Maine’s Positive Story of the Day from Kate Furbish Elementary School in Brunswick ~
Here in Brunswick we take great pride in our bicycling community. The Androscoggin River Bicycle Path has been awarded the East Coast Greenway Alliance Trail of Merit Award, and Brunswick has been recognized by the American League of Bicyclists as Maine’s first Bicycle-Friendly Community. As part of our Physical Education curriculum we have worked with the Bicycle Coalition of Maine to teach bike and pedestrian safety. The opportunity to take these skills and put them into actual practice was provided by the Brunswick Community Education Fund granting us the funds to buy 25 balance bikes and helmets. Balance bikes are perfect for our K-2 age group. They teach balance, independence, and make the transition to a pedal bike effortless. They are accessible to many levels of students.
Helmet safety is a large part of the early curriculum. All students learned how to fit and wear a helmet correctly. Many know more than their own parents about how it should fit! Getting this message out early is a key preventative to injury.
We had to do our obstacle course inside because of an early nor’easter but that didn’t deter us! All students had 3 weeks of bike riding this fall and we can’t wait to take them out again in the spring!