Recess Temperatures

[uforgot]

When I was a kid in western MA, elementary school was fairly close to home, but both jr high and high school were about a mile away -- I lived a few blocks shy of the school bus-eligible boundary in both instances.

I remember in particular walking with a neighbor to high school during the winter over snow so cold it squeaked, and be chanting in our newly-learned Spanish "¡Muy frio! ¡Es muy frio!"

Oh, and in elementary school, we had one of those tongue-frozen-on-cold-metal incidents during recess. I kid you not.

When I ride my bike to school I see lots of parents, sitting with their kids in the car at the end of the DRIVEWAY! The weather doesn't matter, they are always there.

Oh, and did you catch the Mythbusters and the frozen metal/ tongue episode? It's true...

[lph]

I agree with Grog, and think you have to take into consideration what the normal temperature range is around there. Here in Oslo everyone is used to temps down to -10 to -15 C, but -15 to -20 is quite rare. It happens, but not every winter, and not for long. Last week we had a cold snap, and when it was colder than -15 C the kids were allowed to stay indoors for recess. I think it was a combination of a bit too much hassle to get dressed, and that some of them maybe didn't have warm enough clothes. Not everybody around here is born and raised in a cold climate.

[TsPoet]

Is ice/slick playground the issue? According to my car (which is my authority), the roads might be slick when it gets <37 degrees F. My car has never been right, though.
but, that was my first thought for the regulation, slip and fall problems?

[SadieKate]

uforgot, Is 40F unusually cold for your area? Do you have many children who don't own the appropriate clothing due to poverty? And what about windchill taking it sub-freezing?

40F to a Floridian is pretty miserable and s/he probably doesn't have the clothes to deal with the temperature.

40F for a Minnesotan in winter is a heat wave and time for short sleeves.

[sfa]

I agree that these things tend to be relative, and a lot should depend on whether or not the kids have the clothing appropriate for the weather (not necessarily a poverty issue as someone suggested--it could well be that it doesn't make sense for *anyone* to buy snow boots or warm parkas if the normal winter includes no snow and temps in the 50's).

But 40 degrees still seems pretty warm (says me, living south of the Mason Dixon line!) to keep kids indoors during recess. My daughter's school has a cutoff of 25 degrees, although if it's dry and not windy they'll often send the kids out in colder weather, and if it's wet or really windy, they might keep them indoors. Even if they have indoor recess, they still get the run of the gym so they can burn off some steam.

Sarah

[GLC1968]

I agree that these things tend to be relative, and a lot should depend on whether or not the kids have the clothing appropriate for the weather (not necessarily a poverty issue as someone suggested--it could well be that it doesn't make sense for *anyone* to buy snow boots or warm parkas if the normal winter includes no snow and temps in the 50's).

Ditto this.


As an aside - when I was in grade school in Wisconsin, school was canceled when temps dropped below -20F because it was too dangerous to be standing around at the bus stop. I think windchill was colder than -50F or something... now THAT's cold.

[Veronica]

Elementary school with a gym? Must be nice!

Speaking as a teacher, it's darn hard to be "on" all morning. If it's raining and I have no prep time (like today) I am "on" with no break from 8:15 - 12:30.

Yes, I want to get them out for their 15 minute recess so I can turn my brain off! Oh and a trip to the restroom would be welcome.

Veronica

[GLC1968]

Elementary school with a gym? Must be nice!

WAIT?! Most elementary schools don't have gyms? All the ones I attended did (and I attended 5 in three different states)! Have things changed a lot since I was a kid?

(I don't have my own kids, so this is not something I'd pay attention to... I'm just curious)

[SadieKate]

sfa, when I googled this issue I found many references to kids not having the clothing due to poverty. Hence, all the Coats for Kids programs run in many communities.

Not having the clothing because it's a freaky weather spell is a different problem covered in an "act of nature" clause.

[shootingstar]

For the elementary school teachers,

Ever thought how immigrant children from warmer climates now living in colder climates adjust on the playground?

And there are tons of them in the major Canadian cities!! From southern Asia, the Carribbean etc. As long as the children are dressed warmly and playing/socializing with others, it's a good thing.

I witnessed first-hand the delight of my cousins' 2 sons, ages 9 & 7 at the time, of their first snowflurries, 3 months after they immigrated to Canada from southern China...which is tropical. It really was something to see. They wanted to be outdoors to play.

(And people complain that immigrants can't adjust, assimilate. Good heavens.)

[OakLeaf]

My first husband served in the Air Force in Thailand. He was there for all of a year. He describes coming back to Ohio in August, 85°F and what we'd consider humid in the USA... and being freezing. So yeah, acclimation is important. But it happens in a matter of weeks. The question is how far the temperature is outside the local norms, and in the case of Missouri, it sounds like it isn't.

[eclectic]

This has been fun to read and got my curiosity up. I teach High school and they wear shorts if it is above 0F

I contacted a cycling buddy who is an elementary school principal in this district to find out the "official" policy

His response was:

Our policy is that we stay inside when:

Air temp = negative 5 degrees (F)
or
Wind chill = negative 15 degrees (F)


There's an old Scandanavian saying that goes, "There's no such things as bad weather, just bad clothing."
The clothing available nowadays is quite good and if children are prepared, it's very easy to stay warm no matter the temp.

We do have programs for boots, hats, mitts, coats etc.

In all my teaching career, (26 years) school was only canceled 1x, and that was by the Governor, he canceled the entire state - wind chills were -70 to -80 F, a cup of hot coffee thrown into the air froze before hitting the ground.

So what did the kids do? They went to the mall.
It got that cold last year - We had school

But to err on safety sake parents can opt out and keep their kids at home. We have a major air force base in our district and some parents do keep their kids home if it drops to -20F. We natives just don't get why they would do that

[Possegal]

My mother told me that when we were really little, she'd bundle us in our snowsuits, put us in our crib, and open all the windows to the cold winter air. That was her busy-mum-of-six way of making sure we got our fresh air.

[Kathi]

When I taught in Cincinnati the cut off was 32 degrees and the playground had to be free of snow. The thought was many of the kids didn't have hats and gloves to stay warm in those temps so no one went outside. Of course, rainy days no matter what temps were indoors.

We drove by our neighborhood school last week, it was 30 degrees, snow on the playground, kids outside running around hatless, gloveless, a few without coats. I guess this is why Colorado is one of the healthiest (thinnest) states in the country.

[Tri Girl]

We coddle our children. BUT...funny thing: if they'd dress properly for the weather maybe their candy a**es wouldn't be cold outside (meaning mom and dad should dress them appropriately or make them wear warm clothes when it's cold outside).
I teach at a preK-8th grade parochial school. Our policy is we don't go outside if the temp with or without wind chill is below 32F.
Of course we just had a frigid couple of weeks and some kids came to school in shorts and sweatshirts (and it was near 0 for many mornings). These kids ALL come from money and can afford coats/gloves/hats, etc. Most of them have nicer coats than I do. They just don't want to wear it (unless they're skiing in Aspen and then by golly parents wouldn't think about complaining about the temperature).

IMO we're raising a bunch of pansies... and not just concerning the weather.

Sorry- this didn't provide any helpful information. I apparently just vented at you instead.
40 seems ridiculous, tho.