ROSLINDALE, Mass. — Students at one local school got a chance to get out and play Tuesday afternoon and FOX25’s Elizabeth Hopkins was there to host a special event.
Experts say it’s about more than fun and exercise, and in fact recess is a tool for teaching that has become less common in recent years.
In the winter months, when the weather gets too cold or snowy and recess is canceled, principal Kathleen Sullivan starts to notice something at Roslindale’s Haley Pilot School.
Because of that, she’s an advocate of what she calls "movement time" for kids. But in schools across the country, recess is not guaranteed.
“We notice that, the afternoon portion, kids have a harder time focusing,” Sullivan explained.
Boston's Chief of Education says there are obstacles to fitting in this type of free time in schools.
"Recess is important, we're trying to make it more important," education chief Rahn Dorsey said.
He says it starts with considering the challenge creatively.
“I think that it’s the way we think about learning time, but I do think we have some opportunities to think very differently about learning time,” Dorsey said. “Just because you're not sitting at your desk, doesn't mean that you're disengaged.”
In a nationwide contest, the Dennis C. Haley School won a competition that gave them a "Rockstar Recess."
It's run by a non-profit organization called Playworks. They want to see more kids have access to fun, safe activities at school.
“You give kids 20 minutes to get outside, to get energized and then come back to the classroom to get them focused and ready to learn,” Playworks’ Jonathan Gay said. “It's also a great place for them to learn those social and emotional skills, like how to resolve conflicts and how to talk with one another. So they can bring those to the classroom as well.”
The event brought ball games, bounce houses -- even a boy band -- to Roslindale for the day.
It was a kick start to a partnership with Playworks that will maximize playtime. The Rockstar Recess competition also won the Haley support from Playworks for two years.
The school says it’s looking forward to having more resources for playtime.