Improving Recess

To make recess periods effective, schools should:

• Have enough trained adults on hand to enforce and prevent aggressive, bullying behavior.

• Work with police departments and community agencies to address safety concerns about children playing in school playgrounds in high-crime areas.

• Provide space, facilities, equipment and supplies that can make active participation in physical activity during recess appealing to children.

• Have staff encourage students to be active during recess.

• Schedule recess before, rather than after, lunch; studies have found that students eat more of their lunches when recess comes before lunch.

Source: Wechsler H, Devereaux AB, Davis M, Collins J.

Study shows recess important

A child’s attention span begins to wane after forty minutes of intense instruction. “Recess provides children a chance to refocus,” according to study’s author, Catherine L. Ramstetter, a doctoral candidate at the University of Cincinnati.

A comprehensive review of published literature on recess throughout the United States showed that recess breaks as short as 10 minutes improve children’s learning efficiency and the teacher’s aptitude during the other 50 minutes of a school hour.

The study is one of many indicating that recess breaks are important and enhance concentration and a child's ability to focus during instructional periods.

Children burned on playground mats

Summer is officially over but summer heat remains in some areas. Here's a quick recap on some of the articles on the topic resulting in children receiving burns on playground mats.

Four year old NYC child hospitalized for 7 days with burn from playground. Parent sues city. City sues parent. Channel 2 news NYC.

Playground dangers. Rubber mats cause burns. Channel 2 News. NYC. "The black rubber mats at Van Vorhees playground in Cobble Hill are supposed to protect children if they fall from the jungle gym. But as pictures of Kian Mehran-Lodge's feet show, the mats themselves can be just as hazardous."

Bakersfield Boy Suffers Third-Degree Burns from Black Rubber Playground Mats.
Eyewitness News in Bakersfield reported a young boy suffered third degree burns when he took off his shoes at Hart Park in Bakersfield, CA. Brenden Thomasy suffered the burns in September 2008. The 4-year-old had gotten sand in his shoes, and took them off to shake them out.

Lawyer and blogger Jonathan Turley points other some other previous cases in which children were burned on playgrounds.

There have been other cases around the country (here) that should put park officials on notice that these mats are unacceptable for playgrounds. Past cases include:

* Emma Regjaj (23 months) with severe burns from mats at St. Catherine’s Park in Manhattan in 2008;

* Parker Wands (16 months) with second degree burns on mats at Ditmars Park in Queens in 2008;

* Kian Mehran-Lodge (14 months) with second degree burns at Van Voorhees Playground in Brooklyn in 2004; and

* Ryan Mazzola (18 months) with first and second degree burns at Midland Beach Playground in Staten Island in 2003.

Appleton school solves recess conflicts

APPLETON - Recess used to be just sliding and swinging at Johnston Elementary School in Appleton. Now a program to get more kids involved has them adding hopscotch, four-square, and jump rope to the mix.

Parents at the school wanted to find a way to make better use of the playground, so they turned to Peaceful Playgrounds and received grants from the Appleton Education Foundation and the Johnston PTA to pay the $4,000 for the stencils, rules books, and other materials. Volunteers at Johnston spent two weeks during the summer to paint games on the blacktop. Parents and teachers say the kids are really grasping the point of the program.

More on Appleton school solving recess conflicts.....

Research suggests: Replace homework with play.

Photo Leah-Anne Thomps

After school let kids play. Young kids shouldn't struggle with homework for academic purposes. Research suggests that kids better off playing than doing homework in early years.

The Sydney Morning Herald ran an interesting article on homework on Monday. The article points out something that teachers have know for a long time, "there is no evidence that homework benefits achievement during the early school years." Dr Richard Walker, of the Faculty of Education at the University of Sydney stated, "Given the research findings, homework during these years, of half an hour or more each day, as excessive. But he says there is evidence supporting the benefits of homework at high school."

The article called, "Life after school: all homework, no play" points out that commonly held practices need examined.

Can Physical Education Make you Smarter?

Nick Veasey/Getty Images

For some time, researchers have known that exercise changes the structure of the brain and affects thinking.

Ten years ago scientists at the Salk Institute in California published the groundbreaking finding that exercise stimulates the creation of new brain cells. But fundamental questions remain, like whether exercise must be strenuous to be beneficial. Should it be aerobic? What about weight lifting? And are the cognitive improvements permanent or fleeting?

The answers to these questions can be found in the NY Times article, "Phys Ed: What Sort of Exercise Can Make You Smarter?" By Gretchen Reynold

Playground Structure Funding

I often get phone calls requesting grant information on funding school playground structures. Here's a new grant that I've discovered. It requires matching funds but this may be just the push that many schools need to make a new playground structure a reality.

Children, Youth, and Families at Risk Sustainable Community Projects

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), USDA announces the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) funding program to improve the quality and quantity of comprehensive community-based programs for at-risk children, youth, and families supported by the Cooperative Extension System. The CYFAR program mission is to marshal resources of the Land-Grant and Cooperative Extension Systems to develop and deliver educational programs that equip limited resource families and youth who are at-risk for not meeting basic human needs with the skills they need to lead positive, productive, contributing lives.

Due Date (Closing)October 23, 2009
Range of Awards $100,000.00 to $140,000.00
Request for Application (RFA) | Apply: Electronic

Don't forget to complete your playground by adding playground games and markings.

Recess Reinstated After Parent Leader Urges Others to "Speak Up"

The Milford News reports that a concerned parent's quick action lead to recess reinstatement. St. Amand school reported a 15-minute recess is being brought back without impacting classroom time.

According to the article, Administrators didn’t notify parents about the kindergarten recess removal because they wanted to keep it “low-profile” until after they tried it, St. Amand has said. Also, until last week faculty had not yet met to review plans for the year and to gauge teachers’ response to the recess change.

Parents responded immediately to the change, however. A concerned parent circulated an e-mail during the first week of school urging parents to speak up against rescinding recess. The note included a link to “Recess – It’s Indispensable,” an article originally published in the peer reviewed professional journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

“We found no research to support administrators’ assumptions that test scores required by No Child Left Behind could be improved by keeping children in the classroom all day,” states the NAEYC article.

CA study shows soda consumption linked to obesity

The Research Report called, " Bubbling Over: Soda Consumption and Its Link to Obesity in California" found that 41 percent of children (ages 2 - 11), 62 percent of adolescents (ages 12 - 17) and 24 percent of adults drink at least one soda or other sugar-sweetened beverage every day. Regardless of income or ethnicity, adults who drink one or more sodas or other sugar-sweetened beverages every day are 27 percent more likely to be overweight or obese. Soda consumption rates vary from county to county and city to city, with dramatic variations between some counties and some cities.

According to authors, "This landmark study provides important scientific evidence of the direct contribution of sugar-sweetened beverages to California's $41 billion obesity epidemic."

A Peaceful Playground? Sound Impossible???? It's not.

With a few proven strategies we'll show you how to reduce bullying, reduce playground conflicts resulting in happy students and a thankful staff. This webinar will cover how you can have a Peaceful Playground.

Our research indicates that 5 situations contribute to 95% of all problems on typical elementary school playgrounds. In this fast paced webinar we'll share those problem situations and OUR PROVEN STRATEGIES for turning your playground into a "peaceful place for fun and games.

RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW.
Register for a session now by clicking a date below:

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PDT
Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/159114762

Wed, Oct 7, 2009 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PDT
Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/151156970

Fri, Oct 16, 2009 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PDT
Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/579499658

Tue, Oct 20, 2009 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PDT
Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/326587802

Thu, Oct 29, 2009 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT
Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/581033043

Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration
with information you need to join the Webinar.


System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Growing Minds Love Growing Gardens

Talk about "hands-on" learning. School gardens continue to spread across the U.S. and now even preschoolers are getting into the action at University City Childcare Center in St Louis, Missouri.

The garden bed — about 110 feet long and a few feet high — has become the latest "classroom" at the center, a place where children as young as 1 and 2 spend part of their day learning how to grow their own food.

More on Growing Minds.

Coca Cola Community Impact Grants

The Coca-Cola Company and the Coca-Cola Foundation aim to make a greater impact on the communities Coca-Cola serves around the world by being responsive to the citizenship priorities of the communities in which we live and work. The Coca-Cola Company and Foundation are interested in funding organizations in these areas: Water stewardship, Healthy active lifestyles, Community recycling, and Education.
Award amount varies. Eligible applicants must be tax-exempt organizations with 501(c)(3) status.

Deadline: Rolling

Please contact the Coca-Cola Company and Foundation for more information and funding opportunity: http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/foundation_guidelines.html

Use this grant to fund Peaceful Playgrounds or the We Count Pedometers School Walking Program

Inmates at work. Helping to build playgrounds.

Written by Jim Mendoza - jmendoza@kgmb9.com

The prisoners are steps away from being released. They're building a bridge as much as they are a place for kids to play.

"It makes me feel good about myself, giving back to the community," Ridao said.

The playground project at Kauluwela has been a long time coming. It's been ten years since the school last had playground equipment. Friday, kindergartners saw it for the first time.

More and video...

Hidden Valley School Grants Program

The makers of Hidden Valley Salad Dressings are now accepting applications for the 2009-10 Love Your Veggies grant program. The purpose of the program is to help schools execute innovative programs that will increase the access to, and consumption of, fresh fruits and vegetables in the lunchroom.

Ten $10,000 grants will be awarded to elementary schools across the US to support the development of a vegetable program offering fresh produce to be implemented as early as April 2010 and lasting through the 2010-2011 school year.

Deadline: November 6, 2009

Please contact Hidden Valley Salad Dressings for more information and program guidelines: http://loveyourveggies.com/guidelines.php

Related Blogs: Schools Teaching Organic Gardening

Healthy Food, Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds

Nutrition in Schools - Childhood Obesity

Eagle View adds Educational and Fun Games

BY KATIE ANDERSON
ken.korczak@pequotlakesecho.com
PineandLakes.com

One of the parking lots at Eagle View Elementary School will serve a much bigger purpose this school year.

The parking lot where school buses drop off and pick up students will now be used for Eagle View's Peaceful Playground program.

Colorfully painted games now adorn the formerly unadorned lot, including a number and alphabet line, four-square and bean bag tosses, and it will eventually have a map of the United States.

"The best thing about the these games is that they are both educational and fun at the same time. A teacher can bring their class out and use the number line in a math lesson or the map in a geography lesson," said Deanne Trottier, a second-grade teacher at Eagle View and a member of the Playground Committee.

The whole concept of the Peaceful Playground is to give students more options for guided playtime as opposed to a completely unstructured recess.

More on Peaceful Playgrounds at Eagle View.

United Health Heroes Grant

UnitedHealthcare and Youth Service America are offering the UnitedHealth HEROES service-learning grant program for youth-led community education projects in selected U.S. states. These grants of up to $1,000 support teachers, service-learning coordinators, and students in the health professions to implement service-learning projects around childhood obesity and to engage children and youth ages 5 to 25 as volunteers.

Use this grant to fund Peaceful Playgrounds.

Timeline

* Applications Available: August 1
* Application Deadline: October 22
* Notification: late 2009

Check Eligibility.

Fitbit: New research tool for measuring physical activity

Did I get enough exercise today? How many calories did I burn? Am I getting good quality sleep? How many steps and miles did I walk today? If these questions seem interesting and you want answers check out a new product called Fitbit Tracker.

View calories, steps and distance on the Fitbit Tracker itself. You can login to the Fitbit website to see even more detailed data and also participate in collaborative fitness goals with friends, family and co-workers. Its wireless capabilities allows it to capture the data via syncing if you are within 50 feet of your wireless network.

They are running a little bit behind schedule (August launch date) but taking email addresses for future orders.

Talk about research possibilities for collecting physical activity data using kids...... Goodbye pedometers and heart moniters. Hello Fitbit.

Second Edition Peaceful Playgrounds Workshop Training Materials

Following the theme of this past week, today we are introducing you to the Second Edition Peaceful Playgrounds Workshop Materials. The materials include
program overview video, workshop training visuals,teacher workshop handouts and facilitator notes. Everything you need for your own on site training for implementing Peaceful Playgrounds.

Hear what a principal has to say about Peaceful Playgrounds.

Instructional Games DVDs

With our new pricing structure you get the Peaceful Playgrounds Instructional Games DVD's within the Comprehensive Peaceful Playgrounds Program Kit.

Now it is easier than ever to spread the power of the Peaceful Playgrounds Program!

A ground-breaking set of three DVD's and three accompanying Rules Guides is now available, that can be used by teachers and students alike, to easily learn how many exciting and constructive playground games are played!

Learn how to create a playground that really works!

Navigate the easy-to-use menus to select any of over 25 games actually filmed being played by real students, games for Pre-school and Kindergarten, Primary Grades 1-3 & Upper Elementary Grades 4-6.

These are all the games students will love, like Frog in the Sea, Scramble, Freezeout, Number & Alphabet Grids, Four Square, and many more!

It works! "I have used Peaceful Playgrounds for a year now and it really works. We've seen fantastic results. Now with this training video for our playground supervisors I think it will enhance our supervision 100% and make our playground even better and safer. Recess used to be something we all dreaded. Now the kids and adults look forward to it. It's really fun." - Counselor Rhondalyn Mock - Jackson Elementary School

Second Edition Blueprints and Game Markings Designs

Complete Playground Blueprints

The blueprints are age appropriate and insure that appropriate game activities are available to all children.

There are 4 Playground Blueprints included:

* Preschool & Kindergarten
* Primary(Grades K-3)
* Upper Elementary (Grades 3-6)
* Field Markings (Grades 1-6)

Each Blueprint lists suggestions for painting, placement, and recommended game markings for your asphalt playground layout. The Field Marking Blueprint has suggestions for your turf layouts.

The Blueprints have companion rules guides which emphasizes the five components of a Peaceful Playground and offer the specific rules, activities, for the game