Two years ago, the Orchard Grove (Frederick, MD - upscale DC suburb)
staff just wanted to give kids something to do during recess. Teachers at the time were worried about an increase in fights, verbal and physical. Some also noticed that many students were not playing classic playground games.
"We have kids who come here who don't know how to play kickball," physical education teacher Brenda Tarquinio said. "We used to be able to do fun things just having a stick."
I'll bet you never heard of Invisible Baseball. We only needed four bases.
So Tarquinio created a structure for recess. She set up orange cones around the field near the jungle gym. She used Popsicle sticks to help kids tally their laps on a course of five laps per mile. For every 25 laps, she awarded them a small plastic shoe. This granted entrance to the "mileage club."
The charms became more elaborate: Snowflakes for running in January, shamrocks in March, turkeys in November. Names of members in the marathon club (just over 26 miles, or 131 laps) were posted on gymnasium walls. Then came the 100-mile club (500 laps). The charms became an Orchard Grove fad, akin to friendship bracelets or virtual pet keychains.
You can't mandate that!
But the results have surprised the staff. As kids ran, fitness scores rocketed and disciplinary problems dwindled. And for whatever reason, test scores rose.
Imagine that. When I finished high school, four years of P.E. was required for graduation. Three of the four years it was five days a week, for an hour.