We have all surely had different and similar kinds of experiences when it comes to free time at school. The most common thing everybody was doing during the break times between the lessons was discussing things and playing games with friends. We all are familiar with playground games such as hopscotch, twist, swinging, jumping the rope, playing on the jumping gym, trading stickers etc. Then there are things that not all of us are familiar with, such as playing with marbles and pokemon cards or doing simple handycrafts (friendship bracelets etc). What was also different was the length of the break sessions. They varied from 5 to 30 minutes between our group members and between school levels.
When going to secondary school, there were no more playing games during the breaks. We were doing different things, such as going to the shop to buy something or going to see our other friends to a different, nearby school. Cell phones weren’t allowed for some of our group members – in this case, the students would use them during the breaks discreetly.
We consider free time being a vital part of school life since it gives us the opportunity to talk with peers and share our experiences at school, discussing what has happened during the day – what we had learned, what emotions we have experienced if we felt something had been unfair or particularly fun etc. As Pellegrini (1995) says, recess is a time when children have the chance to interact with minimal adult intervention, and it is a good opportunity for the teacher to observe spontaneous peer activities. This leads to the conclusion that recess is important for children’s social interaction. Children need to “blow off steam” during the school day. According to surplus energy theory, children accumulate surplus energy by sitting still for a long while, and they need to use physical activity to use up this energy. The physical activity is important for them to be able to concentrate on the school work again. (Pellegrini, 1995.)
Resources:
- Pellegrini, A. D. (Ed.) 1995. School Recess and Playground Behavior. Educational and Developmental Roles. State University of New York Press: New York
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