CRIDERSVILLE, Ohio (WLIO) — It may be the first of its kind in Ohio, and some local elementary students are getting a kick out of it.
Welcome to the Cridersville Elementary School Hammock Garden, a place where students can pause, relax, and read a book. Principal Kyle Cutnaw said the idea came from seeing a similar setup online at a school out of state. He brought together the PTO and the Wapakoneta Breakfast Optimist Club to make it a reality. The hammock garden features six spokes with four hammocks each, giving up to 24 students space to enjoy the tranquility of being in nature while learning at the same time.
Fourth-grader Savannah Stebleton said, “I hope that it goes great and that I can read peacefully, and the experience is great because it's comfy.”
Cutnaw added, “Well, we wanted our kids to have the opportunity to do something unique and fun and enjoy the love of reading outside, and so I did a bunch of research on it, and I don't think there's another one like this in the state of Ohio.”
Fred Miller, president of the Wapak Breakfast Optimist Club, said, “What more could you ask for, to be out in the sun in a hammock, reading? I mean, that just says it all. For the kids, that's our end goal, to create better, I guess, projects for kids that are out there to help them as far as their comprehension in school.”
School officials hope to get a few more days of use out of the hammocks this fall and are looking forward to reopening the garden in the spring.
