Tricycles for Vigo County Head Start

Vigo County Head Start is a comprehensive preschool program serving children living in Vigo County. Head Start promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families. To be eligible for the Head Start program the family's income must meet the 2011 Poverty Guidelines.

A Community Assessment was completed during the spring of 2011 and shows an increase in childhood obesity in our community with our program mirroring those numbers. Vigo County Head Start uses Teaching Strategies GOLD as the main curriculum and uses a supplemental curriculum called I am Moving, I am Learning. This supplemental curriculum is a proactive approach to childhood obesity and requires all children to engage in movement for at least one hour each day.

As Head Start moves toward improving the health of our children we find the need of additional tricycles for our playground, as the number of working tricycles decline due to non-repairable breakages. Vigo County Head Start has only six tricycles that are in working condition at this time, which are all over ten years of age. There are 34 children on the playground at one time therefore, it is impossible for all children to have the opportunity to become proficient in the control of the large muscles used for pedaling.

We are requesting funding to assist us with purchasing five more tricycles in order for all children to develop age appropriate large motor skills.