What happened to RECESS?

No Child Left Without a Big Behind

Bill would require that students get daily hour of physical activity

Did You Know?

While children get less and less exercise, the child obesity rate has tripled since 1980.

Photo Credit: Jungle Gym on Flickr, Creative Commons
Photo Credit: No Child Left without a Big Behind on Flickr, Creative Commons

Bill would require that students get daily hour of physical activity

OLYMPIA -- Legislators have a new message for children struggling to pass the Washington Assessment of Student Learning: Go outside and play.

A bill introduced by Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, would require that all public schools in the state provide K-12 students with an hour a day of physical activity. Participation in after-school athletics programs would not count toward the requirement.

What's happened to RECESS?

Schools leaving recess behind

For 20 minutes a day, the kids jump rope, squeeze in a quick kickball game, or play other supervised games.

What they don't do is sit and chat freely with their friends, make up their own games with their own rules, or figure out how to deal with bullies, and with each other.

Some schools are eliminating recess and substituting Physical Education Classes. But recess is a lot more than exercise.

It is a time to communicate with your friends, learn social skills, use your imagination to make up new games.

It is a break from the classroom routine and revive yourself for the next class.

Photo Credit: Billy Jumps Rope
Available at Allposters

Reinventing Recess: Schools try to play it safe

Schools Eliminate Recess

Reinventing recess: Schools try to play it safe

Pressure from state officials to pack more instruction into a school day has whittled away the minutes that children have that chance to flirt with danger on the playground. New requirements for structured physical education also have chipped away at playtime.

"They have lost much of their ability to create and problem-solve."

"But the only way to add more recess time is to add more time to the school day," he said. "I think that is an unfortunate thing."

Recess is more than play

Children need time to play at Recess

Recess is more than play

Local elementary schools have kept recess as part of the school day -- or even increased time provided for recess.

Recess has received a bad rap in recent years. With so much riding on test scores and school accountability, some schools have shortened or eliminated the fun period to give students more instructional time, dismissing recess as mere play time for students.

Believe it or not, a lot of learning happens during recess. Think about it, educators and recess advocates say. Recess teaches children cooperation, how to think independently, how to play by the rules, how to share and wait your turn. Physical activity is an added bonus, especially in light of the current childhood obesity crisis.

Why children need to play

Recess is the Time for Children to be Children

Why children need to play

Children need several hours each day to be children. They need to let their imagination roam; they need to explore, and invent on their own, with other children, with their parents or other caregivers. Much more learning takes place outside the classroom than within it.

Books from Project Play

Books that encourage children to get outside and play.

Photo Credit: Project Pay Kids
from Project Play.

Project Play - Play Books

Project Play books share games with young readers. In the spirit of fun and adventure, the books tell the tale of young friends who reside in the neighborhood of Edgebrook.

The kids use their imagination and creativity to play games while they navigate growing up together.

Their stories are meant to teach the reader new ways to play with their friends. The text is casual and light-hearted and allows the reader to become friends with the Edgebrook gang.

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Schools that Believe in Recess

Recess Keeps Kids Active

Photo Credit: No Known Restrictions: Recess Games
on Flickr, Creative Commons

Rather than taking away recess, it can be a great time for honing social skills as well a getting some physical exercise.

'You're It!' May Again Be Heard at Va. School - washingtonpost.com

Students at Kent Gardens Elementary School in McLean are refining their dodging skills and polishing their recess etiquette this week in preparation for a game of tag.

Middle schools beginning to revive recess | Kansas.com

Little by little, recess appears to be making a comeback at Wichita middle schools, driven primarily by principals who see the benefit of fresh air and free time for young adolescents.

"Even prisoners get yard time," said Jennifer Sinclair, Truesdell's new principal, who reinstated lunchtime recess at the school this fall.

Americans Want Schools to Take Recess Seriously

PRINCETON, N.J., Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Americans overwhelmingly believe that schools have a major role to play in advancing the health of our nation's kids, and they are specifically concerned about the lack of recess and physical activity in schools, accor...

Recess in the News!

News about Recess!

Pupils raise funds for new playground - Vindy.com News - Local & Regional News - Youngstown, Warren, Columbiana, Ohio

"Children need to play. What we have now is a cardiovascular workout, a physical fitness effort. The play area is going to allow kids to play and be also be creative in their play," she said. "Play matters in the life of a child."

Play's the thing

IndyStar.com: Play's the thing, Kids need to go beyond organized activities to encourage spontaneity, creativity and learning, experts say

We're all sad, and we're a little worried. We're sad about something missing in childhood, psychologist and author Michael Thompson told 900 early childhood educators, from 22 states, packed into an auditorium recently.

We have to fight back, he said. We're going to fight for play.

School Recess Improves Behavior - NYTimes.com

Children who misbehave at school are often punished by having to stay inside at recess. But new research shows that giving children recess actually helps solve behavioral problems in class.

Schools need to recognize that recess is an essential part of a child's learning experience, Dr. Barros said. At recess, students "use all the things they learned in the classroom. When they are doing hopscotch they use math skills. Kids learn a lot about social skills during recess, such as playing, sharing, being the leader, following somebody. It's all very important.''

Recess Makes for Better Students

MONDAY, Jan. 26 (HealthDay News) -- As a pediatric resident in a hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., Dr. Romina M. Barros sat in on a regular first-grade class at a local elementary school. Classes started at 8:30 in the morning, lasting till noon, with one 10-minute break during which children were not allowed to talk or move from their chairs.

Barros has now published a study in the February issue of Pediatrics documenting the value of recess: Children who have it during the day behave better in class.

Recess Makes for Better Students

Who would have thought that some unstructured, non-classroom time might actually benefit children.

The problem is many schools became more focused on making sure students pass standardized tests (because of NCLB), than developing a child academically AND socially.

And based on other statistics, it doesn't look like kids are getting their fill of "play time" at home, unless you count Nintendo Wii.

School Recess before Lunch

Principals are advocating recess before lunch. Kids eat more, waste less food, return to class calmer, behave better and instruction time is increased.

Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills : NPR

Elaborate toys, busy schedules and the demise of recess have left children with fewer opportunities for imaginative play - and it shows. Researchers say changing the way children play has changed their emotional and cognitive development.