Recess Before Lunch Copy

You may be wondering “What is Recess Before Lunch?” It’s where students go to recess first and then eat lunch later. This is a popular change from traditional lunch recess where children eat first and go to the playground to play after eating.

Let’s begin with the benefits of Recess Before Lunch (RBL).

• Improved cafeteria behavior
• Calmer, more relaxed students in the cafeteria
• Students return to class ready to learn
• Students throw way less food
• Students drink more milk and eat more
• Fewer discipline problems
• Fewer visits to the school nurse.

Schools have reported that making the change from traditional lunch recess scheduling to Recess Before Lunch schedule is often a somewhat difficult transition at first. Change in general is hard.

Let’s look at what schools are saying about Recess Before Lunch.

Principal’s comments:

Ms. Peters McKinley Elementary in Washington

“By having recess before lunch, our students make better choices about what they eat. They eat more and drink more fluids. It is easier to settle them down in the classroom after lunch. (Action for Healthy Kids Washington State-Recess Before Lunch Handout.

Teacher Comments:

“We have more uninterrupted teaching time.”

“Fewer fights on the playground and better classroom behavior.”

“Students are not rushing through lunch to get to recess anymore.”

Students comments:

“I get to play soccer sooner.”

“If you eat before recess you get a tummy ache.”

“It takes off all your energy so you aren’t moving around at the lunch tables.”

As you can see, generally speaking once people have adjusted to the change most comments are positive once RBL has been implemented.

*Most of the research from this section is from the Montana Team Nutrition Research Project.

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