By

Brian Parrish,   Ochwilla Elementary School

Play:

Topics:

Physical Activity Participation, Teamwork,  Other

At Ochwilla Elementary School, we began the in-class activity breaks and we call them brain breaks. The children do various activities like stretching, dancing to a quick song, jumping jacks, yoga poses, and running in place. The kids really enjoy it and it seems to help keep them focused during the long time periods of reading and math. They also like that it is not scheduled for a specific time - the teacher just stops the class and shouts "brain break" and announces the activity to be done.

How do you plan to make this Play last during the school year and beyond?

We have incorporated it into our teachers' everyday routine and now it is just part of their day.

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

Some of the challenges were CHANGE...some people just do not like change, but after seeing how the activity was working in other classrooms, the staff members seemed to overcome their fear of change and began participating.

How did students and adults work together as a team?

Our S.W.A.C. team, which consists of students and a few staff members, planned and implemented this Play as a team by demonstrating the fun to individual classes. They worked so well together brainstorming and getting the program into the active stages.