Recess

“What’s the group game today?” That’s the question I keep hearing from my students as we walk out to recess. It’s Mrs. VanDyke’s day to lead the group game, and several students cheer when they hear that she is leading doctor tag. They run to join other third graders on…

We should all take a cue from this season's name: spring up from our seats and get moving! Take a break outside or just stand up and do a quick energizer—it will help lessons run more smoothly and increase your students' engagement and learning. Not sure your class can make…

Our parents were right: Going out to play is good for children’s minds and bodies. But many children no longer spend much time playing outside. On the home front, they’re often engaged in after-school activities. Parents may also limit or eliminate outdoor play because they’re working or worried about safety.…

Last week, I encouraged you to work energizers—quick breaks that get children moving, breathing, and having fun together—into your classroom day. Energizers are great ways to get children refreshed and refocused on learning anytime during the school year. They can be especially helpful during the winter months, when many children…

It's always affirming when studies corroborate behaviors that we already practice, or at least espouse. For example, on the personal front, I've been thrilled to see nutrition articles lately citing evidence that kale and sweet potatoes are good for me, since they are two of my favorite foods. (And let's…

When I was a physical education teacher, I was always on the lookout for fun, cooperative games for my youngest students. I learned from experience that five- and six-year-olds need a great deal of physical activity, and they also have limited attention spans, so it was important to find games…

Despite increasingly packed school schedules, one-size-fits-all curricula, and standardized testing, schools can reshape children's days in ways that help them learn, grow, and enjoy childhood. In her classic book, Teacher, educator Sylvia Ashton-Warner describes the daily rhythms of classroom life. Simply and poetically, she writes that children need time to…

Do you remember the playground on a bright spring day, flinging off your coat in a mad dash for the monkey bars or choosing up teams for a fast game of dodgeball? For many of us, these memories of the places and games we played as children are among our…

It's a cool, crisp, autumn morning as 100 second and third graders burst onto the playground for a much-needed break from the academic demands of the day. Some make a beeline to a kickball game starting up in a far corner of the playground with the "recess/lunch teacher" serving as…