A few days ago, an article said the principals will have a bit more freedom to give kids recess. About time they recognize that kids need to be kids and run off some steam. Like it or not, they aren't little robots who can sit sill through hours of instruction without getting the wiggles. Maybe this is a backing off of the insane testing mentality and the strict "you have to have x minutes of math, x minutes of reading" approach. So thumbs up to this new strategy!

What does this mean exactly: an article said the principals will have a bit more freedom to give kids recess

Elementary school kids get recess. Middle and high school kids don't. Principals could take time away from recess and teachers can as well. What's changed?

I've been doing a little metal detecting lately at some elementary schools and have noticed the little ball fields are grown over.

When I was in school we used to play kickball and other games like that at recess.

Kids aren't getting a recess now, and we wonder why they are getting bigger.

What are you finding when you go metal detecting??? Lunch money?

Kids do get recess in our schools.... my daughter tells me about what they played during recess every school day..
The only day I believe they don't go out for recess is during inclement weather....
The new ruling states that the principals will have the freedom to add more recess time if they want to....

As for the fields being overgrown.... it is summer... do you think maybe they are not cutting the grass when school is not in session...

I find all kinds of things, what I'm looking for though is old coins wheat pennies, silver coins and gold and silver jewelry.

No it's not just overgrown from the summer, I can't see the base lines anymore these little fields haven't been used in a while.

I'm glad to hear they still get a recess though.

Ah thank you Griz


I don't see them ever wanting to add more recess time. Elementary schedules are packed with tons of classes. Math, science, social studies, reading, writing, music, art, gym, blah blah blah, etc, etc.

I don't remember ever playing kickball at recess, you don't have enough time for that. We would have field day once a year, and a fun day or two where the whole class plays something, but that stuff is mostly done in gym class. Oh you know what I liked, those big parachutes that you play games with. Did you old people play with big parachutes? We only got to do that on special occasions.

I enjoyed that in gym we got to use gymnastic equipment at Salem Ave. We had vault thing, balance beams, double bar things, separated bar things, cool stuff. In middle school gymnastics consisted of...a mat...

By the way, no kids should not have recess, how do you expect them to pass their MSA and HSA tests if they are wasting time socializing!!?!? (That was sarcasm.)

I guess you'd consider me an "old" person (I'm 40). Yes we did play with the ginormous parachute in gym (in elementary school) and I agree it was lots of fun.


Sometimes we also rolled a hoop with a stick and had races on those bicycles with the big wheel in the front and the tiny wheel in the back (that was sarcasm too).

All the article meant was that they can give a little more recess time. nothing more. they already had recess. and sex ed.

I failed kindergarde the first time. I couldn`t filll the sand bucket with sand fast enough.
Then I failed sleep time , I wouldn`t go to sleep.

But I did pass dodge ball and running faster than anyone in my class.

We didn`t have parachutes back then. We only had hankys.

Everyone needs more sex ed.

I remember from 5th grade sex ed that periods looked extremely light, and appeared to only last a few seconds. Yea, right.

It was a period class really, we didn't cover anything about sex, we just had to label male and female parts and talk about pads. Oh, they showed us scary videos of births too, and ABSTINENCE IS THE ONLY ANSWER! JUST SAY NO