MIDDLEBURG, Fla. — Dozens of kindergartners at Rideout Elementary School in Middleburg received a big surprise on Friday morning.
Twenty-two new Strider bikes and helmets will help them learn how to ride a bike by the end of the school year.
"We wanted to make sure we could embed that into our curriculum to work with them with coaches, so they're building their confidence, but they're also learning how to this, so they can transfer those skills with them," Kathryn Shepherd, a kindergarten teacher said.
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The bikes don't have training wheels on them so the students learn how to balance once they get on the bikes.
It's a skill 5-year-old Jackson can't wait to learn.
"So I can have a lot more fun than just playing with Legos and drawing all day, that's the only stuff I have," Jackson said.
Rideout Elementary was the only Clay County school in the district to receive a $4,000 grant from Tucker Power Sports as part of the all kids bike program.
As part of the program, teachers will be able to get certified over an eight-week course to teach kids how to ride bikes. They'll start with the basics.
"You have to practice balancing," Student Kali said.
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Teachers tell Action News Jax these bikes will help their students stay active and healthy. For some kids it was their first time getting on a bike.
"A lot of them don't have bikes, and they don't have the opportunity to practice on bikes so to be able to give that experience to every one of our students, regardless of if they have one or not, it's just wonderful," Shepherd said.
The Clay County School District tells us that as part of the program, students at Rideout Elementary School will get to use those bikes for the next five years.