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Recess Equals Success

The Disappearing Act of Recess

Why are they taking away recess? With childhood obesity, anxiety, ADHD and depression at an all – time high. WHY? My husband volunteered in our children’s classroom one day last year for a program through our school. He got to spend half the day with one of our daughters and half the day with our other daughter. When they got home that afternoon, he immediately made them go outside to play and he went for a run. Because they SAT ALL DAY AT SCHOOL! His bottom and back were sore (possibly from the tiny elementary chairs). He only got 1200 steps all day in school and said the teachers spent more time dealing with fidgety and disruptive kids than they did teaching.

For Kids, Moving is Learning
The kids got one 15 minute recess. And a 15 minute lunch. They are in school 7 HOURS and only get 30 minutes total for breaks. I feel like this may violate some child labor laws! At the very least, insist that your child be required to go outside for recess. Do not allow recess to be taken away as punishment or used to finish whatever homework they didn’t finish. It’s cruel and unusual punishment to require a developing motor system and brain (whose normal development and coordination depends wholly on movement) to SIT FOR HOURS. And fidget chairs and bouncy balls are not a substitute for outdoor play. Kids need lots of downtime and outside, unstructured play. Play is how kids learn! Learning involves much more than reading, writing and math. Love of learning is more important than memorizing facts and regurgitating them for the next computer based, standardized test! Take back childhood, reinstate recess! (And dump homework while we’re at it.)

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