Yet another study is showing that school recess plays an important role in school success for children. Recently a research focus has centered on the connection between recess/physical activity and academic performance. A study released February in Pediatrics documented the positive relationship between recess and improved classroom behavior.

By Andrea Bossenmeyer


There are numerous scientists testing the effects of BPA in our food supply, and how it affects our bodies. The early research is suggesting that 92% of food from metal cans is contaminated with an estrogen-like chemical called BPA, or bisphenol A.

BPA has been linked to changes in prostate cells and increased aggression in animals.
The National Toxicology Program has said it has “some concern” that BPA alters development of…

A new report released by the Centers for Disease Control indicates that lack of parks and places to play is effecting children, their weight and contributing to childhood obesity crisis.

The report called the State Indicator Report on Physical Activity 2010 points out that about 1 in 5 children have a park within a half mile from their home. Teens face a similiar obstacle to exercise as fewer than 1 in 5 have daily physical education in their h…

By Andrea Bossenmeyer


If you've never seen a video by Common Craft I may first ask you if you've been living under a rock? But second, I highly recommend you visit their site! Common Craft They create these exceptionally simple videos to explain things.

I believe Common Craft is a great resource for teachers and schools! A really easy way to make learning interesting and fun, with video.

They just released a new video, this one explaini…

Check out this video on play. It was posted by Bethe - better known as the Grass Stain Guru.
You may also want to sign up for her virtual book tour while you're there.



Still to come on the book tour:
5/24 – Post on beauty by plus-size supermodel Sage Salzer
5/25 – Feature with teens Mercy & Emily Carpenter on Girl Zone
5/26 – Guest post by Nancy Gruver on In Her Image
5/27 – Feature on New Moon’s “Beautiful Girls” campaign and “inner beauty…

There was an interesting article in the New York Times on the effect of our genes on exercise. The study looked at the habits of approximately 37,000 twins to determine if there is a genetic link to exercising.

According to the findings, "Using complicated statistical formulas, the scientists concluded that differences in exercise behavior were about 60 percent attributable to genes. In other words, your parents influence your decision abou…

What should physical education look like in the year 2020?

The National Association Physical Education and Sport (NASPE) is asking the physical educatoin community to join in and provide feedback on your vision of what physical education should look like in the year 2020. The PE 2020 initiative seeks to answer this question by inviting physical education teachers, college/university faculty, physical education teacher candidates, K-12 stude…

In celebration of the new Karate Kid movie coming out June 11, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and Sony Pictures Entertainment teamed up to create a FREE downloadable fitness program for afterschool programs.


It's called, Get Your G.A.M.E. (Get Active, Move and Exercise) On and the program provides lesson plans and materials that encourage kids ages 6-14 to be active for 60 minutes a day. The kit was develo…

You may want to check out the new blog by the Head Start Body Start National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play (HSBS) — The Body Smart Blog is the place for people interested in early childhood education and development.

Whether you are a Head Start teacher, a parent of a toddler, or a preschool administrator — you will find useful and interesting articles and ideas here. Calls to actions, interviews, activity ideas, book reviews a…

Money Available to Improve Outdoor Play Spaces! HSBS provides grants of up to $5,000 to Head Start centers nationwide to improve their outdoor play space. Grant recipients receive targeted training and technical assistance from HSBS including on-site consultation from a physical activity expert and access to on-line training. The Play Space Grant Request for Proposals is now available on the HSBS website. Apply now. Applications are due June 1,…

We knew that disadvantaged urban preschoolers often arrive at school behind their peers academically. A new study also indicates that they arrive behind and lacking in basic motor skill development as well.

This is particularly important today as the childhood obesity epidemic continues to grow. Less skilled children are often less likely to try new gross motor activities fearing failure resulting in less active children.

One of the studies au…

Click here or go to the Lets' Move website for the full report.

Information from White House.gov

On May 11 the Childhood Obesity Task Force released their plan for reducing childhood obesity in a generation.

The following are a summary of some 70 recommendations that can be found here.

* Getting children a healthy start on life, with good prenatal care for their parents; support for breastfeeding; adherence to limits on “screen time”; and qu…

I just attended the Robert Wood Johnson Webinar entitled, "Learning Curve: What You Need to Know about the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)". It is part of their new webinar series entitled, Making the Grade: Reversing Childhood Obesity in Schools.

Today's title was a little misleading so I wasn't sure it was one that I wanted to attend. I opted for the on-demand recording so I could slip out invisibly. It was f…

I ran across this interesting article from the Huffington Post called,
Attention Deficit Disorder: Ritalin Or Recess?

It explores the relationship between recess and ADHD and reviews the CDC report that I referred to in my blog on April 20.

You might remember that I referred to the April 15 release by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new report on school-based physical activity and its association with academic performance.

Th…

Check it out! A free resource guide with inspiring projects to use in your classroom!

* What's Inside the PDF:
* 1. Take the Carbon Challenge
* 2. Paper: Get Over it!
* 3. Green Your Plate
* 4. Connect with Earth Explorers
* 5. Envision Eco-Art
* 6. Move Smarter
* 7. Harness the Elements
* 8. Speak Up for the Planet
* 9. Water Projects Everywhere
* 10. Encourage Youth Action

Some traditions never die and it seems that street ball is one that lives on in NYC.
See video below from NY Post.



A related article in the NY Post asks the question, What happened to NY's storied street games? Even though some of the information in the article has some inadequacies.... (ie. Since 1995, there’s even been a program, “Peaceful Playgrounds,” that some states have adopted to ensure play periods remain mild and sedate.) generally…

I just found out that my new Fitbit was mailed today. Yes. It's true I've blogged about it before. I purchased a Fitbit in Oct. 09 but it didn't arrive until late January. I used it for 1 month and then it came off and I lost it. (Should have a safety latch like a pedometer). I've missed my Fitbit so I broke down and reordered it earlier this week.

Here's the scoop on this new technology according to the manufacturer.

Th…

May 3 was the Kick Off of the The National Physical Activity Plan which is a cross sector initiative to Get America Moving. The plan is based on incorporating movement into our daily lives as a key to staying healthy. The National Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that youth accumulate 60 minutes of physical activity into each day – 30 minutes for adults – yet up until now, this has been a concept easier said than done.

The National Coaliti…

I met Sharon Krull over 20 years ago. You may know her by her blog, "Sharin' with Sharron." She has a blog on movement, play and physical activity for children.

Today's blog activity is called, "Ducking out of Duck, Duck, Goose." It is a great activity to check out and she renames it, A Tisket, A Tasket, My Fruit & Veggie Basket

How to play:
1. Sit young children (players) in a circle.
2. One child is chosen to hol…

Mission: Readiness is a nonprofit organization of retired senior military leaders. Their latest concern is over what they call, "The latest national security threat: obesity."

Being overweight or obese has become the leading medical reason recruits are rejected for military service. In fact in the last fifteen years, the proportion of potential recruits who failed their physical exams because of weight issues has increased nearly 70 …

by Andrea Bossenmeyer

Remember South Shore Charter in MA? They were the clever little reporters that were competing with other schools around the nation for the Greenest School Competition. A special thanks to any of our blog followers for voting for them. Good news! They won.
They won a hybrid school bus from IC Bus,
as well as a green audit and approximately $20,000 to use for green improvements. The students themselves will also share a $3,0…

By Andrea Bossenmeyer


Just recently I was flying back from the National Principals conference and read an outstanding feature on a project called Lemonade Day.

Lemonade Day is May 2nd, annually. Lemonade Day introduces kids to entrepreneurship! This city-wide event encourages kids to start a lemonade stand and sell their lemonade to the entire community. Schools, community groups and businesses get involved to make this all happen. Sounds fun wh…