Recess and How it Affects Kids in School

When a young kid gets to go outside for his or her recess time in elementary school, it is a great escape for their brains. It acts as a refresher and refuels them to help finish the day. Recess in general allows the kids to get up to 30 minutes of exercise a day when they go outside which is great for them at such a young age. Recess should be used all the way up through high school because as kids turn to teens and young adults they are trapped inside more and more in school and it becomes harder. With recess, especially at the high school level, it would help the teenagers freshen up to go outside and get fresh air and just to have that away time in the middle of the day so it doesn’t feel like the day has just been dragging on. It is also a time for exercise and even something as simple as walking around or maybe going to play basketball can act as a great way to help stay in shape and stay feeling good. For instance, an elementary school in Texas allowed their kindergarteners and 1st graders to have 4 recesses a day: two 15- minute times in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. The teachers still found they could get done all the work they needed and that the kids were more focused and maintained higher grades. The same could be used in high schools or middle schools just not as many times to go outside; maybe just one after lunch to help refresh the brain in order to get through to the end of the day.