PNC Foundation supports Learning Grove's outdoor play area with $125,000 grant
Giving kids the opportunity to spend time outside is very important to the Learning Grove community.
, a child care center in Covington for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old, is celebrating the beginning of a new chapter today.
The center received a $125,000 "Grow Up Great" grant from PNC Bank.
With the money, they're now able to build a nature-based LearningScape playground.
Children spent the morning playing in the dirt, digging their shovels into the ground of what will soon be their new outdoor play area.
Shannon Starkey-Taylor, CEO of Learning Grove, emphasizes that it's more than just a playground; it brings the indoor classroom outside.
"Teachers have lesson plans that they plan and it all incorporates it," Starkey-Taylor said. "So on their lesson plan block, it'll say outdoor playtime. And it will even call this an outdoor classroom. And they'll be working on things like, you know, learning how learning fine motor skills, gross motor skills, social-emotional development."
The design of the area itself will be unique.
"We will be using nature and natural materials, so there will be bridges that children can walk over, there will be water tables that will look like if you were just walking out and looking at a creek," Starkey-Taylor said.
This is a way for kids who don't have the opportunity to play outside to experience something new.
"Sometimes they don't have outside play space. Concrete might be where they play, so they really need to get out and explore in a safe way, promote that curiosity, socialize with one another, get physical activity, and then just get fresh air like we all need," Starkey-Taylor said.
PNC Bank's Regional President, Warren Weber, said this investment was a no-brainer.
"It's a great way for kids to socialize, learn, and be creative," Weber said. "We saw today the kids were having a blast just shoveling dirt. So we feel really good about this investment, especially with who we're doing it with."
Construction of the play area is set to begin soon, with an expected completion time of 12 to 18 months.