Grant Writing Checklist

1. Understand the purpose of the grant and write to the grant requirements.

2. Be brief and consistent.

3. Make sure the proposal answers each question in the RFP using the rubric developed by Peaceful Playgrounds, Inc. (See February 26)

4. Establish goals and activities that are clear

5. Be sure to consult with required stakeholders and get appropriate approvals to submit the grant early in the process

6. Make sure the solution meets NCLB requirements

7. The appearance of your proposal matters.

8. Make sure you follow up to request reviewer comments.

9. Download our grant information from Peaceful Playgrounds.

Play fosters self regulation

Organizing play for kids has never seemed like more work. But researchers Adele Diamond and Deborah Leong have good news: The best kind of play costs nothing and really only has one main requirement — imagination.

Researchers say unstructured play helps children learn to control their own emotions and behavior -- abilities that are a better predictor of a child's academic success than IQ. The regulated play many modern children experience doesn't foster such skills because the control has shifted to adults, which is something several researchers suspect may be behind the rising number of ADHD diagnoses. "I think a lot of kids get diagnosed with ADHD now, not all but many just because they never learned how to exercise ... the executive functions early," neuroscientist Adele Diamond says.

But, while all that play might have looked a lot like time spent doing nothing much at all, it actually helped build a critical cognitive skill called executive function. Executive function has a number of elements, such as working memory and cognitive flexibility. But perhaps the most important is self-regulation — the ability for kids to control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline. Executive function — and its self-regulation element — is important. Poor executive function is associated with high dropout rates, drug use and crime. In fact, good executive function is a better predictor of success in school than a child's IQ.

More on play.

Don't submit a PEP Grant without SHI scores

If you are considering submitting a PEP grant don't forget to include the School Health Index data for Physical Education and Nutrition Services at very least.

The School Health Index is a free assessment tool that can be downloaded from the Center for Disease Control DASH website. The SHI Index is mentioned in the PEP Application question 2a & 3a. Those questions with a combined point value of 30 points specifically state "If the applicant has responded to the invitational priority, the applicant should describe how the School Health Index assessment findings are related to the proposed project.)

How the Works?

The health and safety habits of students are influenced by the entire school environment. Therefore, the SHI has eight different modules, each corresponding to a component of a coordinated school health program. A team consisting of representatives from different groups within the school—parents, teachers, students, administrators, other staff members,and concerned community members—is responsible for completing eight self-assessment modules. Responses to the items are scored to help you identify your school’s strengths and weaknesses. These data can then be utilized for planning and coordinating an improvement plan.

Status on State Legislation on Physical Education

State Legislatures, a publication of the National Conference of State Legislatures, featured this article, "PE Makes a Comeback," in its December 2007 issue. It gives an excellent overview of state legislative initiatives going on around the country.


Read more on PE MAKES A COMEBACK

Making Food Fun and Mighty Moves

Journal Advocate Sterling, CO




If you’ve ever tried to get a child to eat a new kind of food, you know it can be challenging. That’s why a group at Colorado State University has developed the Food Friends Program.

The program, which is currently being used by Iliff Head Start, has two parts. One involves trying new foods, which Joan Marin, a teacher at Head Start said they’ve been doing for six or seven years now. The other, “Food Friends Get Movin’ with Mighty Moves,” is new and they’ve just started implementing it at Head Start.

“It’s been a big success,” Marin said.

The Mighty Moves program was developed as an effort to improve the Food Friends programs’ overall efforts to establish healthful habits and prevent childhood overweight early in life. During the 2006-07 school year, a research study was conducted in eight Colorado Head Start programs with the aim to increase physical fitness, gross motor skills and physical activity levels in young children.

More on Making Food Fun.

The following download is a 2008 PEP Grant Scoring Rubric developed by Dr. Melinda Bossenmeyer. The rubric indicates the scoring and points possible for each of the 4 questions and the Competitive Priority question worth 5 bonus points.

Other PEP Grant writing materials can be downloaded at www.peacefulplaygrounds.com/grants.htm

Don't miss the last PEP phone conference opportunity

Don't miss the second PEP Grant technical assistance call in opportunity today.

Don't miss the final two technical assistance phone conferences for people interested in applying for 2008 PEP Grants.

Below is the call-in information for the PEP Technical Assistance calls:

Call Date - 2/28/08
Panel Chair - Debbie Kalnasy
Time - 2:30 pm ET
Duration: 1 ½ hours
Toll-Free Number - (866) 209-6102
Conference ID # - 36180127
"You don't need to register in advance for these calls."

Call Date - 3/4/08
Panel Chair - Debbie Kalnasy
Time - 2:00 pm ET
Duration: 1 ½ hours
Toll-Free Number - (866) 209-6102
Conference ID # - 36179533
"You don't need to register in advance for these calls."

Everything you need to Succeed in applying for a PEP Grant!

IF you are planning on applying for a PEP Grant check out the Peaceful Playgrounds PEP Grant writing materials.

1. 2008 Grant Summary Application Information

2. PEP Narrative for Peaceful Playgrounds Program

3. PEP Budget for Peaceful Playgrounds, We Count Walking Program and Fundamental Movement Programs.

4. PEP Budget

5. 2008 PEP Grant Application


6. PEP 2008 Application Scoring Rubric

Say Yes to Recess

Ed Week ran a story called, "Say Yes to Recess"
The following is a response from a CA Physical Educator who addressed the many benefits of recess.

Being free to make choices and to play is absolutely necessary to children as they develop social skills, which todays children seem to lack, as well promoting creativity. Only play/exercise truly develops these skills, at a young age.

The neuro-scientists have been telling us, for some time now how fundamentally important play and exercise are to neurogenesis, brain health and cognitive development. Paying attention to the science is something long overdue.

There are two things that elementary teachers, supervisors, administrators should be doing during recess: 1. seeing that relative safety practices are in place. That means bullying, in particular is not allowed to take place. 2. They should encourage children to find some activity that they can do. Something vigorous is good~~it puts students into an improved state of learning readiness, but even walking and talking for 20 or 30 minutes is valuable, and should be promoted.

Physical education classes should focus on teaching individual skills, health and fitness, lifelong activities. Team sports should be included, but teams should be small so that everyone is active the entire time, and the question(s) at the end of the period shouldn't be "Who won?", but "Did you get a good workout" and "Did you have fun?"

Joe Herzog, Fresno California
Retired after 36 years of being a physical educator (not a "gym" teacher, thank you!)

Grant Writing Tips from PEP Grant Recipients and Reviewers

Written by the PELINKS4U Staff

One of the most popular sessions at the 2002 AAHPERD Convention was a presentation by last year’s PEP grant recipients. A packed room of PEP hopefuls listened intently in 2003 as their colleagues shared grant-writing tips. The following PEP GRANT REVIEWER FEEDBACK summarizes their suggestions.

This information is provided to you courtesy of PELINKS4U
http://www.pelinks4u.org

A Peaceful Playground. Isn't that the dream.......

An updated playground is more than play space
Boeckman - Fitness and creative play are emphasized with the school's improvements
Thursday, February 21, 2008
CATHIE ERICSON
Special to The Oregonian

A peaceful playground -- isn't that the dream of all students, parents and educators? Where recess is a time of socialization, fresh air and physical activity, rather than a period marked by conflict and bullying.

That's the concept behind the new playground at Wilsonville's Boeckman Creek Primary School.

The improvement project began in November 2006 when several parents indicated an interest in updating the playground. Ten parents and four staff members volunteered to form a committee and established the goal of a space with activities that would develop fitness and allow for cooperative, imaginative play.

As they researched physical and social education and development, they were drawn to Peaceful Playgrounds, a program developed by a former teacher and elementary school principal in 1992 to address discipline problems and advance social and motor skills.

Peaceful Playgrounds takes a resource most playgrounds already have -- space -- and transforms blacktops and fields into play areas with activities and games. With more choices, children are more likely to engage in physical activity.

More than 8,000 schools nationwide use Peaceful Playgrounds. It has been recognized by groups including the National School Safety Center for increasing physical activity and decreasing bullying and injuries.

Boeckman Creek's new playground is being phased in as funds become available. A PTA auction last year raised $14,000, and at last fall's PTA-sponsored Fun Run, students helped raise $24,000.

Over the summer, games such as four square, hopscotch and alphabet leapfrog were stenciled onto the blacktop. New equipment, including 10 swings, two tire swings, a wall ball area and a remodeled fitness area, arrived during winter break.

More games and activities will be introduced this spring when painting weather arrives and the school can round up parent and community volunteers.

Morris said the new playground offers the students many more choices for activity. As a result "they are spending time in play and learning to cooperate with others," she said. "Each day is another opportunity to develop not only physically, but also as the person they want to be with a strong moral character."

Deets said the staff saw fewer "behavior discipline referrals" during recess last month, the first month the new playground has really been up and running.

He also said instructional assistants have noticed fewer students wandering around with "nothing to do."

"Many students who were frequently engaged in loosely structured chase games have found new activities to participate in," Deets said. "All in all, we see the kids being happier, with more smiles, as they enjoy the new playground."

2008 Funding Level for NEW PEP GRANTS

Estimated Available Funds: $33,850,000 for 2008

Contingent upon the availability of funds and the quality of applications, the Department may make additional awards later in FY 2008 and in FY 2009 from the list of unfunded applicants from this competition.

Estimated Range of Awards: $100,000-$500,000.

Estimated Average Size of Awards: $300,000.

Estimated Number of Awards: 112.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice.

All applications must be postmarked on or before March 24, 2008.

Just for fun.

Watch and enjoy. Be patient. It takes a minute to load but it's worth it!!

Creating a better playground

If you want your child to be more active, try throwing him a ball
Tara Parker Pope / The New York Times

Simple playthings such as balls, jump ropes, hula hoops and riding toys do more for encouraging physical activity than swings, jungle gyms and other stationary playground equipment, according to a recent report in the ‘American Journal of Preventive Medicine’.
The findings are important because they show that schools and day-care centers don’t need expensive playground equipment to keep kids active. The data was collected by researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health from 20 childcare centers across North Carolina. The goal of the researchers was to determine the various environmental factors that encourage children to play with greater intensity and for longer periods of time.

Kids were also far more likely to be active at centers that scheduled more playtime, both inside and outdoors, and offered physical activity training and education for staff and students. Children in centers that had more portable playground toys and other characteristics showing support for active playtime reported about 80 more minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity and 140 fewer minutes of sedentary activity each week compared with centers that were viewed as less supportive of physical activity.
Surprisingly, stationary equipment, such as climbing structures, swings and balance beams, were associated with lower-intensity physical activity, researchers said, but are beneficial to other aspects of child development, such as motor and social skills.
Centers with more computer and television equipment actually scored better on activity levels, although it is likely the presence of electronic equipment signaled that a center had more money to spend overall, which typically means more equipment and staff training.
©2008/The New York Times

Endless Fruit & Veggie Bar

NEW PEP GRANT BLOG: Go to the new PEP Grants Blog and sign up for a RSS feed or subscribe via an email message to be sent daily to your mailbox.




Tulsa Public Schools has piloted a new program. They are adding fruits and vegetable bars in their schools in an effort to curb childhood obesity and to add nutrition to their diets.

Lee Elementary is one of the first schools to try it out.

So far the students are enjoying the extra options to keep them healthy.

"I want to encourage the parents really to have the kids eat these healthy choices, because these are the habits they will have for the rest of their lives," said Hossein Akhtarkhavari, Child Nutrition Director

School nutrition officials say students can visit the fruit and vegetable bar endlessly.

ANNOUNCING - PEP GRANTS BLOG

We have a new blog devoted to people working on 2008 PEP Grants.

Go to the new PEP Grants Blog and sign up for a RSS feed or subscribe via an email message to be sent daily to your mailbox.

PEP Grant Application Released!

Last Friday the Department of Education released the 2008 PEP Grant Application.


PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

This program provides grants to initiate, expand, and improve physical education programs for K–12 students in order to help them make progress toward meeting state standards for physical education.

TYPES OF PROJECTS

Funds may be used to provide equipment and support to enable students to participate actively in physical education activities. Funds also may support staff and teacher training and education.

May we be of assistance? Peaceful Playgrounds provides grant writing assistance. Call Gwyn at 877-444-9888 for more information or visit our PEP Grant Writing Support Section of the Website. http://www.peacefulplaygrounds.com/grants.htm

Q.What do I get with the Peaceful Playgrounds Program Package?

We are often ask about the contents of the Peaceful Playground Program Package. The list is below:
• (4) Activity Guides: Preschool/Kindergarten; Grades K-3;Grades 3-6; and Field Games.
• (4) Blueprints: Preschool/Kindergarten; Grades K-3; Grades 3-6 and Field Games
• 41 stencils: letters, numbers, feet and shapes
• Playground good sports coupons
• Playground good sports award
• Program overview video or dvd
• Equipment checkout form
• Playground procedures list
• Playground report
• Workshop training materials
• Playground sportsmanship poster set
• Large Peaceful Playgrounds Poster for office

*Peaceful Playgrounds Program materials are copyrighted. Site License is issued with each Peaceful Playgrounds Program purchase for use of designs at a single school site for which the site license was purchased.

Case grows stronger for physical activity's link to improved brain function.

A first-period exercise class is helping Illinois teens prime their brains for the day's coursework -- a model that should be expanded nationwide, some education and medical experts say. "There's sort of no question about it now," said Dr. John J. Ratey, a Harvard Medical School associate professor of psychiatry. "The exercise itself doesn't make you smarter, but it puts the brain of the learners in the optimal position for them to learn." Education Week (premium article access compliments of Edweek.org) (2/12)

Proponents of the educational benefits of exercise maintain that the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which puts pressure on schools to raise students’ test scores in core academic subjects, is prompting some schools to cut back on time for physical education classes and recess. Nationwide, Dr. Ratey writes in his book, only 6 percent of schools now offer PE five days a week. “At the same time,” he adds, “kids are spending 5.5 hours a day in front of a screen of some sort—television, computer, or hand-held device.”

“Had the creators of No Child Left Behind looked at the data, they would’ve realized that physical activity is good for the brain,” said Charles H. Hillman, an associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

With his university colleague Darla M. Castelli, Mr. Hillman assessed the physical-fitness levels of 239 3rd and 5th graders from four Illinois elementary schools. Their findings published last year, in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, show that children who got good marks on two measures of physical fitness—those that gauge aerobic fitness and body-mass index—tended also to have higher scores on state exams in reading and mathematics. That relationship also held true regardless of children’s gender or socioeconomic differences.

YMCA joins childhood obesity battle

The escalating campaign against childhood obesity gained a resourceful new ally this month when the national YMCA said it intends to become America's leading anti-obesity crusader. With a pervasive local presence and fitness facilities, YMCA branches will bring many welcome assets to the effort.

The challenge now is to link community agencies such as the Y and local schools with health care professionals who can help children and their families ward off obesity and curtail the accompanying chronic illnesses.

Childhood obesity is one of the most urgent and serious health threats confronting our nation. During the last four decades, obesity rates have soared nearly fivefold among children ages 6 to 11. More than one-third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. As the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation warns, if our nation fails to reverse this ominous trend, we're in danger of raising the first generation of American children who will live sicker and die younger than the generation before them.

Prevention, promotion of healthy lifestyles and management of chronic disease have been second- class citizens under the health care finance system. The good news is that a survey released last fall by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the nation's schools have made considerable improvements in nutrition, fitness and health over the last six years.

More on the war on obesity

BMI added to report cards? A possible solution?

From Capitol News, Channel 9, NY by Kaitlyn Ross

Math...A+. Science...B-. Body Mass Index?

Registered Dietitian Judy Carr, said, "There's been a lot of discussion and a lot of debate as to whether this should be included in a child's report card."

The ratio of your child's height to weight could soon make on the report card right next to reading, writing and arithmetic.

Both Arkansas and Illinois have passed legislation, and it's been proposed in a number of other states, including right here in New York.

Local dietitians are trying to take a step in the right direction -- away from obesity. In order to reach their goal, some are advocating for a radical approach. Kaitlyn Ross reports.

Carr said, "Some of the statistics coming out of these states have really been incredible, about the change in BMI and also in the healthful lifestyle and actually an improvement in attendance and report cards of these kids."
To read more:
http://capitalnews9.com/content/top_stories/110182/fighting-childhood-obesity/Default.aspx

If your school district is searching for inexpensive options on how to get kids moving, you must consider Peaceful Playgrounds. It is a program for Elementary School age children that really gets kids moving! A tool to help schools fight the obesity crisis plaguing our nation. With over 100 colorful designs that can be added to your blacktop and field areas, your kids will choose to be active and have fun!
www.peacefulplaygrounds.com

Recess Discussion: Should it be mandatory?

Should Recess Be Mandatory?

Remember recess? Kids playing kickball or tag, hopping on the swings or skipping rope. Recess is endangered at many schools. To meet the demand for better academic performance, schools are cutting back on recess time. In some schools recess is more like study hall in a classroom. Is the decline of recess contributing to childhood obesity? Does recess help kids get along? Should the state make recess mandatory for all schools? Or is recess just fooling around?


Related Links:
* 'Should Recess Be A Required Course?' Everett Herald

* 'School Recess Gets Smaller; Adults are Dismayed,' New York Times

General Mills Grant for Peaceful Playgrounds

Source: General Mills
Program: Hamburger Helper’s MYHOMETOWNHELPER.COM
Eligibility: Hamburger Helper will give funds directly to the public school, 501(c)(3), or 501(c)(4) entity, such as civic leagues and social welfare organizations, that sponsors an application for funding (“Qualifying Organizations”). Visit www.myhometownhelper.comfor more information.

Purpose: General Mills Sales, Inc. (“General Mills”) and Hamburger Helper are searching for people in your hometown that are raising funds to help the community. Hamburger Helper will fund initiatives to help hometowns across America with monetary grants of up to $15,000.00 per project during the time frame of – March 31, 2008 (“Wave 2”).

Initiatives Supported by MYHOMETOWNHELPER.COM:
When evaluating requests, MYHOMETOWNHELPER.COM review committee will favor organizations meeting the following criteria:

Demonstrate a need in the broader community
Illustrate a helpful, creative or innovative concept that meets this need
Clearly identify change/s that can be made as a result of receiving the award

More Information: FAQs

Award Information:
Deadline: March 31, 2008
Maximum Award: Up to $15,000
Number Of Awards: Multiple
Period: One year.

Online Playground Supervisor Training Available NOW!

The Peaceful Playgrounds Online Playground Supervisor Training is designed to introduce administrators, teachers, substitute teachers, physical educators, parents and playground supervisors to the responsibilities and techniques associated with keeping children safe on a playground. This fast paced course delivered with video will serve as a professional development experience.

This course details playground surfacing, play structure safety, and playground supervision. The course highlights supervision responsibilities and "how to keep kids safe".

Participants passing the exam at the end of the course will receive a Playground Supervisor Training Certification.

Coming Soon Peaceful Playgrounds Online Workshop

Tired of playground hassles and headaches?

Would you like your playground to be peaceful? Sound impossible? It’s not. With a few proven strategies and procedures your playground can be a peaceful place for students and adults alike.

Topics covered include:

1) Teaching kids conflict resolution techniques, 2) solving problems on playgrounds, 3) game rules, 4) equipment distribution and monitoring, 5) staff role and responsibility for safe playgrounds, 6) design considerations, and 7) legal issues surrounding playgrounds.

Alternatives to withholding recess

QUESTION FROM A KDG TEACHER:
“I am looking into alternatives to taking away recess as a form of
punishment. At our elementary school, the children have a 30 minute recess
period every day. However, if a child does something during the day (hitting,
biting, etc.) the punishment is usually missing recess. Our board has determined
that this is not in keeping with our new wellness policy. I am researching
alternatives.”
ANSWER:
Given the value of recess in a student’s physical and social development,
and the need for periodic breaks from classroom instruction, using recess as
punishment is inappropriate.
Download 60 Alternatives to Withholding Recess and do your part in getting
kids active at www.peacefulplaygrounds.com/recess-alt.htm

Zero Cost Alternatives (Positive think "earned as opposed to taking away")

1. Sit by friends
2. Watch a video
3. Read outdoors
4. Teach the class
5. Have extra art time
6. Extra music and reading time
7. Homework coupon
8. Coupon for prizes and privileges
9. Enjoy class outdoors
10. Play a computer game
11. Read to a younger class
12. Get a no homework pass
13. Make deliveries to the office
14. Listen to music while working
15. Play a favorite game or puzzle
16. Earn play money for privileges
17. Walk with a teacher during lunch
18. Be a helper in another classroom
19. Eat lunch with a teacher or principal
20. Dance to favorite music in the classroom
21. Get “free choice” time at the end of the day
22. Listen with a headset to a book on audiotape
23. Have a teacher perform special skills (i.e. sing)
24. Have a teacher read a special book to the class
25. Recognition with morning announcements
26. Chat break at the end of class
27. Taking care of the class pet

More alternatives to withholding recess.....

Dairy Industry Transforming For Children's Health

Dairy consumers are changing, and they want a product the way they want it -- not the way dairy farms produce it.

"Change sneaks up on you," Erwine said, noting that by 2020, 47 percent of the U.S. population will be 50 years old or older, 75 percent of career executives will be women. In addition, 49 percent of the U.S. population eat on the go and 36 percent of all pregnancies last year were single mothers, they said.

Those figures, particularly the high number of single mothers, Erwine said, lead to a childhood obesity, which is gripping the nation.

But the dairy industry is taking steps to address those problems, Haren said, with innovative and nutrition-based marketing of healthy dairy products that is being driven by health concerns, wellness and childhood obesity.

read more here

Grant Opportunity for Peaceful Playgrounds

NEW CORPORATE FUNDING RESOURCE: SPRINT AHEAD FOR EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM


Through the Sprint Ahead for Education grant program, the Sprint Foundation will award grants to school districts and individual schools to fund the purchase of resource materials, supplies, equipment and software that facilitates and encourages character education among K-12 students. With a national reach, the program is open to all US public schools (K-12) and US public school districts.

The Sprint Ahead for Education Grant program will accept applications for Character Education programs that promote youth leadership, youth volunteerism, school pride and a positive school culture. Examples of programs that the Sprint Foundation will fund include:

· Costs associated with hosting a youth leadership conferences
· Character education curriculum and character education teacher training
· Direct project related costs for community service/service learning programs
· School improvement projects that serve to enhance and build school pride

District level grants are available for programs ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.
School level grants are available for programs ranging from $500-$5,000.

2008 Funding and Grant Application Period:
The Sprint Ahead for Education initiative will award individual school grants up $5,000 and school district grants up to $25,000. In 2008 the Sprint Foundation plans to award up to $600,000 in combined grants to schools and school districts. The grant application period will run from March 3rd - April 15th 2008. Applications for funding must be submitted online at www.sprint.com/citizenship/education/sprintahead

Pedometers spur physical activity

The pedometer, a simple and inexpensive step-counting device, significantly increases daily activity levels and even promotes weight loss, according to a recent study directed by Dena Bravata, a senior research scientist at Stanford’s School of Medicine.

Bravata and her team of researchers analyzed study results from 2,767 people, mostly overweight and inactive women, who agreed to keep records of their physical activity while using a pedometer over an 18-week period. On average, the study found that the participants using pedometers increased their daily activity by 2,183 steps.

“Just over 2,100 steps might not sound like that much, but it equates to a 27 percent increase in physical activity — which is really astounding,” said Bravata in a Nov. 20 School of Medicine news release.

Bravata also observed that most participants experienced a drop in systolic blood pressure and a slightly lower body mass index (BMI) after using a pedometer for the duration of the study.

Though the study did not formally analyze why a pedometer might motivate people to increase their daily activity levels, Crystal Smith-Spangler, one of the members of the research team at Stanford, had a few suggestions.

More on pedometers and motivation......

Peaceful Playgrounds Inc found that children were also motivated to move by pedometers. In a 16 week pedometer program called "We Count" students increased their steps by 40%.The We Count Program received a Promising Practices Award from the Promising Practices Afterschool Association.

More on the children's pedometer research from Peaceful Playgrounds.......

The Importance of Recess

Posted on The Elementary Educator - Written by blogger Mark Pullen a third grade teacher from Michigan.


Amid all of the current pressures to get students to achieve on standardized tests, school administrators in some districts around the United States have created extra academic time for their students by getting rid of something that they feel no longer is useful: recess.

“There’s too much to do,” says Rosemary Agneessens, principal of Creighton Elementary School in Phoenix, where morning and afternoon recesses for even the littlest kids were eliminated two years ago.

The same sentiment was put even more bluntly by Benjamin O. Canada, superintendent of schools in Atlanta, when he told The New York Times, “We are intent on improving academic performance. You don’t do that by having kids hanging on the monkey bars.”

Or do you?

Stewart Trost, assistant professor of kinesiology at Kansas State University, asserts, ”Kids who have recess display an improved ability to stay on task, are less fidgety in the classroom and are better behaved…movement is essential to the physical and social development of all children.”

Echoing those sentiments is Olga Jarrett, a child development specialist from Georgia State University: “An experimental study found that fourth-graders were more on-task, less fidgety and less disruptive in the classroom on days when they had recess, with hyperactive children among those who benefited the most. Breaks are helpful, both for attention and for classroom management and discipline.”

Ask any teacher after a rainy day where the students had to stay inside, and I guarantee you’ll get the same response: recess matters. In a country where nearly 20% of our children are obese, 4.4 million children are diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, and after-school time for children is frequently hyper-structured, does anyone who’s worked with kids really think that banning recess is a good idea?

Get the children outside. And while they’re there, maybe we adults should try it as well. Maybe it would clear our minds so we would quit trying to implement such horrible ideas on our children.