Sparta — There’s a new program at Ridgeview Elementary that’s getting every kindergartner in the school acquainted with the two-wheeled world of biking.
The kindergarten PE Learn-to-Ride program, offered by the nonprofit organization All Kids Bike, aims to help as many students as possible learn how to ride before they start first grade. It uses glider bikes with removable pedals, so teachers can gradually get their students comfortable with riding over the course of eight weeks.
With the help of a grant from the Sparta Education Foundation, physical education teacher Andy Wagner brought the program to Ridgeview, where around 160 kindergartners have been benefiting from it for the past few weeks.
Wagner, a biking enthusiast himself, said the program caught his interest because he’d observed that some of his students were learning to ride later and later.
“I started to see a need, just to help with helping kids learn how to ride bikes,” Wagner said. “So when I came across this program, I thought this was a great way for me to introduce biking to the kids, whether they pursue it after that or not.”
Wagner’s students are in the thick of the program now, learning about bike safety and riding etiquette, gliding through the gym in their once-weekly sessions, pushing themselves along with their feet. Soon they’ll have the pedals on, and, Wagner hopes, they’ll be ready to ride by summer.
‘I like the idea of putting the car away, and not using the car if you can help it. Maybe this translates to kids riding their bikes to school with their families.’
— Ridgeview Elementary PE teacher Andy Wagner
Wagner said Ridgeview’s kindergartners are having a blast with the program, regardless of their skill level.
“I always meet them in the hallway before they come in … and I get a lot of cheers and hoots and hollers,” Wagner said. “They really like it a lot — even the kids who have experience with biking already.”
Some of the more experienced riders are confidently gliding through the gym, sometimes even doing tricks, while others are taking slow, methodical steps toward biking proficiency.
‘Look at me!’
During a recent visit to one of Wagner’s classes, those more confident riders were happy to show off their skills.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Look at me!” said kindergartner Logan as he picked up speed while riding circles around the gym. “I’m so good I should get paid for it.”
Logan’s classmate Zameea is just as experienced. While waiting for the class to start with a game of red-light, green-light, Zameea fidgeted a bit and rocked back and forth in her seat, eager to get going.
She said her favorite part of the bike lessons has been “riding and standing up at the same time.”
Others are a little less sure of themselves, but they’re getting the hang of it.
“Practicing,” Hunter said, is the part of the program he values most, “because you can learn more.”
The students spent the better part of an hour gliding around the gym floor, doing their best to avoid run-ins with each other and with cones that marked the circular path. Before class concluded, they circled around Wagner, who asked them to recite some of the key safety points they’ve learned.
“Go slow!” one student said. “Don’t get too close to other bikes!” another shouted. “Wear helmets!” someone else chimed in.
The students parted with a cheer of “Let’s ride!”
A Lifelong Skill
The All Kids Bike program provided 24 children’s bikes and helmets to Ridgeview, an adult bike for Wagner to use for demonstration, storage racks and a curricular guide.
The first five weeks of the program are spent focusing on balancing, gliding, turning, navigating and avoiding running into other riders or cones. Then the students will spend three weeks practicing with pedals on the bikes.
Wagner estimates about a third of the class came in not knowing how to ride. “But we’re definitely seeing some progress with the kids,” he said. “They’re giving it a shot, giving it a try, building their confidence a little more.”
He added that he hopes at least some of his students become regular riders, and learn to apply their riding ability to life outside of school.
“I like the idea of biking. I like the idea of putting the car away, and not using the car if you can help it. Maybe this translates to kids riding their bikes to school with their families.
“I’m all about learning lifelong goals, lifelong skills. … Biking, healthy living, healthy choices: that’s where I wanted to go with this program. That’s why I started to pursue it.”
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