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Featured Article

How to Improve Recess

This Featured Article is part of our Recess Series

by Dr. Melinda Bossenmeyer - The Recess Doctor

Last week I wrote an article entitled “School Recess: Why some love and others hate this American Tradition”.

I began the article by citing the school recess movement in Orange County, Florida where there is a growing group of parents who support recess and which gained the attention of CNN, The Today Show and The Ellen Show according to some tweets I received at my @recessdoctor Twitter account.

This week, I promised to write a sequel to the previous article answering the question “How to Improve Recess? ” You see, recess is something I know quite a bit about. As I stated in the previous article, I too was a school administrator who decided to trim back recess in a moment of frustration, primarily based on the discipline issues we were experiencing. However, there is a solution to the discipline issues which many administrators experience.

Physical Benefits

8) The benefits of physical activity and fitness made available at play time contribute to a child’s overall health and well-being. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Recess Rules. Sept. 2011

9) Recess contributes to the recommended 60 minutes per day of physical activity for children, which helps in reducing sedentary behaviors with TV, computers, and video games. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Education and Community-Based Programs. Healthy People 2010. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 2000.

10) The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that “recess is a crucial and necessary component of a child’s development and, as such, it should not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons.”

UPDATE – The Benefits of free and unstructured play for young children.

“A 2009 study from a group of researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York showed that, compared to those who have minimal or no recess time, elementary school children who have free time during the day receive higher ratings from teachers on their classroom behavior. The study (like the policy statement mentioned) was published in the journal Pediatrics.”

Restoring Recess

A big part of restoring recess lies in the need to improve recess and how it functions. While it is true, there is not much we can do about standing on a cold playground, there is much we can do about the conflicts or boredom which can lead to fights and arguments that spill over into a classroom and impact instructional time.

One of the misnomers about creating an inviting recess is that you need to put in a play structure which can cost upwards of $100,000. When an administrator is contemplating a play structure, they must also understand that surfacing and installation are separate expenses to the purchase of the structure. But play structures, while nice, are not necessary to create an age-appropriate playground for an elementary school.

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Online Training

Supervisor Training

The Playground Supervision course was easy-to-use and very informative. It gave us the support we needed to implement appropriate supervision to help make our school playground a peaceful and positive experience for all.

– Shari L. Attebery, MA, Twin Peaks Elementary School, Tucson, Arizona

Course Description

The Peaceful Playgrounds Online Playground Supervisor Training is designed to introduce administrators, teachers, substitute teachers, physical educators, parents, after-school personnel, and playground supervisors to the responsibilities and techniques associated with keeping children safe on a playground.

This course details playground surfacing, play structure, safety, and playground supervision.

This is an online on-demand course. Once you enroll in the course and pay for the course, you will be directed to the log-on and spot to begin the course. Students can progress through the readings and final quiz at their own pace during the 2 week enrollment period.

Target Audience

The online class is designed for physical education teachers, adapted physical education specialists, classroom teachers, student teachers, substitute teachers, after-school program personnel, administrators, and specialists who want to learn more about the responsibilities and techniques associated with keeping children safe on a playground.

You do not currently need to be actively employed or working with students.

Course Goals

1. You will acquire a better understanding of your role and responsibility in supervising children on the playground at recess.

2. Understand your responsibilities before, during, and after recess.

3. Understand supervision zones and how they contribute to student safety.

4. Understand the legal role and responsibilities in keeping children safe.

5. Understand the techniques for dealing with behavior problems on the playground.

6. Be able to identify hazards on the playground.

Course Content

The course is divided into 5 areas:

1. Injuries: Definition of injury, the definition of accident, where children are injured, type of activities that cause serious injury, playground laws and regulations, surfacing and injuries, Consumer Product Safety Guidelines, injury prevention tips, and when to intervene.

2. Supervision: Supervision zones, before recess responsibilities, during recess responsibilities, after recess responsibilities, and supervision tips.

3. Dealing with behavior problems: Procedures to follow, respectful intervention and redirection, resources, and unsafe behaviors.

4. Legal Liability: Definition of Standard of Care, tips for reducing liability, General Standard of Care, inappropriate games and activities, and how to limit your liability.

5. Hazards: Surfacing, public use, maintenance, and inspections.

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Interested in our other courses? See below.

How to Have A Peaceful Playgrounds Online

Pedometer Walking Program Training

Grant Writing Course

Recess Before Lunch Training

Low Cost, High Activity Playground

Playground and Strategies for Improving Recess

60 Seconds for Self Regulation

Playground Supervision Training and Resources for Administrators Video

1:16 min running time

Sensory Motor Pathways

Great Activities for Preschool-K-3, Physical Education & After-School

Locomotor skills are the foundation of large muscle movements and the cornerstone of gross motor coordination. There are eight basic locomotor movements which include: walk, run, hop, jump, gallop, skip, leap and slide.

Research suggests that once a child can walk and run comfortably then he/she is ready to learn the other 6 movements. Research from the University of Michigan suggests that these skills should be learned between 2-7 years.

(SPACE NEEDED -approximately 1/2 a basketball court. You can paint multiple designs for each of the game activities. )

8x8-SensoryStencilPack_9705-600x600 image

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New Special While Supplies Last

We Count Walking Program 50% Off

The We Count Student Walking Program uses pedometers as an aid to kids in fighting fat. The complete program kit ensures your success with the We Count! Each set includes 10 Student pedometers, progress charts, certificates, logs, newsletters, and motivational stickers. The program’s design is based on research that indicates that inexpensive step-counting devices (pedometers) motivate and educate kids to walk and be more active, thereby impacting the alarming number of overweight children.

With pedometers

Original Price $399

Sale Price $199

Without pedometers

Original Price $249.99

Sale Price $125

We Count With Pedometers

Curriculm Only

US Map Contest

US Map Contest

Enter your school today in the “Learn to Play” U.S. Playground Map Stencil Giveaway. The beautiful geographically and proportionately accurate educational map stencil is 16 feet by 27 feet and extends the classroom curriculum to recess and outdoor play. History and geography come alive with the games and activities included in the stencil set.