Recess…can it really be that important?!

If you’re walking past the play areas around our parish school at about 10 am you will see with your own eyes a menagerie of children gathering, throwing balls, huddled or walking arm in arm…here at Blessed Sacrament Parish School this is RECESS.  And, if you happen to be passing by the same play areas during that time you will hear loud and gregarious children!  Here at BS School, that is part of the RECESS process!

This month’s writer never really thought much about it except for the loudness and the freedom that our teachers give to those playing children.  I just figured that schools do this sort of thing – recess, that is. Well, I’m here to tell you that I was wrong.  Schools in general do not recess their students during the course of a long and arduous school day for a number of reasons. But, here at our parish school, we do… and as a matter of fact in our grades PreK through 4th we have recess 2 times during that long and arduous school day…and for very good and well thought out reasons.

According to the expert teachers here at our school and in compliance with the American Academy of Pediatrics recess gives our children a much needed mental break and is a critical and essential part of child development.  It has been proven that children who are fortunate to have recess during their academic day…

• Return to their classrooms more focused, attentive and productive…with much less movement and fidgeting,

• That break gives their brains a time to process and makes their thinking processes more effective and cohesive,

• Helps them be more creative and independent which helps with problem solving and boosts self-confidence,

• And, that free and unstructured play helps develop social and emotional skill.

Now, having “said” all of this I am sure that you would agree that during free play whether in our own back yards or in the school’s playground we have experienced children developing better communication skills, practicing negotiations and how to compromise, how to share better, how to resolve conflicts, manage stress and how to build relationships.  According to the Academy self-directed play or recess allows children “to learn, to cooperate, collaborate and self-advocate.  These are critical skills for when children become adults and navigate through careers and relationships”.

Well, here at Blessed Sacrament Parish School we know what a child needs and we institute those tools so that we can continue to  “form leaders…together through love, service and excellence”.