When you ask a kid, "what's your favorite subject in school?", most people would not be surprised to hear the response, "recess". That response may not be unjustified. My second graders work very hard throughout the entire school day and finally have recess towards the end.
My students are from Eastern North Carolina.
At our school, a large majority of the students are from single parent homes and receive free or reduced lunch. With the increased emphasis on testing, the importance of recess is often overlooked. Not only is recess beneficial to students' overall health, it is important for their academic performance as well. Research shows that children need a break from academic instruction in order for them to pay attention and have their brains function to the fullest. At our school, recess is at the same time for grades K-5. Although there are multiple playground areas, it is very hard to avoid children in lower grades from playing with children in upper grades because their is only so much playground equipment to share. As you can imagine, almost 500 children on a playground can be pretty chaotic.
My Project
I am trying to get basketballs, playground balls, jump ropes, hula hoops, fitness dice and cones for our recess time. These materials will help my students remain active. Without this equipment, my students often roam around wondering what they can do. The cones will help me be able to set boundaries while we play group games such as freeze tag or "cross the ocean". These playground toys and equipment will keep my students active and happy so that they are ready to focus and learn when they come back in.
Even though it may seem like your donation for playground equipment will only help children during that recess time, that isn't true.
Having appropriate recess time to get out energy and play helps every other subject area. After my students go outside and play with their hula hoops and fitness dice, they will be more able to focus on learning to read and doing math.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Argentieri and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.