Day-care children get new wheels

WINSTED — Children’s Discovery Center students can now enjoy the pleasure of pedaling along on a new set of wheels, after the Winsted preschool recently received a grant allowing staff to purchase two hand-crafted tricycles.

The $1,500 grant was awarded to the center in February by the Manhattan-based Libby Holman Foundation. One of Holman’s great-grandchildren is a student at the school.

The center — which sits behind the First Church of Winsted at the corner North Main Street and Holabird Avenue — purchased the two-seater tricycles from Community Playthings, a co-operative that makes children’s furniture and toys.

Children’s Discovery Center Director Karen Sovak told The Journal Tuesday that the company is well-known for making long-lasting school equipment.

The new bikes replace two of the school’s older tricycles, also purchased from Community Playthings, which had finally begun to wear down after more than 15 years in service.

Sovak said although the children do have fun riding around the school’s playground on the bikes, the two-seaters also encourage socialization and cooperative play among the children and improve hand/eye coordination, while also serving as an excellent form of daily physical exercise.

“It seems like it’s just playtime, but there’s so much going on,� she said.

Sovak said the remaining grant funds will be used to purchase print materials to promote the center, which was founded in 1976. Currently, the school has about two dozen students enrolled in its program.

The center will host an open house on April 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Anyone who might like to visit is more than welcome to come by,� Sovak said.

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