Peaceful Playgrounds and Fundamental Movement Programs have been selected for the Head Start Body Start Preferred Provider List for the competitive Play Space grants.

The Request For Proposal for the play space sub-grants is expected to be
released in early May! More information can be found on the Head Start Body Start Center for Physical Activity and Outdoor Play website.

For more information on the Center and Play Space Grants visit our featu…

A joint use agreement is a formal agreement between two separate government entities—often a school district and a city or county—setting forth the terms and conditions for the shared use of public property. A school may use the park located adjacent to the school for physical education classes or a park may use a school's basketball courts for a city parks and recreation basketball league. Both examples represent a "joint-use situat…

If you're part of a team writing a new school board policy or researching background information for the development of a school board policy on health related items you may want to take a look at the newly announced National School Board Association's web-based resource of Promising District Practices and policies database.

The website features a searchable database of local school district
successes in developing, implementing, and eval…

Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools: Leading the Way Toward
Healthier Youth is available from the CDC.

Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools

The CDC developed a set of four audience-specific fact sheets as a resource for school
staff, parents, and youth to use in support of developing strong
nutrition standards that will impact the health of students at school.
These fact sheets answer commonly asked questions about the Nutrition
Standards for …

Public Support for Physical Education

* Ninety five percent of parents said that physical education should be included in the school curriculum for all students in kindergarten through grade 12.

* Eight five percent of parents and 81 percent of teachers believe that students should be required to take physical education every day at every grade level 8 and 92 percent of teens said that they should receive daily physical education.

* M…

National Physical Education and Sport Week May 1-7.

NASPE is providing a number of resources to download for taking to your School Board asking them to proclaim May 1-7 as National Physical Education and Sport Week. They have provided:
*Sample Proclamation
*Sample Press Release
*Key Talking Points
*Daily Physical Activities
*Additional Resources

The resources include:
*Appropriate Instructional Practice Guidelines for Elementary, Middle and High Sch…

The concept of integrating regular physical tune-ups into the school day is growing.

For some its simply, "common sense" built on centuries of thinking based on the close link between body and mind fitness.

For the "prove it" crowd, a growing body of research suggests that physical activity might pay intellectual dividends in the classroom. Books such as the popular "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and t…

Being chosen doesn't make you a hero. Who you choose does. "Batman"

This quote comes from Matt Langdon creator of the Hero Workshop. To find out more about the Hero Workshop and Hero Blog click here.

As a highly-qualified physical education teacher, I pledge to:

* Establish a positive, safe learning environment for all students;
* Teach a variety of physical activities that make physical education class fun and enjoyable;
* Create maximum opportunities for students of all abilities to be successful;
* Promote student honesty, integrity, and good sportsmanship;
* Guide students into becoming skillful and confident movers;
* …

Due to the current economic situation large budget items like playground structures, have been put on hold, however, a increasing popular playground solution know as "loose parts playgrounds" are gaining in popularity and functionality.

Loose parts for the playground setting are easily mobile, low cost, and have been shown to increase physical activity in children. What are loose parts? Parachutes, sand toys, balls and bean b…

The Saucony Run For Good Program encourages active and healthy lifestyles in children, and offers grants to communities and non-profit organizations that initiate and support running and fitness programs for kids. Maximum award: varies. Eligibility: 501(c)3 youth organizations with programs that increase participation in running to positively impact the lives of participants.

Deadline: June 13, 2009.

http://www.sauconyrunforgood.com/

The Children's Memorial Institute for Sports Medicine is offering a Knee Injury Prevention Program (KIPP™). KIPP is a neuromuscular training program designed to reduce the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries among female adolescent athletes.

Each year in the United States over 20,000 high school girls suffer a serious sports-related knee injury. In fact, girls are up to six times more likely to injure their anterior cruciate lig…

Eat Better. Move More. Start Today.
The Massachusetts Public Health Council unanimously approved regulations recently that require public schools to send children's Body Mass Index measurements home to parents.

The new regulations, part of a larger statewide initiative called "Mass in Motion" that is designed to fight rising obesity rates, will have schools calculate students' heights and weights into a body mass index.

The resu…

Do students really want to learn? Can schools and classrooms become joyful? Are there natural links between standard curriculum and what motivates students to learn? Explore these and other questions in ASCD's e-book "Engaging the Whole Child: Reflections on Best Practices in Learning, Teaching, and Leadership," which is available for free download through May 6.

Download "Engaging the Whole Child"

Some article topics withi…

If you are enjoying the Recess Blog feed from Peaceful Playgrounds then you should also check out the Nutrition and Physical Activity News Blog from Morten Copenhagen. He has an amazing blog with 10 topics merged into one Rss Feed. You can sign up for one of the feeds below or all 10.

1 News on Nutrition, obesity prevention, obeseogenic environments and related policies
1.1 Fruit and Vegetables
1.2 Whole Grains
1.3 School Nutrition
1.4 Food Servi…

With competing priorities such as testing and tight budgets, schools today are offering fewer and fewer opportunities for physical activity. The National Association of Sport and Physical Education reports that the percentage of students who attend a daily physical education class in school dropped to 28 percent in 2003, from 42 percent in 1991.

The PE recommendation is 150 minutes per week for elementary and 225 minutes per week for m…

School districts across the nation are facing budget cuts and looking ways to save money. In this "need vs want" environment some districts are asking, "is it really necessary for athletes, band members, cheer leaders and ROTC participants to take PE?"

About half the states currently allow students to be waivered out of PE requirements for reasons listed previously.

Physical educators argue that students should experience a va…

House bill 159 would require all elementary schools to have at least twenty minutes of recess every day.

State lawmakers are looking at giving kids a break. House bill 159 would require all elementary schools to have at least twenty minutes of recess every day.

Studies show unstructured recess enhances a child’s imagination and social skills.

Video: Recess May Be Mandated

For the third consecutive year, KaBOOM! and CaliforniaVolunteers are partnering to build great new places to play for children across the state! Six communities in California are planning to build playgrounds all in one day on April 25: Delano, Fallbrook, Fullerton, Lemoore, Sacramento and San Bernardino. Each of the projects includes a mural honoring the legacy of Cesar Chavez.

CaliforniaVolunteers has just posted details for how to volunteer fo…

Peaceful Playgrounds tips to getting the most out of your playground equipment.

The expected lifespan of a playground ball is one year. The following suggestions will lengthen the durability of playground balls:

* Do not over inflate.
* Do not leave sitting outside all day in the direct sunlight. Move the ball cart into a shaded area when not in use.
* Kids should not sit on the equipment.
* If you have a wall for games like handball…

The Montana Team Nutrition 2008 school principals survey on Recess Before Lunch was recently released. Download the survey from our Recess Before Lunch Featured Article page.


Don't miss our next Recess Before Lunch Free Webinar scheduled for: Wed, Apr 22, 2009 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT

Additional Recess Before Lunch Resources include:

Recess Before Lunch
Action for Healthy Kids Colorado, Western Dairy Council, 2005

Relationships of Meal and Reces…

AP - A striking new study says almost 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is alarmingly higher among American Indian children, with nearly a third of them obese. Researchers were surprised to see differences by race at so early an age.

It's that time of year to think about ordering for the opening of a new school year. Peaceful Playgrounds Equipment Replenishment Packs makes ordering quick and easy. We figured out the items that need replacing annually and developed a pack to meet your needs.

This package replaces the consumable products in the Peaceful Playgrounds Companion Pack.

Consumable products are volleyballs, basketballs, soccer balls, kick balls, playground balls,…

Let’s face it – as a nation we’re not nearly as healthy as we should be. Compared to other developed nations, we’re lagging far behind.But it doesn’t have to be this way?   With your help, we can make America the healthiest nation in just one generation.Want to know more? Watch the Healthiest Nation in One Generation viral video today. Share the video with your friends and family and encourage them to get involved.America can make this the healt…

Question from a customer on U.S. Map Playground Stencil

I notice that the paint you recommend for painting your United States Map Stencil 100% acrylic latex paint. Is this the same stuff I can buy in any Home Depot or Lowes for painting a house? What is your experience with how long this paint usually lasts when it's out in the elements all the time (I live in Las Vegas)? I am painting the map with my son as a scout project and we want to …

A study on the benefits of physical activity (recess) and its effect on academic learning once again emphasizes the importance of scheduling recess and physical education into the school day.

Researchers Charles Hillman the director of the Neurocognitive Kinesiology Laboratory and Darla Castelli, professor of kinesiology and community health at University of Illinois, have found that physical activity may increase students' cognitive contro…

Each morning about 450 students walk to school in a zero school bus lead by a walking "driver" in Italy. Also know as the "piedibus" which means literally "foot bus" in Italian the concept is catching on and spreading in Europe.

More on the Walking School Bus.