The North Penn YMCA’s Harleysville Branch announces that its kindergarten class won third place in a national art contest. The art contest was held in schools across the country in honor of “The Very Hungary Caterpillar Day” on March 20, the first day of spring. The Harleysville kindergarten class participated and won the contest by putting together a colorful poster using art materials depicting scenes from the classic book. “The Very Hungary Caterpillar” book storyline centers on the life cycle of a butterfly, and teaches the children the days of the week and numbers by explaining the changing butterfly.

The poster contest was a classroom project and everyone in class participated in bringing the poster to life. Branch Director Dianne Manus says the children learned much more than cooperation while working on the project. “This was a group effort. The children worked together and learned how to cooperate, plus they learned art techniques and how to apply different media methods.” Manus says the children are very proud of their national prize. The children won a classroom copy of the book plus a special thank-you note from the book’s author, Eric Carle.