SCHOOL ACTIVITY ENVIRONMENT
ENACT STRATEGY: Time for Recess
Provide daily recess breaks for unstructured play
Unstructured playtime gives children the opportunity to engage in imaginative play or work off stress by running around the playground with friends, and it helps children focus when they return to the classroom. The increased attention given to standardized testing has resulted in the reduction or elimination of recess in an estimated 40 percent of elementary schools. Parents and advocacy groups are fighting to protect children’s right to play. Michigan and Virginia are two states that have led the way by instituting policies that mandate daily recess.
Elementary School Recess: Selected Readings, games, and activities for teachers and parents
Intended to assist elementary school teachers and parents in offering children in Preschool through Grade Six appropriate recess games and activities, this tool also provides the reader with a wide variety of readings that support the need for recess activities.
State of Michigan, State Board of Education Daily Recess Policy
In December 2000, the State of Michigan State Board of Education created a policy that all public schools must offer a daily recess period or period of physical activity for all elementary and middle school students. The Board made this decision recognizing that a child’s intellectual growth can not occur without taking care of physical needs.
The American Association for the Child’s Right to Play
“The American Association for the Child’s Right to Play in the national affiliate of IPA, an international non-governmental organization. The purpose of IPA/USA is to protect, preserve, and promote play as a fundamental right for all humans.” The importance of recess is an issue in focus for the IPA/USA and they have organized and supported recess advocates in 25 states.
A position paper by the Council On Physical Education for Children and The National Association for Sport and Physical Education.
Recess in Elementary School: What Does the Research Say?
This digest is a summary of research on how recess relates to health, learning, and social development.
Let kids play (PDF)
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics(AAP) it is important that children are allowed to have free and unstructured play to help them achieve important milestones in their lives and to ensure future well being.
Ginsburg, K. The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. Pediatrics. 2007 January; 119 (1): 182-191.
Benefits of kids' playtime (PDF press release)
European and international health experts say this study may lead to new guidelines saying youngsters between ages 5 and 16 need to be active up to 1 1/2 hours a day. The more active children had healthier numbers for blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin.
Physical Activity and Clustered Cardiovascular Risk in Children: a cross-sectional study (The European Heart Study). ** The Lancet. July 2006; 386: 299-304.
**We can only provide link to article abstract and not the full text.