Picture the middle of the day at a typical elementary school: you get an hour to eat lunch and play. What do you think kids are going to do?
Eat lunch in five minutes and dash outside? Check.
Skip lunch altogether and feel sick later? Check.
Run around on a full stomach and get sick immediately? Check.
Throw away some or all of the food their parents bought and packed for them? Check.
Come back to class after recess full of wiggles and energy, and needing a drink of water? CHECK.
How could this situation possibly be remedied? Well, duh. As the saying goes, “Life is uncertain; give recess first!”
In the test schools that adopted this practice, kids were overjoyed to be able to burn off their energy straight from class, then “cool down” over a lunch that was more leisurely without the dangling carrots of kickball and the monkey bars. They paid better attention in class afterward, with fuller bellies and calmer nerves. Afternoon nurse visits decreased by 40%.
Logic. Works every time!
Tags: childhood, organization
This assumes, of course, they get recess. Our kids’ teachers often don’t take them out. Top three excuses, in order of appearance:
• “you’re too wound up after you have recess, so we’ll just sit inside and do table work”
• “It’s too cold [i.e., it's 75º on a 90º day]”
• “It’s to hot [i.e. it's 75º on a 60º day]”
No joke…
Wow. That’s awful! I often think it’s probably for the best that I’m not an elementary-school teacher. I would probably give the kids too much recess and get in trouble with the principal.