"Education is not the filling of a pail,
but the lighting of a fire.    
William Yeats





Check out Peaceful Playgrounds Posters sets on the topics of Physical Education, Anti-Bullying, and Sports.

"All students can learn."  Free Friday Poster




Check out Peaceful Playgrounds Posters sets on the topics of Physical Education, Anti-Bullying, and Sports.

Do you know that play is an important part of health and happiness?  Stuart Grauer the Founder of the Grauer School located in Encinitas, CA  wrote a post on the Smart Blog on Education talking about  play's important role in education. 

Citing Stuart Brown, a Stanford psychiatrist and producer of a PBS series on play he points out that  "creative achievers such as Nobel laureates virtually all had high amounts of play in their early l…

Advocating for quality health and physical education programs for every child in America just got a whole lot easier!  The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), partnering with Soft Edge, is thrilled to offer new and enhanced advocacy tools to members and anyone committed to children’s health.

Take a look at AAHPERD’s new advocacy webpage - AAHPERD Take Action - view key issues AAHPERD is monitori…

You've heard of sit-in?   A few years back ( well, quite a few years back) they were as popular as "peaceful demonstrations".  Well some Chicago students and parents organized a "play in" earlier this week at Chicago Public Schools Headquarters.

Chicago parents are upset that CPS does not have a  mandatory recess period.  It is up to an individual school and teachers whether to offer recess.  Some parents think that is &q…

It has been well documented that physical activity enhances fitness and cognitive functioning.  A new study points out that we begin to lose some of  the benefits of exercise within a week of being inactive.  After 3 weeks of inactivity the brain benefits have faded even more.

These findings were presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in New Orleans.

This supports the notion of a healthy mind and healthy body are i…

Congratulations to the following 2012-2013 PEP Grant Winners!
Information from a Department of Education Press Release 7-31-2012

State Applicant Name Amount
AK Yukon-Koyukuk School District $401,525
AR Hoxie School District #46 $291,387
AZ Pima Prevention Partnership $225,527
AZ Santa Cruz Regional School District $740,073
AZ Sunnyside Unified School District -- Student Services $631,464
CA Alvord Unified School District -- Special Projects $664,…

For more information on bullying go to: stopbullying.gov

Peaceful Playgrounds Information on Bullying Prevention

How teachers should respond to bullying.

Bullying Prevention: Is Empathy the Key?

Bullying & Harassment : What Schools Can Do

Bullying Prevention: Life Lessons on Good and Evil

Why Bullying Programs Succeed or Fail

Retiring teacher leads effort to combat bullying and obesity by organizing playground.

View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.

As the weather gets warmer and we all start to spend more time outside it’s a good opportunity for us AND the children we supervise to ensure we are getting a healthy amount of physical activity.

Children need to be active every day to promote their healthy growth and development. We also know that people who establish a healthy lifestyle pattern at a young age will carry those habits with them into adulthood.

A healthy lifestyle is something we …

Download Canada's physical activity guides.

This resource is designed to help those who teach children and adults about healthy eating and physical activity. The Toolkit includes:

* The Eat Well and Be Active Every Day poster;
* Downloadable activity plans
* 54 healthy eating and physical activity images to complement the poster.

The Let's Move Initiative should consider the power of playgrounds for combating the childhood obesity crisis.

A nearly free resource in the obesity crisis is the local school or park playground according to a study released by the Rand Research Corporation.

Girls who do not live within a half-mile radius of a school playground that is accessible when school is not in session have a 3-percent higher body mass index than girls who do have playg…

Small steps matter.

Small steps can bring about positive effects on your brain—without an Olympic effort. How? Walking. A new study indicates that adult seniors who walked three or more times a week resulted in brain growth which enhanced memory. http://su.pr/2em7AD

So now we know. Exercise isn't only good for kids but results in similar benefits for young and old alike. Get walking.

The Head Start Body Start Center is offering a series of webinars.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 – 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST

The brain NEEDS play! The human brain is an amazing and complex organ that allows each of us to think, feel, and act. The brain systems that regulate those activities are largely shaped by experience. Learn why play is essential for optimal early brain development and why it is vital for all parents and educators to be play partne…

The latest news supporting recess comes from a survey of 1,951 principals or deputy, assistant, or vice principals polled by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It found that:

* Recess has a positive impact on academic achievement.
* Student listen better after recess and are more focused in class.
* Recess has a beneficial effect on children's social development.
* Recess improves children's well-being overall.


Find out more…

2020 GOAL: THE HIGHEST PROPORTION OF COLLEGE GRADUATES IN THE WORLD

President Obama has established a goal that, by 2020, the United States will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. Meeting this goal is vital to our long-term economic security and to preparing young people and adults to be active citizens. In order to track progress towards this goal he has instituted a Data Dashboard.

The dashboard is part of…

The government has issued new standards for the school lunch and breakfast programs. They are accepting feedback for 72 days, which ends April 13, 2011. These new rules were created so that schools are serving meals in alignment with the 2005 “Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” as required by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.

What changes will we see?

More fruits, veggies, lowfat/nonfat milk options, whole grains, and reduced sod…

Title: LET'S MOVE IN SCHOOL - IMPROVING HEALTH AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Date: February 1, 2011

Time: 1 - 2 pm EST

Webinar Presenter: AAHPERD/NASPE and Strategic Partners


Peaceful Playgrounds is pleased to announce our support of Let's Move in School - a new initiative hosted by the American Alliance for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) and its National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE).

We encourage…

For those of you who read this blog for recess information, I discovered a new website full of interesting information about recess.

It was started by a handful of parents in the Beacon City School District who have children in all four of the elementary schools in Beacon. Each parent individually had become concerned with the number of days our children spent inside a classroom rather than going outside for recess.

The website is called a plac…