Best Las Vegas Elementary | Innovation Academy Las Vegas
Nevada schools are cutting recess, is this good for our children?
There has been a dramatic increase in the amount of children being diagnosed with attention and focus issues. According to the most recent CDC report, ADHD diagnosis in children increased by 42% between 2001 and 2011. This increase coincides with curriculum and educational standards (Common Core) that emphasize classroom time over free-play time.
Recess is not just about “play”
I am not saying that these are mutually exclusive facts, but we, as Parents, should look at ways to enable children to have higher success rates in their education, without compromising their mental health. Research into the benefits of recess done by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) concluded that recess and active playtime benefits go far beyond just the physical. In a statement from the AAP Committee that performed the study, they concluded:
“…it (recess) really affects social, emotional and cognitive development in a much deeper way than we’d expected. It helps children practice conflict resolution if we allow them unstructured play, and it lets them come back to class more ready to learn and less fidgety.”
In general, children are able to focus for about 10 minutes before they need to move their bodies, or they tend to “phase out” mentally. In fact, this can often times also be seen with adults. After periods of focused concentration, we wiggle, or shift, or naturally change subjects as a way to create a cognitive break.
Recess actually helps kids learn
Magnify this by the highly active mind of a child, and it becomes a little more clear how asking a child to not move, and to stay focused for long stretches, is unrealistic and unhealthy. Recess, and frequent breaks between lessons, not only gives a child the cognitive break they need, it actually allows their brains the necessary downtime to absorb the material they were being taught, and prepares them for successful engagement when they return to class.
Innovation Academy strives to keep children focused by shortening the lecture portion of a lesson and integrating hands-on, active learning. The kids are encouraged to move around, engage, and participate. This helps keep their attention on what matters, when it matters. Additionally, Innovation Academy has 2 scheduled recess periods, and empowers our teachers to add more free time if it seems like the class would benefit from it.
Our general philosophy is that shorter spurts of highly focused learning sessions bring more value then longer times of wasted focus. If you feel like your children’s needs are not being met by their school, or if you feel that the current curriculum available out there just doesn’t make sense for your developing child, then maybe Innovation Academy is for you. Come see the difference in your child’s focus when their minds and bodies are given what is needed.
Take a Tour and See For Yourself
Do yourself a favor and CONTACT US today to schedule a tour for you and your family. You will see right away the many things that makes this school so special.
Learn more about Innovation Academy!
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