KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ontario Hill said he takes his mother's advice very seriously.
"My momma told me to go to school every day," the kindergartner said. "That's why I have to go to school every day, so I can learn."
And that's exactly what the young kindergartner and his classmates at Frontier Schools are doing - learning.
In their P.E. class, they're learning a new skill: how to ride bikes.
"You have fun with your friends," Hill said.
P.E. teacher Johnny Brown said it gives his students a sense of independence.
"A bike is in a lot of ways freedom, freedom to go places," Brown said. "And it's also really enjoyable, riding a bike."
Eric Sharp, one of the teachers at the school said it is one of the first things students learn that adults can do too.
"So they see people bigger than them doing this and once they do it, that confidence level just goes through the roof," Sharp said.
Sharp, who is an avid bike rider, looked to raise $5,000 to provide bikes for the kindergartners.
"I started through the Strider corporation," Sharp said. "I just went through them and buy enough for the 25 bikes for our kindergartners."
It is part of a national program called "All Kids Bike" through the Strider Education Foundation.
Sharp reached out to the local mountain bike community, and they helped him raise 85 percent of the funds.
"When you see 25 kids riding on a bike at the same time, it leaves you almost speechless," Sharp said. "To try and describe it, you can't even put into words, just enjoyable."
The bikes are a little unique.
"They don't have any pedals," Sharp said. "So they can sit on the seat and sit on the ground just like this. It keeps them nice and sturdy and safe and they just walk. As they progress, they can go a little bit faster."
And even though some may fall, it's getting back up that's important.
"We also want to teach them life skills, so riding a bike, that's that confidence, that lifelong athletic activity that they know they can do to stay in shape and have fun," Sharp said.
Sharp's goal is to expand the bike program so more students at Frontier Schools can learn how to ride.
