THE FIT AND FUN PLAYSCAPES

ONLINE RECESS RESOURCE CENTER

There are many online resources to supplement the information Fit & Fun Playscapes provides. We made a great list of sites that share our mission of creating fun, active play environments for kids. Just browse the columns below to view our selection of related online resources.

CHILDREN’S HEALTH & FITNESS

Click on this link to access the US Department of Agriculture’s Choose My Plate program that provides practical information to help consumers build healthier diets and ideas to improve physical activity.

Click on this link to access the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, a free program developed to ensure what happens before, during, and after the fitness assessment is beneficial for students and teachers and leads to youth who are active for life.

Click on this link to access Let’s Move!, a comprehensive initiative, launched by former First Lady Michelle Obama, dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation so that children born today will grow up healthier and be able to pursue their dreams. Combining comprehensive strategies with common sense, Let’s Move! is about putting children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest months and years; giving parents helpful information and fostering environments that support healthy choices; providing healthier foods in our schools; ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food; and helping children become more physically active.

Click on this link to access the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, a CEO-led organization whose national, multi-year effort is designed to help reduce obesity—especially childhood obesity. Be sure to check out Together Counts, a nationwide program inspiring active and healthy living, started by the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation.

Click on this link to access the Action for Healthy Kids, which fights childhood obesity, undernourishment, and physical inactivity by helping schools become healthier places so kids can live healthier lives.

Click on this link to access SHAPE America. The Society of Health and Physical Educators is committed to ensuring all children have the opportunity to lead healthy, physically active lives. As the nation’s largest membership organization of health and physical education professionals, SHAPE America works with its 50 state affiliates and national partners to support initiatives such as the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, Let’s Move! Active Schools and the Jump Rope For Heart/Hoops For Heart programs.

FUNDING & GRANTS

Click on this link to access grants from KaBOOM! KaBOOM! believes kids deserve a childhood filled with the balanced and active play needed to thrive. They are a national non-profit that provides funding for community-build play projects serving high-need community areas that promote their mission.

Click on this link to access the Every Kid Healthy Grant. Thanks to CSX Transportation’s How Tomorrow Moves Campaign, the IU Health Strong Schools initiative, and Let’s Move! Active Schools, Every Kid Healthy Grants are available in select states. Every Kid Healthy Grants provide physical activity grants with an optional nutrition component to support becoming recognized as a health-promoting school. Grants ranging from $500 to $3,000 are available.

Click this link to access Fuel Up to Play 60. Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by National Dairy Council and the NFL, in collaboration with the USDA, to help encourage today’s youth to lead healthier lives. Projects must contain both a healthy eating and physical activity plan (selected from choices called “plays”). Awards of up to $4,000 for K-12 schools are available.

Click this link to access Smart from the Start Awards, part of the Together Counts program made by the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation. The Smart from the Start Awards are designed to encourage preschool teachers to create practical, long-term improvements in nutrition and physical activity at their preschool. Awards: $2,500 mini-grants or one $20,000 Grand Prize award. Also check out the Together Counts by HWCF’s Healthy Playground Makeover Sweepstakes for a chance to win either one of two grand prizes–a new playground from Playworld or $30,000 in prizes for your school’s wellness program–or three (3) runner-up, $5,000 in prizes for your school’s wellness programs. Anyone can enter on behalf of your child’s school. Enter once a day, every day until March 25, 2016. The more entries your school has, the greater chance it has to win.

Click on this link to access Lowe’s Toolbox for Education. The Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grant program is funded by the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation, which has supported thousands of grassroots community and school projects in the areas where Lowe’s does business. Grants provide support for public and charter schools for upgrades and improvements pertaining to facilities, education, and safety. Awards range from $2,000-$100,000.

RECESS ENGAGEMENT

Click on this link to access Active Outdoor Recess information from The Action for Healthy Kids, whose mission is to help schools become healthier places. This link provides general guidelines about the importance of recess along with tips for activities and safety. Ideas for students with disabilities are included. Also, check out this link for ideas playground activities for children with special needs–Including All Children–a wonderful guide outlining the importance of, and methods for, including children with disabilities in playground activities. The website shows how to adjust activities for a variety of different special needs and how to overcome barriers to participation.

Click on these links from Playworks. Four Conflict Resolution Techniques for School Children provides ideas to help empower children to resolve their own conflicts or playground disputes. There is also Games Library, which includes over a hundred game ideas for recess. The list contains a wide variety of games with instructions geared toward different age groups that can take a full recess period to play or even a just few minutes.

Click on this link to access Treatments for Autism – Tips for Recess Time from Craig Kendall, author of The Asperger’s Syndrome Survival Guide and Autism Parenthood. Some of the most important treatments for autism can happen on the playground, yet recess can be a challenging time for children on the spectrum. Read this article for tips to help you understand the needs of, and the importance of, engaging children with autism during recess.

RECESS EQUIPMENT

Click on this link to access S & S Worldwide, a leading sports, recreational and educational retailer.

Click on this link to access Gopher Sport, a national retailer of physical education equipment.