Food for thought: Elementary school moves recess before lunch

After more than a year of remote and hybrid learning, La Conner schools resumed in-person instruction last week by helping students – though still masked and socially distanced due to COVID-19 – get back into a normal campus routine.

To do so, school staff did plenty of summer homework prior to welcoming pupils for last Wednesday’s initial half-day of classes. (Thursday was the first full day of instruction for Grades 1-12, with kindergartners having started yesterday).

At the elementary school, a good portion of that homework involved nutrition and exercise.

Acting upon research linking improved nutrition, physical health and student behavior, the elementary school has opted this year to schedule recess before lunch, principal Heather Fakkema-Hovde wrote in recent correspondence with district families.

“Studies show that it serves kids better because it encourages them to eat more of their lunch – they’re not rushing to get outside,” she explained. “It reduces food waste because they’re eating more and it provides kids time to relax before returning to class, which makes them better prepared to learn in the afternoon.”

Data collected from a wide range of sources, including the Journal of Child and Nutrition Management and Preventative Medicine, support the district’s decision to schedule elementary recess before rather than after lunch.

Findings published in the two journals state that lunch can provide a calming buffer between active play and quiet classroom work; students who have recess first eat significantly more fruits and vegetables compared with peers who have lunch first; and students waste less food when they have recess first.

Educators who participated in the studies referred to by Fakkema-Hovde found that students excited to go play often chose less nutritious items for their lunch so that they could hurry up and finish to leave the cafeteria for the playground. Some students were seen taking as little as three to five minutes before dumping their trays.

Fakkema-Hovde has also reached out directly to other elementary school administrators who have made the move to recess before lunch.

“Everyone I’ve ever spoken to who has made this shift in their schedule has loved it,” she said, “so I’m hopeful we will, too.”

Fakkema-Hovde anticipates undergoing a period of adjustment to the new schedule.

“We expect a few bumps in the road initially because it’s a new practice,” she acknowledged, “but we hope that with good planning and a positive attitude, we’ll have this new routine down in no time.”

The elementary school has set its fall open house for 5-6:30 p.m. Sept. 17.