Remember the sense of gratification when you’d pelt the last opposing player in a childhood game of Dodgeball, securing victory for the team? Remember the searing pain emanating from core to fingertips when you were the one getting pelted?
Thanks to increasing concerns about injuries and hurt feelings, these memories won’t jump the generation gap in Emerson. By adopting a new recess program, Memorial and Villano schools are trying to preserve the fun while eliminating the pain, embarrassment and isolation associated with many games of yore. Goodbye Red Rover, Tag and Capture the Flag. Hello Peaceful Playgrounds.
Catching on across the nation, Peaceful Playgrounds is a concept that transforms blacktops and fields into age-appropriate, contact-free play areas. Students are all taught the same games and the same rules with the hope that they’ll play more and argue less.
"The whole idea is to provide students with structured playtime, with common games and a common set of rules," says Memorial School Principal Jessica Espinoza. Memorial and Villano schools introduced Peaceful Playground this September after a local mom, Jennifer Nisonoff, made the suggestion last year.
"I can’t say we have a whole lot of fighting," says Espinoza. "But there are kids who feel frustrated that they can’t get into the game because other kids emerge as leaders. There is some friction."
She hopes that with the introduction of Peaceful Playgrounds this school year, that will change. Since school started last week, kids have learned six games – a fraction of the more than 200 activities that are part of the program – and they’ll continue to learn two new games every week during phys-ed.
Games include "Mad Scramble," in which kids have to kick 20 soccer balls around without letting them go out of bounds. "Frozen Bridge Tag" is a variation of traditional freeze tag, but players who are tagged have to drop to plank position, forming a bridge with their bodies. They are unfrozen when teammates put beanbags on their backs, making them taggers. Hopscotch and beanbag toss are also part of the program.
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STAFF PHOTO BY MAGGIE FAZELI FARD
Parents and children alike volunteered to create a "Peaceful Playground," a concept that encourages structured, respectful play.
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In addition to new games, children will be taught general playtime responsibilities that include safely using the slide and swing sets, not playing in clothing with drawstrings for fear of strangulation, wearing sunscreen and resolving conflicts without adult intervention. The rules vary from school to school, depending on the ages of the children involved.
Espinoza says that while the students have been receptive to learning the rules over the past week, there is apprehension when it comes to giving up the games they already know. "There is some hesitance," she says, "like with anything new."
Parents, on the other hand, are embracing the program with open arms. More than a dozen parent and high school-aged volunteers gathered on Sept. 4 to prepare the play area behind Memorial School before the first day of school. The blacktop, formerly black as its name suggests, was transformed into a tapestry of brightly colored shapes and play stations circling a large U.S. map.
"It’s no longer just grabbing a kickball and starting a game that not everyone knows the rules to," says Espinoza. "This will get more kids involved and active."
