Silly Rabbit, recess is for kids

Recess weather is back! Wonderful for a brief brain-break or a way to rapidly work off some excess energy. My favorite reason for recess is, pure and simple, unadulterated extortion. Don't feel like completing math problems one through sixteen in a timely fashion? Fine...no recess for you. Can't shut your mouth for more than fifteen seconds at a time? No problem...no recess for you. Are you unbending another paperclip? Guess what...no recess for you. Looking at me funny? NO RECESS FOR YOU!!!

So there I was, ready to break in a new season of recess fun (having had to corral in my over-eager kids, who apparently had forgotten how to walk even semi-quietly in a line so we had to practice...twice), when a disturbing playground-associated announcement came over the pa system. "Attention," our principal said in a solemn tone, "a man-eating mother rabbit and her babies have taken residence under our playground picnic table. Proceed with caution."

I ushered my fourth graders back into our classroom to provide explicit instruction about maintaining a safe and respectful distance from wildlife. Although fond of loopholes, ten-year-olds appreciate established expectations. Exactly how far away do we need to be? Four feet? Five feet? Can we lean in? Fourth graders also are the master of the "What if...?" scenario. "What if the bunny charges us," Nick T asked worriedly. "What if it has rabies," another worrier wondered.

A quieter line of kids headed out once more for the playground. Catching a glimpse of the taped-off picnic table area, set off like a cartoon crime-scene, my children charged. Standing the required four feet away, the students saw a mound of fluffy gray fur and began wailing, convinced that a hawk had maliciously murdered their playground pal. Combining my vast knowledge of hamsters and guinea pigs with my innate ability to make things up at the drop of a hat, I quickly reassured my mourners that the pelt pile before them was indicative of a mother bunny using her soft downy-undercoat to line her nest for the babies. I glanced surreptitiously about for the felonious flying fiend but mostly believed my own trumped-up tale.

So, for those anti-recess advocates out there, who believe that seat-time is the best remedy for knowledge acquisition, let this be a lesson to you. A blend of fact and fiction, our afternoon  was filled with wildlife safety lessons, observation, speculation, and evidence-based learning. I told you recess was wonderful.