The Pica Perspective

Race to Nowhere

This week's featured program on the BAM Radio Network is my interview with Vicki Abeles, lawyer-turned-filmmaker, whose new film, Race to Nowhere, premieres this week. Vicki decided to make a 
movie when she took a long, hard look at the stress school was causing her middle-school children. She wondered why their childhood was significantly different from her own, and she was troubled by what she found. Among the differences: very little time to play or socialize with friends and much more pressure around school and homework. Vicki told me her daughters did more homework than she was required to do in graduate school!

Yup, I said graduate school.

I highly recommend that you take a little trip over to Vicki's website and watch the brief trailer. Its quiet power may well bring tears to your eyes; it did to mine. While you're there you can also find a schedule of screenings, resources, and ideas for taking action.

Oh, yes; you should definitely listen to the interview, too!

Take It Outside! Week

The week of October 19-23 has been designated as the inaugural Take It Outside! Week.

To increase outdoor play while celebrating the environment, child care centers are invited to join Head Start Centers across the country in participating in the Inaugural Take It Outside! Week, October 19 – 23, 2009.  Presented by Head Start Body Start National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play (HSBS), the national initiative is sponsored by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR). Its purpose is to get children outside, connect with the natural world, and increase physical activity.

According to Center Director Karin Spencer, Ed.D., “Outdoor play is associated with greater amounts of physical activity in children, and research has shown that opportunities for whole body exercise has a long lasting influence as preschool physical activity tracks throughout childhood."

"Unfortunately children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation," added Spencer. "We want to help Head Start and all early childhood education and care staff to discover the benefits of outdoor play across developmental domains and learn about the features of high quality outdoor play spaces that promote movement opportunities for children of all ability levels. When adults model and teach the importance of physical activity, young children are more likely to adopt a lifetime of healthful practices and behaviors."

HSBS will provide programs with everything they need to celebrate Take It Outside! Week including activity ideas, tips for facilitating play, and suggestions for enhancing the environment.  From Books That Move You to 15 Simple Ways to Get Moving, the activities are designed to increase physical activity for young children and promote family involvement. For a wonderful array of free resources about Take It Outside! Week, visit www.headstartbodystart.org. 

 

 

New study: Recess is important

Ah, technology. I wrote a post on this subject earlier in the week and scheduled it for publication on Wednesday -- and just discovered this morning that something obviously went wrong! At any rate, here we go again...

If you've been reading this blog, you know how I feel about recess! So I was thrilled to discover that the results of a comprehensive review of published literature on recess throughout the United States showed that recess breaks as short as 10 minutes improve children’s learning efficiency and the teacher’s aptitude during the other 50 minutes of a school hour.

Said the study’s author, Catherine L. Ramstetter, a doctoral candidate at the University of Cincinnati, “A child’s attention span begins to wane after 40 minutes of intense instruction. Recess provides children a chance to refocus.” She added that reducing or eliminating recess detracts from a child's ability to concentrate in the classroom.

In addition to the mental benefits of recess, Ramstetter said an unstructured play time offers kids physical benefits, especially for young children still reinforcing movement and motor skills.

Of course, we have research going back to the 1880s showing that recess is necessary. Guess we can only hope that this time the policy makers will pay attention!

Mark Your Calendars for Movement!

Seems as though my inbox has been filled with encouraging items lately -- as though the word about movement and play is catching on! Here's what's happening in September:

~ America on the Move. This organization has dedicated the entire month of September to movement. But they're calling the month Steptember. (Love it!) From their website:

Founded by James. O Hill, PhD and John C. Peters, PhD, America On the Move Foundation (AOMF) is a national non-profit organization located in Denver, CO. Our mission is to improve health and quality of life by promoting healthful eating and active living among individuals, families, communities, and society. We do this by:

• Bringing scientists and non-scientists together from multiple disciplines in order to synthesize and stimulate new knowledge.
• Translating cutting-edge science into accessible information for easy use by individuals, groups, and communities that can positively affect health behavior.
• Empowering individuals to take control of their health by making and sustaining small measurable changes to their daily eating and activity routines.
• Encouraging public and private partnerships at the national, state, and local level to build programs that reach individuals and communities and support sustainable behavioral change.

Our research shows that small, specific changes in food and physical activity behaviors can have a positive effect on health and effectively stop weight gain. America On the Move (AOM) provides web-based programs, tools, and resources to individuals, families, groups, and communities of all types and sizes. Together, with the support of our partners and sponsors, we're working to create a movement that inspires more people to make positive changes every day.

~ Worldwide Day of Play. Nickelodeon has designated September 26th as Worldwide Day of Play -- a day dedicated to the celebration of healthy and active play. On that day the network will "go dark" for 3 hours to encourage kids and their families to turn off the TV, get up, get out, and go play.

Those of us who support play know that setting aside 3 hours -- or even an entire day -- isn't sufficient. But it's a start -- and calling attention to the need for play is never a bad thing. And if you go to the Nickelodeon site, you can download a Worldwide Day of Play Playbook -- a planning guide to help you organize an event for your group or community.

~ On an ongoing basis is Push2Play, a promotion of Saskatchewan Blue Cross to inspire Saskatchewan parents and children to live healthier lifestyles through active play an hour a day. The good news is that you don't have to live in Canada to heed their advice or to download their playbook of physical activities and games!

January may be the time of year for setting goals, but let's decide that, if you haven't done it already, September is the time to get moving!

Free Play Webinars

Kaboom is offering two trainings on play in September...free of charge. Here's the info:

How to Be a Play Advocate

September 1, 2009 4pm EST

Register Here: http://eventcenter.commpartners.com/se/Rd/Mt.aspx?316689

The current politics of education and social policy in the U.S. often work against children's play. It's important, therefore, that those of us who understand the role of play in children's health and well-being speak up on behalf of play-friendly policies, communities, classrooms, and schools. Join Edward Miller and Joan Almon of the Alliance for Childhood as they lead us through a special presentation. This webinar will focus on the key goals, targets, techniques, obstacles, and potential allies involved in this work.  We'll provide a basic toolkit of facts and strategies for how you can become an effective advocate for play.

 

Wild Zones

September 10, 2009 4pm EST

Register Here: http://eventcenter.commpartners.com/se/Rd/Mt.aspx?316282

 

“Wild Zones” don’t have to be in a wilderness or idyllic natural setting – it’s really just about “permission to do stuff” with natural materials. Playing around with water, mud, rocks and sticks. Building forts, dens and fairy houses with branches, leaves, flowers. 'Digging to China'. Join Wild Zones’ co-founders David Hawkins and Karen Payne to learn how to create Family Play Days that include these ‘normal’ childhood activities that are absent from the lives of children today. We will discuss transforming tame urban spaces into nature play areas, risk assessment, and the role of teenagers and adults as Play Rangers and Play Foragers. We will also present research about why free play is crucial to brain development, social development and emotional development. Additionally we’ll address how nature play promotes environmental stewardship and improves learning outcomes.

 

Check out playschool.kaboom.org to see additional training opportunities.

A Sickening Sign of the Times

This week's featured interview on Body, Mind and Child is with Lenore Skenazy, a bright, funny woman who was dubbed "America's worst mom" because she let her 9-year-old son ride the subway home by himself. Her response has been the "Free-Range Kids" movement -- with a book by the same title. Her blog post of August 6th was so appalling and unbelievable to me that I requested her permission to republish it here, which she graciously granted...

Hi Readers — It’s summer! Time for kids to run around and ride their bikes and play like puppies till the moon shoos them home.

Unless, that is, they’re living in the Eagle Place Townhomes in Lafayette, Colorado. There, no children are allowed to play outside, unsupervised, until age 16.

That’s right. No kids. Outside. Without an adult. Period.

That’s the new, written rule at the 60-home development and can you guess the reason given? Of course you can! You can recite it in your sleep! Quoth the property manager: “We just want them to be safe.”

 This article, in Boulder’s paper, the Daily Camera, details the “ghost town” the development has become. Said one dad, “It feels like prison.” Another said he has received letters from the management company saying his 5 and 8 year old kids can’t ride their scooters OR play on the grass between units OR play on the property’s playground without an adult present. Before this new rule, up to 30 kids would get together and play.

 Playing on a playground? Imagine that.

Eagle Place management even forbid a 15-year-old from reading a book on his porch swing. Talk about proactive danger management. His 12-year-old sister babysits in the complex. Now she is forbidden to take her young wards outside to play.

The impetus for all this seems to be twofold: One, management says that children are vandalizing the property. And two, recently a child got his foot stuck in an air conditioning unit and his parents couldn’t be reached. Instead, 911 was called. For this reason, management wrote in a letter to the residents, “Each time we find a child unattended they will be instructed to go home until an adult can accompany them outside.”

(The letter also said, “Children bring such joy to our lives and we all love seeing them outside playing in their carefree world.” Then comes the “but.”)

As bizarre as all this sounds, it is not the first time I’ve heard of such draconian laws. Other parents at other developments are dealing with them, too – and I’m not talking about retiree developments that specifically want nothing to do with kids. I’m talking plain old, all-American neighborhoods.

What’s terrifying is that this is what “all-American” may become: Neighborhoods so safe – at least from law suits – that the kids are locked inside or shuttled from supervised activity to supervised activity.

Of course, that sounds a lot like what America is becoming even without bylaws like the ones at Eagle Place. So much for our soaring spirit of adventure. The Eagle has, indeed, landed. It’s inside, playing videogames and  eating a Fruit Roll-Up. – Lenore

There is a P.S. to this story. The very next day Lenore reported that the Eagle Place Townhomes had rescinded the ban due to pressure brought to bear by the media exposure. Turns out requiring parental supervision for children at all times isn't even legal! So now Eagle Place is just "suggesting" it.

Here's Lenore's postcript:

Which, of course, is still insane. Still cover-your-you-know-what. Still a weird, sickening sign of the times — suggesting that every person under age 16 SHOULD have an adult by their side at all times. But it is LESS sickening than it was, which is why this Outrage of the Week has been demoted to, “Weird Sickening Sign of the Times of the Week.”  Woo hoo! — Lenore

Every time I think nothing can surprise me anymore I'm jolted yet again. I'm afraid to wonder what's next...

Get Silly!

I've witnessed children as young as four years old who are afraid of failing or looking foolish. They're the children who sit on the sidelines during movement and music sessions regardless of how badly they want to join in the fun, who color meticulously (and fearfully) within the lines, and who won't raise their hands in class because they might have the wrong answer.

Being silly is a wonderful antidote to this kind of fear. So play a game of Twister, which invites both silliness and risk taking. See who in the family can make the goofiest face. Make up silly dances. Play a game of Belly Laughs, in which family members or several children lie on their backs and place their head on the belly of the person next to them. The person at one end says "Ha!" The next person says "Ha-ha!" The third says "Ha-ha-ha!" And so on down the line!

There's no one right answer in these kinds of activities, which frees children to express themselves and even take creative risks. As an added benefit, my colleague Jackie Silburg, author of The Learning Power of Laughter, tells me laughter relieves stress, perpetuates feelings of happiness and joy, diminishes pain, and boosts serotonin levels.

Head Start Body Start

Last week I attended a meeting of master trainers for the new Head Start Body Start National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play. The center was created with a $12 million grant from the Office of Head Start, with the intention of increasing the levels of physical activity among children in Head Start programs. HSBS will provide grants of up to $5,000 to Head Start centers nationwide to improve their outdoor play space. Grants recipients will also receive targeted training and technical assistance from HSBS, including on-site consultation from a physical activity expert and access to on-line training. (The Play Space Grant RFP was released on May 15th. To access the RFP visit  the HSBS website.)

I have to admit I had mixed feelings about heading to Reston VA and HSBS headquarters. Although I'd agreed, when the grant was being written, to act as a master trainer should the grant be received, that was many months ago. Since then I've been busy, busy, busy; and BAM! has keep me pretty involved. I really didn't want to leave all my other work behind even for a few days.

Then our meetings began. Involved were four other master trainers and four HSBS staff members. And it was incredible. The energy in that conference room was amazing.

First of all, because I work mostly alone, it was a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by a room full of people who are passionate about early childhood physical activity. There are maybe only a couple of dozen of us in the country, so it's astonishing to even find a room full of people passionate about such a subject. And because everyone in that room felt so strongly about the contribution we could make to Head Start children -- and possibly children everywhere -- I renewed my dedication to the field I've been involved in for almost 30 years.

One of the most powerful moments came during a presentation by Nilda Cosco, an HSBS advisory board member and Education Specialist for the Natural Learning Initiative. Nilda showed us slides of outdoor settings and children's experiences in them (many of which were in Europe, unfortunately). In one (which did take place in Europe), a little girl sat on a hot day with her bare feet cooling in a stream. Nilda told us that she'd watched the little girl for about 15 minutes, during which the child gazed into the water and quietly sang to herself.

It was the kind of experience every child should have -- and so few do. And as my eyes filled with tears, I gazed around the room and saw I wasn't the only one who was moved.

So, yes. I have most definitely renewed my commitment to the work I've been doing for three decades. To children's active play -- and to as much of it as possible taking place outdoors!

May Is the Month to Get Moving!

This May is the 26th anniversary of National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, with May 1-7 designated as National Physical Education and Sport Week. These events are sponsored by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE).

The preeminent national authority on physical education and a recognized leader in sport and physical activity, NASPE is a non-profit professional membership association that sets the standard for practice in physical education and sport. NASPE’s 16,000 members include: K-12 physical education teachers, coaches, athletic directors, athletic trainers, sport management professionals, researchers, and college/university faculty who prepare physical activity professionals. NASPE seeks to enhance knowledge, improve professional practice, and increase support for high-quality physical education, sport and physical activity programs through research, development of standards, and dissemination of information. It is the largest of the five national associations that make up the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD).

NASPE recommends that schools and families incorporate at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity into each child’s daily routine. The challenge isn’t finding enough time in the day for a child to exercise, rather, it is helping each child identify a sport or activity that he or she enjoys as much as watching television or playing computer games.

“For many young kids (those under the age of eight), the problem isn’t inactivity, it is trying to slow them down. However, children between the ages of eight and 10 seem to choose one of two routes: the athletic way or the non-athletic way. Those who choose the athletic route play on teams, participate in dance clubs or martial arts, for example."

“As youngsters enter middle school, however, organized physical activities become limited. Thus the challenge for parents is to assist their children in finding physical activities that they enjoy doing with their friends, and that does not require a coach or instructor. Kids need to discover what else is out there for them: riding a bike, in-line skating, dancing, golf, tennis, martial arts or maybe going to the gym. It is important to allow them to explore these different opportunities and determine what activities they truly enjoy.”   

NASPE also suggests that parents limit the amount of time their children spend in front of the television or computer to less than two hours a day, and that they see their parents having fun participating in physical activities of their own choosing. Children learn by example. If you enjoy and participate in physical activity, so will your children.

Each day during kickoff week has a different theme: Adventure Day, Dance Day, Sport Day, Recreation Day, and Personal Fitness Day. For activity ideas, click here!

When Kids Cooperate - Part I

With spring here, bringing with it a new sports season, I thought it was time to revisit one of my favorite topics: cooperation.

Used here, the term cooperation is not intended to refer to good behavior or compliance. Rather, it means the positive collaboration that takes place between and among children -- as seen, for example, when children devise their own games, alternate turning the jump rope for one another, and play cooperative musical chairs (described in next week's post).

Unlike competition, which research shows can foster antisocial behaviors, cooperation has been determined to promote prosocial behaviors. Steve Grineski, author of Cooperative Learning in Physical Education, says the social skills needed for cooperative learning include:

• Listening to others
• Resolving conflict
• Supporting and encouraging others
• Taking turns
• Expressing enjoyment in the success of others
• Demonstrating the ability to criticize ideas, not individuals

In No Contest: The Case Against Competition, Alfie Kohn identifies a great deal of research demonstrating cooperation's positive effects on both social and emotional development. Kohn says cooperation:

• Is more conducive to psychological health
• Leads to friendlier feelings among participants
• Promotes a feeling of being in control of one's life
• Increases self-esteem
• Results in greater sensitivity and trust toward others
• Enhances feelings of belonging
• Increases motivation

When children are given the chance to work together toward a solution or common goal -- whether creating a game or building a human pyramid -- they know they each contribute to the success of the venture. Each child realizes he or she plays a vital role in the outcome, and each accepts the responsibility of fulfilling that role. They also learn to become tolerant of others' ideas and to accept the similarities and differences of other children. Furthermore, cooperative activities seldom cause the feelings of inferiority that can result from the comparisons made during competition. On the contrary, because cooperative and noncompetitive activities lead to a greater chance for success, they generate greater confidence in children.

Although competition is commonly believed to be human nature, Scott Scheer, an associate professor in the Department of Human and Community Resource Development at The Ohio State University, contends we humans actually have a "cooperative imperative" -- a desire to work with others toward mutual goals that can run the spectrum from conceiving a child to sending a rocket to the moon. He may be right. Using MRI technology to determine the effects of both competition and cooperation, scientists at Emory Univeristy found that when people collaborate, the brain sends out pleasure responses!

To be continued...