A parent at a Bakersfield City School is asking the city school district to pay $19,000 after his daughter fell off the monkey bars and broke her wrist. This is not the first parent to file this kind of claim. Past Bakersfield City School Board meeting agendas show other parents have filed similar claims.

While it's not uncommon to fall off the monkey bars, the parent contends that the school district is responsible for his daughter's bro…

Black Friday. Where did that come from? In California we call the day after Thanksgiving, "the day after Thanksgiving."

Wikipedia defines it as: Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, which is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. The term dates back to at least 1966, although its usage was primarily on the East coast. The term has become more common in other parts of the country s…

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Feeding and fitness for preschoolers

Harvard University researchers propose these guidelines for healthy preschoolers. Aimed at child-care centers, they also are good goals for parents.

• Two hours of daily physical activity, half in structured play and half in active free play

• No more than 30 minutes of sitting at a stretch

• Only 1 percent or fat-free milk for kids 2 and older

• No more than 6 ounces of 100 percent juice a day

• No sugar-sweetened…

1. What do playgrounds look like in New Zealand? Check out the "Keep Me Smiling" Blog post on playgrounds.

2. You might want to take a look at the new kit for schools called Move It. It is a free download and designed to get kids active and reduce the risk of diabetes.

3. EPA Accepting Applications for Environmental Education Grant Funding
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is accepting grant applications for a total…

Lincoln University's recent decision to require students to undergo a physical examination before graduation has upset some students, the Lincolnian reports. If a student's body mass index surpasses 30, he or she must complete a physical education class in order to graduate.

Opponents of the requirement say the university is discriminating against obese people. More on new requirement...

CKSD bringing peace to the playground

A Federal Physical Education for Progress (PEP) Grant provided Central Kitsap schools money to install Peaceful Playgrounds games and markings at all 12 elementary schools in the district.

CKSD hopes the changes also will help in the classroom.

“If the kids are not all wound up, then the teachers will have more time for instruction,” Martin said.

The district recently received $50,000 for equipment on the playgr…

Recess Before Lunch schedule is catching on. Here's an article from Southern CA regarding their switch to the recess first schedule.

Don't forget to check out the Peaceful Playgrounds Featured Article on Recess Before Lunch and join us for a webinar on the topic called Recess Before Lunch 5 Steps to Success.Registration Link

Hardyston The Sussex County YMCA is running a twice monthly “recess” program for home-schooled families in northern New Jersey. What a novel idea. It is offered for an hour at lunchtime 2 Thursday's a month. Students can use the facilities which include a pool, playground and picnic area. Seems like a great service to home schooled kids and parents.

Let's hope this idea spreads.

General Mills Foundation awards 50 grants of $10,000 each to community-based groups that develop creative ways to help youth adopt a balanced diet and physically active lifestyle.

Online Applications Due: January 15, 2010

Award Recipients Announced: May 2010

Online Grant Application or General Mills Grant Website

General Mills has selected Peaceful Playgrounds as a MODEL PROGRAM FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND NUTRITION.

*** Are applying for this g…

Should schools serve chocolate milk? A recent story in the Chicago Tribune looks at the question and examines district policies across the nation.

When an IL school district banned flavored milk from its lunch menus, a group of 5th grade students persuaded administrators to give it another chance. Now the sweetened drinks are served on "Flavored Fridays" as the district tries to decide whether the benefits of calcium and vitamin D are…

This video is of a 9-11 Service Learning Project from the Lewis-Clark Service Corps (division of Americorps) in Idaho. The university kinesiology department in conjunction with the service learning organization painted the Peaceful Playgrounds games and markings for a local Christian school called, Corner Stone Christine School. Watch the video of the painting and children's experience with Peaceful Playgrounds.

Applications for Education
The Best of Us Challenge provides a fun opportunity to get kids excited about physical education challenges and compete with some of the best athletes in the world. The Best of Us Challenge also provides an opportunity for students who may not fit into the typical "athlete" mold to show-off their unique skills. Check out their website for contest rules and go for it.

Palm City Elementary PE teacher's program encourages kids to run for fitness and fun.

http://www.tcpalm.com/videos/detail/students-get-running-mileage-club

View the video of physical education teacher talking about motivating her students to run so that they will be successful at the mile run component in the state physical fitness test. The running club is not only motivating students to run more but also causing students to think about thei…

School-based physical education plays a key role in curbing obesity and improving fitness among adolescents from low-income communities, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and UC Berkeley. The study, which identifies opportunities for adolescents to improve their health based on routine daily activities, finds that regular participation in PE class is significantly associated with greater c…

A recently released report, "Ready, Willing and Unable to Serve," states that the military had one of its best recruiting years since the draft ended in 1973. This is especially surprising since about 75 percent of the country's 17- to 24-year-olds are ineligible for military service, largely because they are poorly educated, overweight and have physical ailments that make them unfit for the armed forces, according to the report i…

De Kalb County School Board voted to reinstate recess as a result of a parent petition. While most schools held recess, it was not mandated and could be denied to a child as a punishment or canceled for the entire class due to a conflict.

Now, recess is no longer an option but a requirement and cannot be withheld from a student.

Read how other parents and concerned advocates have saved recess.

Download the Peaceful Playgrounds Right to Recess Campa…

Did you receive the November Play Nice Newsletter?

This month's newsletter provides information regarding an article on "Can Physical Education Make You Smarter", A Recess Controversy, H1N1, a recent legal ruling regarding Recess and Peaceful Playgrounds New Online Playground Supervisor Training.

A mom is peeved at an Oklahoma school which reportedly punished her son by having him stand facing a wall at recess. The parent claims that he was told to stand close enough to the wall to touch it with his nose. The punishment was for failing to finish a homework assignment.

"I think it's a horrible policy. I think it's humiliating and I think it's disgusting," the parent reported to the school. "It was extremely tra…

For some time, researchers have known that exercise changes the structure of the brain, resulting in improvements in concentration, fidgeting and creates new brain cells.

The body-mind link is well documented. But current thinking and actions (like eliminating recess and physical education) leads me to question if some decisions reflect the cliché that "our bodies exist to carry our heads around."Current thinking on the topic however, a…

A decision was reached in the legal case involving the 4th graders who were reading the Bible at recess and were told to stop. It seems a parent observed the activity and complained.

The parents of one of the Bible reading students sued with the assistance of the Alliance Defense Team . The parents sued for just one dollar, recognition that their child's rights had been violated, and an injunction against future such actions.

The school cla…