ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. -- It's a lesson at school that teaches both fitness and safety.

Children all over the country took part in International Walk to School Day Friday morning.

The event was focused on getting children to school on their own two feet.

At one local school, the lesson included something unusual -- a helicopter ride.

Students at Atlantic Beach Elementary School took turns going up in the Shands Trauma One helicopter, seeing their playground from hundreds of feet in the air.

"The kids were totally surprised," principal Kim Wright said. "They were excited."

The helicopter ride was a fun reward for the children who spent the week learning how to walk and bike to school safely.

"It's the opportunity to expose the kids to safety procedures walking to and from school," Wright said.

The children learned the fundamentals of crossing a street and avoiding roadside distractions.

"There are a lot of distractions to and from school," said Sgt. Gus Carlson, with the Atlantic Beach Police Department. "Other children playing, pets, even strange people they may encounter. Vehicles backing out of driveways."

Atlantic Beach police teamed up with Shands and an organization called Safe Kids to get the lesson across, and they made sure everyone understood.

"All the way down to the pre-schoolers," Carlson said. "They may not be able to articulate it as well as the fifth graders, but they actually knew what to do when they came to a street, proper methods for crossing."

After classroom instruction, they put their street smarts to the test on a model course. The walking event also promotes physical fitness.

Most of the children at Atlantic Beach Elementary do walk and bike to school. The principal said the school will likely participate in International Walk to School Day in years to come. Perhaps other schools will catch on.

You can expect more elementary schools to teach students about walking and biking to and from schools safely.

In an effort to save money, the school district cut a good number of bus routes, so some children who have never walked before are going to and from school, some on very busy streets.