He drew giggles when he told them, “The lesson here is not that if you eat a bunch of food you turn into a butterfly.”

When Griffin asked if they wanted him to read it again, many seemed eager for an encore, but he declined, joking, “They’re going to put me in timeout if I read it again.”

Griffin later told administrators that he understands the benefits of the program because his mother was a Head Start teacher, and many of her former students have told him the significant role that she and the program played in their lives.

“I understand from personal experience, through my mother, the impact a Head Start teacher can have on a kid,” Griffin said.

“We really appreciate that (Griffin) does have the life experience and understands the potential value – that this really is an investment,” said Richard Jacobs, M.D., chair of the UAMS Department of Pediatrics, which oversees the Head Start program. “We’re wanting to create productive citizens, not more dependents.”

The Head Start/Early Head Start program serves nearly 1,100 3- to 5-year-old children in Pulaski County from low-income families to increase their readiness for school.