Sometimes You Just Gotta Go to Recess...

Yesterday I asked my kids how their school days went. One of them said "It was great - we had double recess!"

My first reaction was a typical principal's thought regarding lost instruction time. I said "Wow... that's cool. Why did you get double recess?".

"My teacher said everyone was stressed out, including her, and we all needed to blow off a little steam, whatever that means."

Smart teacher. Smart teacher with her finger on the pulse of her class. Sometimes we all need a little extra recess.

Lately it seems like all the news both in and out of education is bad. We're seeing a lot of stressed out kids, teachers, administrators and parents. Yesterday our counseling office was full of kids with a wide variety of affective issues. In my twenty plus years in education, I don't think I've ever seen a time when kids felt more uncertainty in their worlds. As adults, both for the kids and ourselves, it's important to take time for a little extra recess now and then.

Remember to take time for yourselves, your kids and everyone's collective sanity. Sometimes taking fifteen minutes to "blow off a little steam" can result in hours of increased productivity. Next time your day is getting you down, find a couple of co-workers or family members to go outside and play a little tag... just might turn things around for you...