The Important Advantages of Easily Setting Outdoor Recess Expectations
Outdoor recess can sometimes be the most challenging time of the day. The freedom that outdoor recess gives students can often be too much, and disagreements, bad behavior, and other things start to happen. Some teachers only need to deal with it when the weather is warm enough, and others have to deal with outdoor recess behaviors all year long. No matter what, it’s always important to review outdoor recess expectations each time students are getting ready to enjoy some play time!
Outdoor Recess
Outdoor recess normally tops the list as the favorite time of the day in my classroom. The physical activity, recess games, and the active play my students experience make the time outside totally worth it. However, I have experienced some difficult days outside with my class. Whether it was arguments, unfair play, or just students’ inability to get along, recess can be one of the most challenging parts to maneuver as a teacher.
Outdoor Recess Expectations
While in school, I never remember my teacher discussing recess expectations. They just were kind of expected, and when we broke them, oftentimes, we didn’t really know what “rule” we were breaking. However, in kindergarten especially, it’s important to ensure students know exactly what is expected of them during each part of the day.
Outdoor recess is something a free-for-all, where students get to run around, play on the playground, and enjoy outdoor recess activities like jump ropes, a scavenger hunt, four square, or any of the other outdoor games. But, if you constantly remind your students of the expectations, it will be a more “controlled” free-for-all. Here are some of the expectations I expect my kindergarteners to follow.
- Respect others
- Enter and exit safely
- Clean up
- Enjoy your playtime nicely
- Slide on your bottom
- Sit on your bottom on the swings
If you didn’t notice, my expectations spell out the word RECESS. I did this because not only was it easy for my students to remember it, but for me to remember it as well. There are a lot of ways to review these expectations with students.
Ways To Review Outdoor Recess Expectations
It’s always important to review the expectations before you expect students to behave. Although we always hope our kindergartners just know the expectations, sometimes they need a little reminder to behave. I have a couple of ways to help review my classroom’s outdoor recess expectations.
Recess Expectations Social Story
One of my favorite ways to review recess expectations is to use a social story. They are so helpful in kindergarten because it allows students to see themselves in different situations, and students often have wonderful discussions following the story. I will often print out a copy of the recess expectation story and send it home with my students for their reading “homework.” This not only gives students another opportunity to read and remember the expectations. But also shows parents what I expect during recess as well.
Recess ACRONYM
As I mentioned above, the recess acronym is something I use in my classroom every day. I like to have it hung up right next to the door we use to head outside. It’s a great way to quickly read it to students or have a student repeat each letter. If you’re wondering what the heck I am talking about or because you skimmed down to this part. My recess acronym is:
- Respect others
- Enter and exit safely
- Clean up
- Enjoy your playtime nicely
- Slide on your bottom
- Sit on your bottom on the swings
Outdoor Recess Behavior Poster
The last thing I like to include is my recess behavior poster, which breaks down the recess behavior I expect to see in easy-to-follow expectations and pictures. This is another thing I send home with students during the first couple of days and throughout the year. This way, parents once again know what I am expecting, and if their student is having trouble on the playground or during outside recess, and have to contact them. They have the expectations and know what their child is expected to do.
These outdoor recess expectation ideas are great for younger students but can totally be modified to fit the needs of older students too!
Grab all of the resources I mentioned above with my Outside Recess Behavior Visuals | Playground Rules Expectations & Social Stories product. You can find it in my TPT store, or you can just click here.
Recess Expectations Advantages
When you set outdoor recess expectations, there are a lot of advantages to this.
- A structured behavior plan gives students expectations and guidelines before stepping into the recess yard.
- Less “he said/she said” between students and teachers.
- Students are aware of the limits.
- If recess expectations are shared among teachers/aids/ teacher assistants etc. all teachers are on the same page.
- If a teacher must call a parent due to student behavior, there are clear expectations, allowing the teacher to address exactly why the child got in trouble.
Taking advantage of recess expectations and ensuring all students, teachers, and parents are aware to make your life easier.
Recess Expectations
Expectations are important whether you’re having a little free time, indoor recess, or like we just talked about, outdoor recess. Students need to know what is expected of their behavior, and allows there to be no surprises when a student is misbehaving or not meeting the expectations.
If you’re looking for some more kindergarten classroom management tips and tricks, check out some of the blog posts below:
Secrets To Help Determine and Use Kindergarten Classroom Rules
