More thoughts on Recess

The Importance of Recess

There are too many children who have lost recess time ever since the beginning of the No Child Left Behind Act when many schools began to say that every minute of the school day had to be accountable to standards & that recess was just too big of a distraction.   But, recess is not a distraction if we recognize that it is an important part of the social, emotional and physical well being of our children and a critical part of our students' day.  

Not only is their a myriad of research that talks about the benefits of outdoor time for children, see the Children and Nature Network for an amazing amount of information on this topic.  There is also a lot of research that says that students actually perform better when their social and emotional needs are met and that play is a great way to develop these skills.  

As a teacher and now as a mother of twin boys  I am very concerned about the amount of time and the quality of recess.  I alway inquire when my kids come home.  What did you do at recess?  Their answers tell me about how they are learning to get along with others, how they are processing what they are learning academically (with my kindergarteners I notice whether themes and ideas from class are coming out in imaginative play).  How they are feeling about school.  When kids don't have adequate recess time or lose it due to rain.  I am truly sad, because I feel that one of the most important aspects of the day has been lost.  Often the replacement includes screen time which is non- relational.  

Now a large group of parents, teachers and social justice advocates are putting out the call for a Seattle wide lunch and recess policy to make sure that all children get enough time for food and play- critical components of healthy learning.    I am in support of this issue on a number of levels. 

1. All children need time to play.  For many students school is the only time that children get outdoor time and unstructured play.  

2. The brain needs time to process and play allows for that.

3. As we let our children play more, we will also focus more on what great play environments look like.  We will add things like loose parts and more nature to our school yards so that we have children who come in refreshed from play.  

4. Many parts of the world actually give their students more time to decompress than we do.  See the book Parenting without Borders: Surprising Lessons Parents Around the World Can Teach Us

By Gross-Loh, Christine.

5.  Healthy bodies lead to healthy minds. No child should forgo or rush eating so that they can play.  BOTH food and play are critically important. 

The recess issue is not one easily solved, because so many of our schools are struggling to handle all the things placed upon them, but this is a topic worth advocating for because it is good for kids and it is good for communities.  It will not be simple, but education should not be simple.   This discussion and taking action is important. 

A list of book on Planning Playgrounds and the Importance of Play are listed on my library page  list. 

Staying in touch with the sun and moon

My students have a master kindergarten teacher.  She has taught for forty years.  Not only does she know how to teach reading and writing, but she teaches history, citizenship, and the earth sciences.  The day starts standing on a "shadow line." The children stop each day to notice their shadows before lining up to go into the building.  This connects to their understanding of the world, time, the calendar concepts which are developed further in the classroom each day.

The calendar is not just a simple routine done at circle time.  It is a time for deep understandings about numbers, the season, weather, and patterns.   For our family who spends so much time outside- the activities from class give us new ways to reflect.   We read the poems the teacher sends home each month & play with the language & the ideas within them.  Homework is also a daily  discussion or activity to do.  In September it included: draw pictures of the moon.  Collect three different types of leaves.  Discuss what is the autumn equinox.  Cut open an apple and find the seeds.  Have the children retell the story about the little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside.

The children also received a tree book. In the book they are supposed to choose a deciduous tree to draw each month of the school year.  The students are learning to observe with a new eye at the same time they are just starting to develop their small motor and drawing skills.

I am thankful to be a parent participant in the new awakenings of my children.