Danimals is supporting a cause that I am very passionate about. That cause is keeping recess ( gym) in school. It seems like each year we hear about how eliminating gym, art, and music is up for vote. Thankfully each year it must not pass because so far we still have these classes in our schools here in Palm Beach County. I’m happy to report that in our elementary school the children have “recess” time each day after lunch as well as P.E/gym every….I think every 5th or 6th day. Each day they go to one of the arts such as art, music, media, P.E, and computer lab. I have always been extremely vocal about my desire to leave all these classes in school. I understand children go to school for an education. They need the fundamentals of reading, writing, and math however I believe they equally need to be exposed to the “arts”. I’m very proud to send my children to a school that I believe has these same beliefs.
School needs to be a well rounded experience that includes fundamental education, social concepts, as well as exposure to the extra classes. Maybe it is because I’m creative and yearn to be able to express my creativity in the form of art, web design, writing, etc. that it is so important to me. My boys who were anything but music fans when they entered elementary school, are currently taking guitar and band in school. Something I don’t think they would have even considered if they had not been exposed to it earlier in life. When our children are young we should expose them to all aspects of art and the joys of life so they can grown and experience things to help them discover what makes them happy, what they are good at, and what they enjoy.
Danimals feels as strongly as I do and has created a special contest called “Rally for Recess“. It is such a fun contest and the kids get to eat yummy Danimals to help participate. Simply purchase specially marked Danimals products. In each product is a code. Use this code and enter it at Rally for Recess and earn your school points. One winning school from each of the five leagues will receive a playground makeover and an ultimate recess day. This all-day recess party might include activities such as a climbing wall, a dunk tank, an obstacle course, or a giant slide. It’s one recess students won’t forget and one playground that’ll inspire fun for years to come.
You can also win instantly: Each day, we’ll instantly give away one recess-related prize. Prizes might include a street hockey stick, basketball, soccer ball, flag football set, kickball, or Wiffle® ball set. Today could be your lucky day!
How exciting would it be to win your school a huge playground makeover and how excited the kids would be for that all-day recess party. I know I would be excited if I could play hookie from work to attend a day of recess! If you ask any of my children what their favorite activity is/was in school they will say gym/recess though I think guitar is right up there as a favorite for my oldest son. I was sad to find that our elementary school had yet to be added to the website. I’ve submitted the school and am holding off entering my codes until it is approved, which can take up to seven days. I have gone so far as to contact my school to let them know about the contest in hopes they may let other parents and children at the school know about it as well.
As much as school’s need the money they earn from the fundraisers they participate I have to admit as a parent I LOATHE them. I just don’t like having to beg family members and co-workers to purchase items because my children are excited about a prize. NOW something like this Rally for Recess in which I get to feed my children Danimals in exchange for a code I can enter to earn points. THAT is a contest I support and would love to participate it. I would love to see my school get on board with this and send out flyers and maybe even Rally together to find away to encourage the children and families to participate.
This is an easy way for us to try to give back to our school. Nick LOVES LOVES LOVES Danimals. I will admit I usually purchase Trix yogurt for him but we will be switching to Danimals to get those codes. Between the yogurt drinks and the crush cups he prefers the crush cups, he likes the actual yogurt texture better then a thing drink. The bottom line is if you value recess as an activity in school I encourage you to take the bull by the horns and get your school on board or at least you and your children can participate. Maybe buy some Danimals for your parities or give them to your family for birthday presents LOL (just tell them to enter the code for your school!)
Disclaimer: “I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Danimals and received a gift card to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.” Opinions are my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. You may read more of my disclosure here.
Penelope says
We actually had gym and recess separately. I think gym is important, but not so sure about recess. It’s a bunch of kids playing together unsupervised (hundreds, from kindegarten to sixth grade), and I recall as a kid bullying happening, fights, etc. Recess isn’t really health related either- we chewed gum, gossiped, etc. If you don’t have both, and recess involves supervised playing, it’s important to keep it.
Beth Kimberly says
I think both are important! Kids need time to lead their own play and blow off steam during the day. But recess must still be supervised and adults and student leaders can introduce games and guidelines to make recess fun and safe! Check out these 5 Tips to make a great recess: http://www.playworks.org/blog/you-school-recess-ready
MALINDA DAY says
When i was growing up, we had both recess (30 min) and gym (30 min). I know that physical movement and fitness is just as important learning from books. Who cares if our kids are super smart if they are so fat because they just sit 24/7, and have high b.p., high cholesterol etc…. They have to stay active to help ay healthy!
Leah Walker says
Experts keep going on and on about our kids being overweight but they think taking recess away from kids is good for them? True, it’s not supervised or structured but it’s them running wild and burning tons of calories. Lol. It’s also them recharging from sitting in a classroom for hours on end. Kind of like taking a break to stretch your legs on a road trip.