The Importance of Recess

In Kids just wanna have fun? from No Margins, ejr tells about

“An article in The Chicago Tribune informed its reader that "[m]ost CPS schools haven't had recess in 30 years."”

I find this truly amazing and absurd! How can we do this to our children? I just hope this is not the direction that most schools are going.

I remember learning most of my early social skills during recess. We played lots of tag and jump rope. I even remember learning how to play jacks during that time. I learned how to take turns, wait patiently, and enjoy life. I learned to sharpen my fine and gross motor skills as well. I also learned about cooperation with others and being a team player. There is so much to be learned during unstructured play which happens mostly during recess.

It seems like we are taking the joy of childhood away from our children.

It is a great opportunity for teachers to observe students and reinforce teachable moments.

When these children grow up, they will be given “breaks” during their work day. It helps workers be more productive and lowers the chance of on the job accidents. So, if adults get a break, why would take this away from our children?

Everyone needs a break from whatever activity they are doing for long periods of time. It helps the muscles relax as well as the brain. Like a rubber band that is pulled too tightly, if continued to stretch, it will break. Mental and physical tension can wear our bodies out.

I wonder if that is why so many people do not know how to relax because they don’t know what to do with any free time they have. That may also be one of the factors in obesity in our children. If we want them to sit and work all of the time, when do they get physical activity outside of a physical ed class (where in many elementary schools, only happens once a week). I wonder if that is one of the factors in stress related conditions in our children.

There are so many reason why recess needs be included in our children’s day and these are some of them. What other reasons can you think of? Please share!

Image: 'Portal'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37585370@N00/61376762

On the Playground

I just can’t seem to get playing games out of my head. When we drove past a playground the other day, it seemed that the children were walking aimlessly around the playground wishing they had something to do. Of course you had the usual amount of children on the swing set but the others seemed lost. That is when I began to remember all the fun I had at recess when I was in elementary school.

What happened to all the wonderful games we used to play? I remember playing jumprope, hopscotch, tag, dodgeball, kickball, and even marbles. Do any of the children play these games anymore?

Why don’t kids play jacks anymore? It taught counting, dexterity, speed and was just plain fun.

This summer we tried to teach the children hopscotch and they looked like it was some foreign activity. They didn’t know how to hop on one foot in the squares and they didn’t understand how to turn around and go back. It was fun to watch though.
Marbles was fun because the winner got to keep the marbles. It seemed like the marbles went back and forth among the players though because you realized if you got all of the marbles, no one had anything to play so you played alone.

Have we gone so rigid that we keep the children from playing these games in fear of them getting hurt? I realize that they may swallow jacks or marbles but the little ones usually didn’t have them and the older kids did. Many schools are banning tag because someone might get hurt. But if the children are well supervised, why can’t a teacher explain that they need to play gentler or the person will be sitting out of the games. How will children learn if we don’t let them play and explore their boundaries while we are there to guide them?

I feel like lately society is too quick to react out of fear of injury and litigation. My cousin’s child fell off the slide this week on his first day of kindergarden and broke his arm in two places. My cousin said the school and the hospital treated them wonderfully and she has no intention of suing anyone because it was just an accident. Thank goodness for that attitude or I’m afraid they will take the playground equipment out next!

As adults, I think we need to use more common sense. Accidents will happen. Children can play rough and someone might accidentally get hurt but if a teacher acts early, many times this can be prevented.

Recess time is just as essential as classroom time but I feel only if we allow the children to play. If we put too many rules and limitations on them where they can’t do anything but walk slowly in aimless wandering, we are defeating the purpose. Children need to get out their excess energy as well as learn how to play with others. This is a natural part of their development. It is important to being successful as they grow up.

What kind of games did you play as a child that you don’t see them playing anymore? Maybe this would be a good time to teach your students some of those games.

Original image: 'vandalism?' http://www.flickr.com/photos/70267096@N00/184421601 by: Who Am I?