Peaceful Playgrounds will release our new CD called Songs in Motion. It was designed to motivate kids to jog. Think of the songs as military cadences. A cadence call is a traditional call-and-response work song sung by military personnel while running or marching.

Here's a preview of one of the new cadences on the new CD:

Up in the Morning at the Break of Day


Up in the morning at the break of day
Countin steps and loving play
Running on the …

Thank you to everyone that attended our last How to have a Peaceful Playgrounds Webinar! We had a great attendance. Here's a Question & Answer session from one of our schools.


Q: Approximately how many hours are needed to paint the playground markings?
This is a great question. There are many factors that vary the amount of time needed, such as: how many game markings are being added, how hot or cold it is on your paint day (drying time), …

QUESTION:
I will be writing grants for a small rural private school. There are so many grants I've seen that don't want to fund private or rural schools. Is there any tips for sorting through the huge mass of funding sources to find the one's we're eligible for?

ANSWER:

It's true that finding grants for private schools is difficult. Peaceful Playgrounds is a resource that sorts through the mass of grants that are available and p…

Yesterday the top was Structured vs Unstructured recess. In 1998 I wrote an article called, Eliminate Recess. Let's Skip It! The complete article is available on our webpage. The following is an interview with the principal where the original Peaceful Playgrounds Program was implemented.

After the program was introduced at E. Hale Curran Elementary School in Murrieta, California, the results produced immediate and significant reductio…

Sunday's New York Times has an article entitled, "Forget goofing around. Recess has a new boss." The article was about Broadway Elementary School in Newark. According to the Times, "there is no more sitting around after lunch. No more goofing off with friends. No more doing nothing." It seems Broadway Elementary has hired a recess coach who organizes daily games and students are expected to participate in the chosen ac…

A recent gallop poll shows that principals support recess and feel it improves learning, concentration, and childrens' ability to focus on academics. The study conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Playworks comes at a time that many districts are cutting recess and physical education programs due to wide spread school financial budget deficits.

The poll indicated:
1. 80 percent of school principals said they've seen proof …

The ING Unsung Heroes Program Offers Grants for K-12 Educational Projects. Awards of up to $25,000 will be given to professionals working to improve student learning through new teaching methods and techniques.

Each year, 100 educators are selected to receive $2,000 to help fund their innovative class projects. Three of those are chosen to receive the top awards of an additional $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000

Applications are now available. How abou…

This month's Play Nice newsletter provides information on the following topics:


Grant Writing Tips

A study: Smart Kids are Fit Kids

The Benefits of Outdoor Play

The recent release of the Play for Change Report

Our partnership with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation

Peaceful Playgrounds News Article.

The 2009 year was another successful and satisfying year at Peaceful Playgrounds. In the final two days of 2009 we will share a quick overview highlighting some of our activities and services.

Ten Tips to Getting Your Grant Funded. A grant is a monetary award given by a government agency, foundation, corporation, or other entity to another body in order to plan, implement or operate a particular program or fund a particular project. Learn how …

Link to December Play Nice Newsletter. This month's newsletter provides information on:
1. The importance of Preschool Play,
2. Service Learning Project on Peaceful Playgrounds,
3. Guidelines for Healthy Preschoolers,
4. A guide to Talking About Food and Physical Activity,
5. A Move It! School Kit,
6. The debate over chocolate milk in schools, and an
7. Article on how one Washington district brought Peaceful Playgrounds to all 10 district sch…

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