As schools cut recess from the curriculum, more and more research suggests that it's a vital part of a child's day.Children need playful breaks—not just a change in academic subject or a physical education class—to keep from being overloaded by the cognitive demands of the classroom. A series of field experiments at a public elementary school reached conclusions that wouldn’t surprise any teacher: students were more attentive after recess than before, particularly when the stretch of time they had to spend in the classroom was shorter. This held true even when students were only allowed to play indoors during recess, suggesting that it’s not just pure physical activity that matters, but rather a change of pace. Source: Recess Matters | JSTOR Daily
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