A steady stream of families visited the Indian River County Fairgrounds last Saturday for the 2017 Touch a Truck Family Festival, hosted for the first time by the Kindergarten Readiness Collaborative. More than 500 people had already arrived within the first half-hour, hoping to shield sensitive little ears by taking advantage of the horn-free first hour.
The quiet was quickly broken by the blare of sirens and truck horns as little ones darted among more than 50 cars and trucks gleaming brightly under the cloud-free sky. With the exception of the Indian River Region Antique Auto Club’s “look only” section of classic and antique cars, everything was ready to be fully explored. Doors were thrown open for youngsters to climb aboard, toot the horns and dream of being able to actually see over steering wheels.
Trucks of every shape, size and purpose were included in the mix – police, fire and disaster relief vehicles, construction, food transport and agricultural trucks, collision and tow trucks, moving trucks and cement mixers mixed it up with a huge bucket truck, airboat and monster truck, plumbing and dump trucks, and even a couple of school buses for incoming kindergarteners to become familiar with. The Learning Alliance bus even offered shaded comfy chairs where folks could sit and complete their scavenger hunt forms.
The Indian River Sheriff’s Department’s snazzy, electric blue Mustang is always a big draw for children and adults alike.
“All the kids, they love it,” laughed Deputy Teddy Floyd as he encouraged a little boy to flash the lights and siren. “I tell you what: It’s the best way to spend a Saturday.”
Sponsorship by Senior Life Services and the United Way of Indian River County enabled the Kindergarten Readiness Collaborative to keep the entry fee affordable and provide free passes to families who attended the February Kindergarten Round-Up.
“We took this over from Childcare Resources; it’s a very popular event, but it’s a lot of work,” said Hope Woodhouse, KRC board treasurer.
The collaborative enlisted the support of its partner service organizations, agencies and child-care providers to provide volunteers and help build community awareness.
“We’ve been working on the Kindergarten Readiness Collaborative three years; the purpose is to collaborate and educate people on the importance of early learning,” said Woodhouse. “We’ve added all sorts of developmental activities – a scavenger hunt, kids identifying colors and shapes. It’s all about getting little kids in here and having their neurons work. We’re trying to do something that’s exercising the brain.”
And that they did. Indoors, roughly 25 agencies had set up a variety of activities and crafts, where bright colors and shapes were the name of the game.
“We’re encouraging dads to work with the kids to make presents for Mother’s Day,” said Elida Gomez, Literacy Services of IRC North County coordinator, referencing the small plates children were busily painting with indelible ink.
“We tried to incorporate kindergarten readiness skills into this event, so the parents and children can interact with the activities,” said Meredith Egan, KRC board chair. “We want to demonstrate to parents and children that you don’t have to just sit down and read a book. There’s lots of ways to promote learning through everyday activities.”
For more information, visit krcirc.org.
