An Active, Stress-free Indoor Recess is Possible!
REGISTER HERE for our FREE Indoor Recess Webinar taking place on Thursday, January 22 at 9:30am Central Time.
Recess happens every day: rain or shine, snow or sleet, hot or cold weather. But what happens when weather conditions keep you inside? Can you still have an engaging, fun, and physically active recess?
Yes, of course! This winter and spring, many recesses will be spent inside but recess (especially indoor recess) is an incredibly important time of day for students to take a break from academics, get their heart rates up, and practice the social, physical, and emotional skills they learn through play.
Kids can’t afford to miss opportunities for physical activity or building interpersonal skills with their peers just because the weather doesn’t cooperate!
Get started with these tips:
- Learn your school’s policies. Every school has different policies regarding indoor vs. outdoor recess conditions, spaces available for play, and the general “run of show.” Be sure to check with your school staff so that you’re starting out on the same page.
- Have a back up plan. No matter how foolproof you think your plan is, challenges can arise. Sometimes the auditorium you planned to use for recess is being used for an assembly, or the classroom next to you is taking a test so you need to have a quiet indoor recess. Make sure you have a back-up plan and that it’s communicated to the other members of the recess team!
- Keep it consistent. Just because you’re inside for recess doesn’t mean that the same recess procedures can’t stay intact. If you normally announce game stations before recess starts, do that! Use the same recess agreements students are used to outdoors and try to offer variations of their favorite outdoor activities.
- Stay safe. Indoor recess commonly means limited space, so making sure that all students and staff are staying safe should be a top priority. If you’re playing a fast-paced game in a classroom full of chairs and other obstacles, consider using speed-walking or hopping motions rather than running in a game to keep everyone safe.
- Have fun! Recess is such an important time of the day, full of creativity, free play, and games, and all of those things can still take place inside. Encourage students to try something new, and jump into a game yourself to experience the power of play!
We hope you can join us on January 22nd at 9:30am for our Great Indoor Recess webinar!
If you have any questions about the webinar, or want to talk to us about your school’s indoor recess, send an email to mninfo@playworks.org.