Over the course of this Trimester 3, the counseling team has been piloting outdoor games groups for all ages, following a slightly different model for the elementary and middle school classes.
For the middle school classes, all students have the option to join the weekly activity happening on Thursdays from 12 to 1 at Leonard Field; recent games have been Capture the Flag, dodgeball, and soccer. We have had between 15 and 30 students sign up each time, which has made the games really exciting and engaging! We are currently planning to continue with a similar model and timing for the middle school classrooms next year, as well as considering how best to maintain a weekly indoors games social group for those kids who prefer to bond over board and card games.
For the elementary school classes, we have taken two classrooms at a time to Davidson Park to play games together like Spud, Sharks and Minnows, and Freeze Tag. For these younger students, there is an intentional focus on flexible play, gracious winning and losing, and trying the game out even if it doesn’t initially appeal to them. These games happen from 12:30 to 1:30, which allows the students to eat first, then walk to the park together, then transition back to school in time for their afternoon specials. We will also be continuing to incorporate outdoor social play into the elementary schedules next year in a more structured way, as the kids are enjoying it and there are clear benefits to learning these crucial social skills in a dynamic, engaging way!
Please enjoy a few snapshots from recent weeks of play, and feel free to share ideas or feedback with the counseling team on this new endeavor by reaching out to Eileen, Neal, Sigourney, and Malcolm at counseling@aceraschool.org.
Recess Recaps is a bi-weekly series on Acera’s blog curated by the Counseling Team.
