Staying fit starts at a young age for some Staten Island preschoolers. They take to the ice for one hour a day for lessons as well as a little fun. NY1 Staten Island reporter Amanda Farinacci filed this Fit Kids February report.
It is a classroom on ice. For one hour every day, the seven kids at the Prodigy Preschool at the Staten Island Skating Pavilion in Rossville get out of the classroom and hit the rink.
"Skating around and having playtime," said one preschooler.
Prodigy Preschool started four years ago. Teacher Caryl Stingo thought it would be a good idea to give the two-to-four year old children a break from their daily routines with skating.
In the morning, the preschoolers do regular classroom activities, including learning the calendar and how to spell their names. Then at noon, everyone puts on skates.
In addition to regular skating lessons, the boys receive instruction in ice hockey, and the girls learn the fundamentals of figure skating.
"The younger you start, the easier I think it is. You pick it up quicker, the more you do it. And you're not as scared," said skating instructor Sarah Tirro.
Four-year-old Brandon Cox has been coming to Prodigy Preschool for two years. On the ice, he's a speed demon. He makes scoring goals look easy.
"I like being here every time," he said.
Stingo says skating helps the kids get rid of pent up energy. When the session is over, they are sharp and ready for more classroom time.
Some of the students come because their parents want them to play ice hockey or to eventually skate competitively. Others come because parents want their kids to be active from an early age:
"When you start them this young, it's less conscious. And it's more, just what happens. And that progresses to when they get older; it's just something that they do every day," said Stingo.
The kids skate at all different levels, first learning how to march in place and how to fall down. Then they move on to cross-over and skating backwards. Some say while they're acquiring their skills, what they really love is having fun on the ice.
"I like to sweat," said one preschooler.
That is why the last half hour on the ice is dedicated to playtime - because after all, they are just kids.