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TUCKERTON — Serenity
liked playing and
singing "George of
the Jungle."
Layla loved the
flips.
Korral loved
the trapeze
and Dylan
loved the
activity
called the
washing
machine, a
doughnut-shaped
activity in
which the
children sing
about one of
their friends
being "in the
washing
machine,
washing
machine" and
push until
they all
laugh.
The
children
were
excited
Thursday,
when the
Fun Bus
pulled
into the
Kangaroo
Kourt
Preschool
parking
lot for
some
fitness on
wheels.
Karen
Wilson,
the
owner of
Kangaroo
Kourt
Preschool,
saw the
colorful
green
bus at a
Manahawkin
fall
festival
and
arranged
to bring
it to
the
children.
"I
took
the 2-
and
3-year-olds
out,"
she
said.
"At
first,
they
were a
little
"stand-offish.'
Once
they
were
able
to
play
with
the
basketball
net,
they
loved
it.
They
attach
a
little
circle
swing
to the
bus, a
trapeze,
rings.
They
put
them
one at
a time
in a
thing
called
a
doughnut
and
pretended
they
were
in a
washing
machine."
The
bus
was
originally
a
Little
Egg
Harbor
school
bus.
The
company
is
franchised
and
buys
the
buses,
which
are
then
completely
refurbished
inside
and
out.
The
seats
are
removed,
the
floors
carpeted,
walls
paded,
and
gym
mats,
gym
equipment
and
sound
equipment
are
brought
in.
"We'll
be
working
with
the
county-run
program
in
summer,"
Leiter
said,
"where
they
will
have
me
at
several
different
locations.
One
of
them
is
Little
Egg
Harbor.
I
think
most
of
the
programs
are
in
Toms
River
but
the
county
is
trying
to
change
that
and
offer
some
things
down
here
as
well.
"I'm from Barnegat and the bus is parked in Manahawkin, so we're local," she added.
Leiter and an assistant are Fun Bus certified and show the children how to use the equipment.
"They just love that," she said.
"If they find a program that really gets them excited about fitness, our hope is that they will continue that when they get older all their lives, rather than sitting inside," Leiter said. "It also helps with their self-esteem. A lot of times I hear on the bus, "No, I can't do that,' and then when they "do that,' they are so excited.
"And it helps with their motor skills, coordination and social skills," she said.
Lisa Cirillo, a teacher at Kangaroo Kourt, said the children are still talking about the fun they had.
"They're talking about it now," she said. "It's cute because one of them still has the stickers on."
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