House bill 159 would require all elementary schools to have at least twenty minutes of recess every day.

State lawmakers are looking at giving kids a break. House bill 159 would require all elementary schools to have at least twenty minutes of recess every day.

Studies show unstructured recess enhances a child’s imagination and social skills.

Video: Recess May Be Mandated

For the third consecutive year, KaBOOM! and CaliforniaVolunteers are partnering to build great new places to play for children across the state! Six communities in California are planning to build playgrounds all in one day on April 25: Delano, Fallbrook, Fullerton, Lemoore, Sacramento and San Bernardino. Each of the projects includes a mural honoring the legacy of Cesar Chavez.

CaliforniaVolunteers has just posted details for how to volunteer fo…

Stuart Brown has released an new book on play in which he identifies 10 reasons play is important. You can check out longer descriptions of all 10 reasons that play is important in either his book, Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul or from an article in US News and World Report entitled, 10 Reasons Play Can Make You Healthy, Happy, and More Productive.

1. Play is good for the brain.
2. Play teaches th…

For those of us in the play business, a presidential swing set, while not earth shaking news, is an opportunity to remind folks that play "Is important!"

If we understand on the most basic level that play is essential to leading a happy and healthy life, it comes as no surprise that the President would give his children a swing-set. After all, he's Harvard educated.

These days parents are more likely to organized a "play da…

Did you receive the March Play Nice Newsletter? Download your copy now.
Topics include:
*March U.S. Playground Map Stencil Winners,
*Case Study Could Shape Physical Education Landscape Across Nation,
*Study Finds Preschoolers Inactive at Play,
*Peaceful Playground's New Location: We've MOVED, and
*National Recess Week March 2-6.

Have you ever wondered why children are beginning to spend less and less time outside?

An article in the NY Times suggests its the what they call, "the flip flop factor." Outdoor play at day care centers is often stifled because a child arrives wearing flip-flops or without a coat or because teachers don’t feel like going outside.

A study by Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center held focus groups with staff member…

An article in the NY Times entitled:The 3 R’s? A Fourth Is Crucial, Too: Recess suggests that, "The best way to improve children’s performance in the classroom may be to take them out of it." This comes as no surprise to my blog readers but we can't hear it enough right?

The NY Times article cited the study published last month in the journal Pediatrics which looked at the links between recess and classroom behavior in children ag…

Which is more important in preschool development, learning your ABC's or learning to play nice? It turns out both are equally important, according to a study in Head Start preschools in Pennsylvania.

Researchers found out that "both skills are intertwined according to Penn State University psychology professor Karen Bierman. Educators that focus on facts are missing the mark because play is the vehical that drives motivation for learn…

Twenty-nine thousand students are enjoying recess again in their elementary schools after the Tacoma School Board voted to reinstate it last week. The Board expressed their belief that kids need to exercise their bodies as well as their brains during the school day. Superintendent Art Jarvis made the recommendation to reinstate recess in all 37 elementary schools that previously made school site decisions on scheduling recess.

The Center for Public Education has released a mini research review of school recess and contrary to some reports they contend that 9 out of 10 students recess is still alive and well. However, they quote the 2006 CDC Survey (SHPPS) and the 2005 U.S. Department of Education Survey (FRSS 2005) which considers self reporting in which 9 of 10 schools report "scheduling recess." As a retired principal I can attest to the fact that, &q…

Kaboom! a non-profit company helps schools and parks build playgrounds across the country. They are conducting 4 "We Play!" Workshops next month. Trainings will be held in Denver, Cleveland, NYC and Atlanta. It's your opportunity to learn how to be an advocate for playgrounds.

Best of all, the trainings are FREE! Don't miss this opportunity to work on behalf of children and play.

Please note the corrected link ...........…

When it comes to the Rock, Paper, Scissor game,
it's all in fun but still a little strategy never hurts.
Scientists in the UK have "studied" this popular playground game and concluded that one should start with scissors as it has a psychological advantage.
Research shows that a rock (or stone) is the most popular of the three possible moves in the game of quickfire hand gestures.
If your opponent expects you to pick stone, they will c…

Stuart Brown created the National Institute for Play in 1996 after more than 20 years of psychiatric practice and research persuaded him of the dangerous long-term consequences of play deprivation.

According to Brown, "If you look at what produces learning and memory and well-being, play is as fundamental as any other aspect of life, including sleep and dreams.’’

Play (or lack of ) is the one thing that most educators, parents, and psychologi…

Organizing play for kids has never seemed like more work. But researchers Adele Diamond and Deborah Leong have good news: The best kind of play costs nothing and really only has one main requirement — imagination.

Researchers say unstructured play helps children learn to control their own emotions and behavior -- abilities that are a better predictor of a child's academic success than IQ. The regulated play many modern children experience doe…

If you want your child to be more active, try throwing him a ball
Tara Parker Pope / The New York Times

Simple playthings such as balls, jump ropes, hula hoops and riding toys do more for encouraging physical activity than swings, jungle gyms and other stationary playground equipment, according to a recent report in the ‘American Journal of Preventive Medicine’.
The findings are important because they show that schools and day-care centers don’t ne…

From Capitol News, Channel 9, NY by Kaitlyn Ross

Math...A+. Science...B-. Body Mass Index?

Registered Dietitian Judy Carr, said, "There's been a lot of discussion and a lot of debate as to whether this should be included in a child's report card."

The ratio of your child's height to weight could soon make on the report card right next to reading, writing and arithmetic.

Both Arkansas and Illinois have passed legislation, and it…

According to a documentary directed by former Brigham Young University film student Steven Greenstreet, the way schools have reacted to the federal law contributes to a national childhood obesity epidemic. So do a lot of other factors that play out on the schools' stages.

Greenstreet, director of the award-winning documentary "This Divided State," about filmmaker Michael Moore's 2004 visit to Utah Valley State College, is puttin…

Charles Kelly
The Arizona Republic

Your tax-credit donation can aid students in the Peoria Unified School District in many ways.

Rae Conelley, principal at Alta Loma Elementary School, can list a variety of them.

"We have used tax-credit money for so many opportunities that we might never have had," Conelley said. "The money that our patrons donate to us through the Arizona Tax Credit system has been used for programs that keep our ch…

There are a number of gift ideas to get sedentary children of all age active, says a Purdue University childhood fitness expert.

"The key is to find gifts that also motivate the entire family to move," says Carole DeHaven, a continuing lecturer in the Department of Health and Kinesiology. "Parents are the gatekeepers for healthy living. By providing activities that children enjoy, along with healthy food choices, we can help…

S 651 PLAY Every Day Act 2/15/07

To help promote the national recommendation of physical activity to kids, families, and communities across the United States. The Secretary of Education, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall provide grants to State health departments to enable the State health departments to work in partnership with eligible community-based coalitions to plan and implement model comm…