The Importance Of Recess For Elementary Schools
Orange County says recess for all elementary schools
Starting next fall all elementary schools in the Orange County school district will likely provide recess, unlike this last year when children at 23 of the county’s schools did not enjoy this free-play break.
The Orange County School Board is not mandating recess but it is recommending a minimum of 20 minutes per day on those days when children do not have physical education class. All the schools under the School Boards jurisdiction have agree to follow the board’s request.
Amy Narvaez, whose child attended kindergarten at Camelot Elementary, was a participant in the petition drive that began last fall to return recesses to Orange County elementary school students. Narvaez is pleased
with the results of their efforts but not completely satisfied.
Narvaez and other Orange and Lake County parents say that children need at least one block of unstructured play time, preferably outdoors to help them remained focused on their school work. Moreover recess should be given regardless of whether the students have physical education (P.E.) on a given day. In 2012 the American Academy of Pediatrics expressed a similar view.
Many parents feel the trade-off of instruction time for play time is a worthwhile endeavor. This, however, is unlikely as schools have phased out recesses and cut back as far as possible on P.E. to enable schools to find more academic instruction time to meet state mandates. Despite the emphasis on instruction time, reading and spelling tutoring in Windermere are becoming increasingly popular as parents feel their elementary children are not getting as much out of school as they should.
Starting next fall all elementary schools in the Orange County school district will likely provide recess, unlike this last year when children at 23 of the county’s schools did not enjoy this free-play break.
The Orange County School Board is not mandating recess but it is recommending a minimum of 20 minutes per day on those days when children do not have physical education class. All the schools under the School Boards jurisdiction have agree to follow the board’s request.
Amy Narvaez, whose child attended kindergarten at Camelot Elementary, was a participant in the petition drive that began last fall to return recesses to Orange County elementary school students. Narvaez is pleased
with the results of their efforts but not completely satisfied.
Narvaez and other Orange and Lake County parents say that children need at least one block of unstructured play time, preferably outdoors to help them remained focused on their school work. Moreover recess should be given regardless of whether the students have physical education (P.E.) on a given day. In 2012 the American Academy of Pediatrics expressed a similar view.
Many parents feel the trade-off of instruction time for play time is a worthwhile endeavor. This, however, is unlikely as schools have phased out recesses and cut back as far as possible on P.E. to enable schools to find more academic instruction time to meet state mandates. Despite the emphasis on instruction time, reading and spelling tutoring in Windermere are becoming increasingly popular as parents feel their elementary children are not getting as much out of school as they should.