recess a thing of the past?

[stillnominivan]

How many recesses do your kids get?
I had back to school night this week and was SHOCKED to learn that in 2nd grade they are down to the one recess after lunch. That’s it!
We are new to the east coast so I don’t know if this is a regional phenomenon or all schools are moving in this direction.

[3boysmom]

My kids have just one recess after lunch - it's always been that way. I'm not aware of it ever being any different...even when I was growing up in a different part of the country we only had one recess. Combine that with PE class a couple of times per week and it seems fine to me. There is also usually plenty of movement in music class. I wouldn't want the school day lengthened to accomodate another recess.

[TiredX2]

In DD's school they have morning recess (15 minutes), lunch recess (50 minutes including time to eat lunch) and afternoon recess (15 minutes) in 1st & 2nd grade. In 3rd they drop down to just two recesses.

I, personally, would rather they do less "academics" (which are, IMO, generally a joke a this age) and have PE every day (instead of just twice a week) and more recess.

[EFmom]

My kids have one half-hour recess after lunch, which is exactly the same as I had, nearly 40 years ago. I went to a private catholic school. My kids go to public school.

[alegna]

In the big school district here they have one recess a day - all elementary grades. Lunch is just lunch- no playtime then.

-Angela

[stillnominivan]

tiredx2

that is the schedule I thought was the norm...

[Kirsten]

My kindergartner (public school) gets three recesses, one is after lunch - one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
My fourth grader (same school) gets two recesses, morning and after lunch.

[homemademomma]

yea, i had 3 recesses all through elementary school. i agree that pe art and music should be daily and academics more broken up

[white_feather]

Well, I grew up in NJ, and I can remember 3 recesses (am, lunch, pm), until the 3rd grade, when we only had am and lunch recess.

[CarrieMF]

In DD's school they have morning recess (15 minutes), lunch recess (50 minutes including time to eat lunch) and afternoon recess (15 minutes).

This is what my dd's school has from kindergarten up to Grade 6. I do not know what they do after that.

In my hometown(graduated 11years ago), the above what also the schedule from Kindergarten up to Grade 12 except from Grades 7-12(now 6-12) the first and last were called Break and we didn't have to go outside or run around.

[UUMom]

The main reason I opted out of public school from the get-go is because many schools in MA limited or have banned recess completely. To me, that is child abuse, pure and simple. I made this decision 10 years ago. Way before NCLB, MA (a blue state, no less) instituted a program called Mass Minutes , which took minutes away from the arts and recess and put them towards math and english etc. Sounds nice, except it's not. Some MA schools do still have recess, but it's not true of all schools, and for most schools, actual time to move your body and take a breather doesn't exist.

[FitMama]

My kids aren't in school yet, but I teach 2nd grade in the LAUSD so I'll weigh in. The CA standard is 100 minutes a week--not recess time. Dance & PE both count toward that 100 minutes.

Our students have a 20 minute AM recess and another 20 minutes after they finish lunch. But physical activity is VERY important to me (I'm a part time fitness instructor as well) so I get my class out for additional exercise between the math lesson and beginning of the language arts/reading block. I also teach them a variety of yoga poses that we use inside the classroom.

My philosophy is that elementary age children should not be expected to sit in a chair hour after hour. They need to get up and move around, get oxygen to their brains, and get a little excercise too!

The LAUSD is on a huge push to teach, model, and reinforce healthy eating and physical activity. Our student population includes a lot of groups at risk for obesity.

[Itlbokay]

I'm on the east coast. Children at our local elementary school get 30 minutes once a day for recess. In the 6th grade and above they do not get recess anymore.

Kindergartners, who go for 2 1/2 hours, get about 10 minutes.

[UlrikeDG]

My mom's 1st grade class has one "recess" (combined with lunch for a total of 40 minutes), but the principal said that she could "sneak" her kids outside for a second "recess" for a couple of weeks.

I attended a private, Christian school for 1st-4th grades. When I was in 1st grade, we had two recesses. I don't remember 2nd-4th grade, but I remember being rather shocked when I transferred to public school in 5th grade and only had one recess, again, combined with lunch.

[Kerlowyn]

We live in MA. In our town, elementary school (K-5th grade) has 3 recess times. Morning, after lunch, then afternoon. School begins at 9:00 and ends at 3:00

[siddie]

My son has 30 min in the am and 30 in after lunch in K. School hours are from 8-230 and lunchtime is 30 minutes.

I withdrew him from a school that only had 20 min. in the am and 10 min after lunch and would take recess away as part of time outs.

Recess is VERY important in the early elementary ages.

http://naecs.crc.uiuc.edu/position/recessplay.html

[Missy]

Hmm...when I was in public elementary school, oh, 30 years ago : we only had one 20 to 30 minute recess/day through 6th grade...and then none. And actually I don't even remember having it in 6th grade. So, when my dd went to public school, I didn't really question recess since it was the same... of course, now we homeschool. We have recess a lot.