Recess
Recess at Tilden is wonderfully active. All Tilden students have 45 minutes of free-play recess after lunch every day. Students in Kindergarten through third grade also have a morning recess. Children play across grades like multi-aged neighborhood play. They organize structured games, invent new games, create imaginative play, and move a lot.
We use our fenced-off parking lot, and Dakota Place Park across the street, as playground areas. Once the parking lot is clear of morning drop-off vehicles, additional gates are set in place for extra safety and blocking runaway balls. All sorts of balls, ropes, rockers, hula hoops, tether balls, skippies, etc., are available for play.
Faculty and staff provide supervision and consistency. Recess begins with a short, whole-group discussion focused on playground behavior or school concerns.
Recess agreements:
- find a way to include everyone
- be honest about being “out”
- playing by the rules makes games more fun for everyone
- name-calling and bullying are not allowed
- speak up if something happens to you that you don’t like
- get adult help if trying to solve a problem on your own doesn’t work—don’t wait and just hope things will get better
On rainy days, we spread throughout the school for quiet and active play such as Legos, drawing, reading, crafts, board games, construction blocks, and so much more. See the presentation by Tilden’s 2018-19 5th grade class on their rainy day recess research!
