Is the 4th grader in a non Title 1 school then? Which one?

My children are at two different FCPS Elementary Schools. My K and 4th grade sons have 30 min recess all days except Mondays. They also have PE twice a week. One school is Title I, 1 is not.

I already asked the principal and there is nothing they can do. They have other requirements to meet. And it is not a one school issue. My children do not go to Flint Hill Elementary, but when I saw their name in that article I looked up on their website and found on the pta website that they still have recess for 15 minutes. The link is pasted below. Then I talked to other moms and they also said their school only had 15 minutes. FCPS has already been broached about this subject from the league of women voters. Hopefully they will do something about it.

http://flinthillpta.digitalpta.com/files/2011/10/FHES-Lunch-Schedule-w-names-11-12-Aug-31.pdf

MAybe you should lobby your local principal b/c it seems that sufficient physical activity time is possible since some schools are doing it. Sounds like your school needs to change, not FCPS.

Perhaps your school does, but ours does not and the additional PE required did not help things. FCPS even says recess varies from school to school depending on the length of day offered as well as the classes. I don't equate recess and PE as the same although I think both are important. Maybe your child's teacher takes them out more, but then they are probably not fulfilling their other requirements (see the above 10 minute recess link). Here is another article written before they implemented the additional PE time.

http://www.interversity.org/lists/arn-l/archives/Jun2006_date/msg00000.html

I think your information is off. I know my child as a 1st grader and as a 2nd grader in FCPS has 30 min. recess everyday except Mondays. In addition to the recess time on Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri, they also have about half hour of P.E. on Tues/Wed/Thurs.

I don't think FCPS needs to make any changes on this issue.

Kindergarteners get two 15 minute recess periods at our school, but from 1st grade on for the most part they only get 15 minutes at non title one schools. I think this is absurd as well. Even 20 minutes is better than 15 which would add only 20 minutes to the school week. I don't know of any class that is taught in only 15 minutes and can't figure out what kids can accomplish other than just running around for that time. There certainly can't be a lot of socialization or creative play. If 70% of schools in the US have at least 20 minutes and the hours Fairfax County children are in school is less than any other neighboring county, why can't FCPS increase the school hours so that children have a 20 minute recess at least four days a week? That would still put them at the bottom of number of school hours per week but at least in line with Arlington and Montgomery County. Below are some links to back this proposition up. I hope the school board considers them this year.

http://www.fullschooldays.org/2011/08/01/league-of-women-voters-advocates-20-minute-recess-periods/

http://lwv-fairfax.org/files/marchvtr-schoolsstudy.pdf

http://www.fullschooldays.org/2011/06/08/ten-minutes-is-all-the-time-avialable-for-recess-in-fairfax-county/

http://news.yahoo.com/u-school-kids-often-miss-recess-study-finds-210406892.html

Sorry, I forgot to mention that they really have a lot of "fluff"/fun time. They are not sitting at their desks all day. I wouldn't worry about it.

Anonymous wrote:Our kindergartener goes to PE twice a week (30 minutes each) and then has recess for about 20-30 minutes T-Fri.

+1

Our kindergartener goes to PE twice a week (30 minutes each) and then has recess for about 20-30 minutes T-Fri.

I have a first grader, but last year I think she had PE two or three times a week. I know this year PE is three times, but I don't recall what it was last year. I think each PE class is 40 minutes (but it could be 30). They also had recess + recess at lunch time.

That's probably last year's schedule when K was half day.

How much outdoor/playground time does Kindergarten students get in Fairfax County? I was reading through an elementary school website in Fairfax county and based on the schedule they had posted, it was 15 minutes per day in the playground, and 30 minutes per week for PE. That is an inadequate amount of physical activity for children that age. However, the schedule posted on the website was outdated so it could have been inaccurate. How much playground/outdoor time do your children have?