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Daily blog on topics of childhood obesity, physical education, recess, nutrition, playgrounds, grants and more.
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Check out the Play Nice archives for articles on the topics of:
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Childhood Obesity
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Recess
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Greetings!
This month's newsletter provides information on recess before lunch, alternatives to tag and teaching children about healthier food choices.
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Recess Before Lunch : Breaking with Tradition
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  Listen to podcast.
As an educator, I'm the first to admit that getting
things to change inside the education system is like turning a huge
cruise ship around in a small harbor. Possible but it
requires lots of maneuvering. A few brave principals across the
nation are doing just that and bringing a long standing school
tradition to an end. They are advocating "recess before lunch".
In
doing so, they are finding some amazing results: kids eat more, waste
less food, return to class calmer, behave better and as a result,
instructional time is increased.
It seems to be working for middle schools and elementary schools alike. "We've
been doing it for three years, and it has made all the difference in
the world, especially in the afternoon classes," said Kim Anderson,
principal of Central School, a grade 5 to 8 school in Whitefish,
Montana. "They used to come in [from recess] hot, sweaty, and fired up.
It would take teachers five or six minutes to get them back to a
teachable mode. We've reclaimed five to ten minutes of instruction time
every day."
Two elementary schools
that switched recess and lunch also reported healthier, happier
students. Post-recess ailments were among the reasons North Ranch
Elementary School in Scottsdale, Arizona, changed its schedule. "We got
the idea [of recess before lunch] from the school nurse who had been to
a conference," said principal Dr. Sarah Hartley. "It gets very hot
here, and the kids were eating and then playing in the heat. The nurse
was reporting a lot of headaches and stomach aches after lunch."
North
Ranch was the first elementary school in its district to make the
change; now 16 out of 31 elementary schools have switched.
Katie Bark, a dietician who is a member
of the Montana Team Nutrition Program, said her group has been
researching the effects of holding recess before lunch for several
years. The project is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture; one of the directives from the USDA is for schools to
develop a healthy nutritional environment.
The team developed some guidelines for schools interested in changing their schedules, called Recess Before Lunch Policy: Kids Play and then Eat! |
Ten Alternatives to Tag
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Robyn Hooker, principal of Kent Gardens Elementary School in McLean,
Va., added her name to a select list of principals last week when she eliminated "tag" as one of the recess game choices.
Hooker explained to parents in a letter this month that tag had become
a game "of intense aggression," and it seems the kid's tag game turned
into a game of "pile up" instead.
See a great animation of the game of tag from the Virginian Pilot Newspaper!
Since
tag continues to get unsatisfactory reviews from some schools and some
principals, I put together a list of 10 activities that provide
alternatives to tag. Click for the rules to the games list below as alternatives to tag.
1. Jump rope
2. Jogging-set up the field for laps and have children run and gather Popsicle stick per lap.
3. Hopscotch
4. Kickball
5. Catch
6. Cat's in the Cradle
7. Chinese Jump Rope
8. Telephone
9. Follow the leader
10. Keep Away
Blog topics in which we presented alternatives...
Alternative fundraisers to unhealthy food.
Alternatives to withholding recess.
Alternatives to tag.
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Results of a new study from Philadelphia published in the April 2008 issue of
Pediatrics will show that healthier food choices and removal of high
calorie foods from school vending machines makes a difference.
Additionally, snacks were scaled back and candy was banished. Researchers handed out raffle tickets for wise food choices and spent
hours teaching kids, their parents and teachers about good nutrition.
It
paid off. The two-year
experiment resulted in a reduction in obese kids by one-half from those in schools that
didn't make those changes. It shows how a small change can have a very dramatic effect from a public
health point of view.
You can make a difference. Public health officials have long
maintained that schools are ideal settings for programs targeting
childhood obesity. Children spend long hours each day at schools and
eat lunch and often breakfast at school. The Philadelphia study
put to the test a program developed by the Food Trust, a local
nonprofit which works to improve access to affordable, healthy food.
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What do I get in the Peaceful Playgrounds Program Package?
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 We are often asked about the contents of the Peaceful Playground Program Package. The Package includes:
· (4) Activity Guides: Preschool/Kindergarten; Grades K-3; Grades 3-6; and Field Games
· (4) Blueprints: Preschool/Kindergarten; Grades K-3; Grades 3-6 and Field Games
· 41 stencils: letters, numbers, feet and shapes
· Playground good sports coupons
· Playground good sports award
· Program overview - dvd
· Equipment checkout form
· Playground procedures list
· Playground report
· Workshop training materials
· Playground sportsmanship poster set
· Large Peaceful Playgrounds Poster for office
Peaceful
Playgrounds Program materials are copyrighted. Site License is issued
with each Peaceful Playgrounds Program purchase for use of designs at a
single school site for which the site license was purchased.
For more information: http://www.peacefulplaygrounds.com or
email Melinda@peacefulplaygrounds.com
Call 877-444-9888 for school and district discounts.
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Sincerely,
Melinda Bossenmeyer
Peaceful Playgrounds, Inc.
www.peacefulplaygrounds.com
877-444-9888
melinda@peacefulplaygrounds.com
PO Box 45586
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Copyright Peaceful Playgrounds, Inc. May 2008 All Rights Reserved
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