Lunchtime at Central Park - Implementing Recess Before Lunch
Submitted by Glenda Houlston - Principal
We had noticed that our students were very active while eating their lunch – moving around, not sitting down, and generally hurrying with their lunch so they could be ready to go outside. We had several parents telling us that their kids were not eating their lunch. We also had a lot of kids eating on the playground which created inactive playtimes and lots of litter. We decided to try something different and implement recess before lunch.
Our mornings are longer than our afternoons but the students do have a 15 minute recess for a snack and a stretch. With this in mind, we switched the lunch hour so that our students go outside to play first and then come in to eat at 12:30.
The results of this simple change are:
- the kids have an active time after a morning of work
- the kids eat their lunch
- there is less litter
- nothing changed for the teacher on supervision
- the kids who go home for lunch, leave when the others come inside to eat
- it is a quieter transition to go from eating to working than from the playground to working
Our staff, parents, and students have supported this transition and we have had very positive feedback from everyone!
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