NEW EQUIPMENT … Participating in the ribbon cutting on the new playground equipment were (left to right): Head Start Center Manager Amy LaCombe; Head Start Education Manager Rhonda Davis; NOCAC Finance Director Kylee Harrow; NOCAC Executive Director Angie Franklin; Solid Ground landscaper Brian Shuherk; and Head Start Director of Child Development Amber Simmons amid student volunteers. (PHOTO BY ANNA WOZNIAK, THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
By: Anna Wozniak
May 8, 2023 saw bright smiles from the students at Pulaski Head Start despite the cloudy, cool weather. This is because the students got to play on their new playground equipment for the very first time that morning around 10 a.m.
Keeping education, safety, and health in mind, the playground was developed to introduce children to a love for and interest in the outdoors early on under safe guidance.
This project was completed by Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission’s (NOCAC) Head Start Center and was paid for using funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2001 through the US Department of Health and Human Services.
The goal of this style of equipment is to promote outdoor learning and play, especially in this world of technology we now find our children growing up in.
Dimension Educational Resource Foundation’s Nature Explore Department was responsible for helping design the playground equipment to help meet these goals.
Director of Child Development Amber Simmons watched as the children explored the new equipment for the first time, stating how it “makes (her) heart happy” to see the children connecting with nature in a safe, educational way.
Anna can be reached at anna@thevillagereporter.com