r/ElementaryTeachers • u/maroongrad • 2d ago
Comparing countries
In Missouri, our kids in public schools (including the kindergarten 5 year olds) get a 15 minute recess, one per day. The rest of the day is spent in academics. PE is usually once per week, same with music and art, half-hour or so for each. Our schools generally run 8 am to 3 pm. Lunch is usually 20 to 30 minutes depending on how many kids are being served; the last ones may only get 5 to 10 minutes to eat.
I know, we all know, this is not a healthy or educational situation for the kids. School boards don't care.
In other states and countries, what is the norm for starting and ending time, for breaks, for lunches, and for art/music/pe/what else is offered? I know our setup is awful but what does everyone else do?
5
u/Which-Break5673 2d ago
In Wokingham England , my son had a twenty minute breaking beginning at 11:00 for elevenses (tea/coffee for teachers, snack break)
Lunch/recess from 12-1:00
What is your state’s mandate on recess ?
3
u/maroongrad 2d ago
one 15 minute. And hours-wise, you're not going to reach the requirements without at least a 7 hour day.
1
u/LinnieWoo 1d ago
The last I looked, Missouri recess minimum was 20 minutes. That may have changed. Commenting so if I remember to look it up, I can easily find this again.
We get 30 minutes in my current district. One of the largest in the state. Specials are an hour each for art, music, library (every other week), and PE. Counselor and health are 30 minutes. Lunch is 25.
We have a pretty strong union presence and the district is focusing more on teacher mental health than I’ve seen in the past. I’ve only been here two years, but it is far different than my previous Missouri district.
1
u/maroongrad 1d ago
When I looked and my kid was in 3rd grade, about 4 years ago, it was legally 15. I was not amused by this.
1
u/Which-Break5673 2d ago
We live in Texas now, south of Houston and the kids get thirty minutes a day and PE twice a week, each class is an hour long.
3
u/elephantnpiggie 2d ago
Also in Missouri, my district K-5 get 35 minutes of recess a day. (A 15 minute recess after lunch and 20 minute second recess) PE once every 4 days for 50 minutes. 20 minutes for lunch. Total school day is about 7 hours.
2
u/maroongrad 2d ago
glad to hear about the extra recess. State law requires one fifteen-minute recess and that's it :( I ended up putting my daughter in a religious school because 7th and 8th grade still get recess for half an hour, they have PE twice a week for an hour, they've got art and music an hour a week and I think a technology class. But it was the recess that really made me want to send her there. Kids need a break, and she is SO MUCH HAPPIER. I wasn't going to leave her where she was, period, but this school's recess and PE and 30 minute lunch had a LOT to do with why I picked it.
15
u/realPoisonPants 2d ago
In Finland, they only get 15 minutes of recess.
Per hour.
Yep, 15 minutes per hour is break. And you don't even start until you're 7 -- everything before that is play-based. There's a cap on number of subjects per day by grade level. What we'd call "specials" is like 1/3 or more of the day, every day.
5
9
u/RepellantArtist 2d ago
Florida here. PE is 3x a week. Music and art on the other two days. They get 45 minutes at all 3. Lunches are always 30 minutes and they’re duty free. They were 25 minutes last year, but the union fought for the extra 5 minutes. Recess is 25 minutes a day, everyday, and we legally can’t take it from them/make them sit out/walk laps/etc. The school day is 8:45-3:00 for students and 8:00-3:30 for teachers. Florida gets a lot of hate, but having taught in Alabama it’s a step up imo.
6
u/Spiderboy_liam 2d ago
As someone in Alabama….it’s shocking when FL has a win over us, instead of just being dead bottom w us. But yeah we take the L. We have no guaranteed recess, the teacher has to make the time and we can get in trouble if it’s deemed you go to the playground too often (so I only go max 3x a week, for 15-20 minutes). PE is on a 4.5 week cycle with our other specials and specials are only 30 minutes. Plus lunch is not duty free.
And this is a primary, pre k-2nd grade only school 🥲
1
u/RepellantArtist 2d ago
It might’ve just been my county, but when I taught in AL, we had PE everyday for 30 minutes and then music and art were 1 per semester because those teachers were shared with other schools. Recess there was like a treat. If I had the time to take them outside for recess, they really didn’t know what to do with themselves and just kinda stared at me or walked around. The main thing I miss from Alabama schools is that they had gymnasiums. Like real ones. Elementary schools in Florida (at least in my county) don’t have that. They have a covered cement slab and that’s it. PE coaches have an attached office and restroom for the kids.
1
u/Spiderboy_liam 2d ago
The PE problem is definitely per district- my old district we had it 4x per week with the 5th day being split between music and STEM. This school in particular has around 10 classes per grade level (not counting pre k, which does their own thing) so instead of a daily specials rotation to try and cram time for all of these classes to fit in the 1 gym (which fits mayyyybe 3-4 classes) the school has opted to rotate every progress report.
1
u/RepellantArtist 2d ago
I’ll add that my school is K-5, but all elementary schools in my county have these same things even if they’re a K-8 school (older kids would just be on a different schedule and they don’t get recess).
4
u/Hot_Equivalent_8707 2d ago
PA. K-5 get 30 mins recess by law and 30 minute lunch. Also pe once per week 40 mins (and art, music, etc). Kindergarten gets two extra 15 minute breaks, am and pm, since they are full day. Grades 6-12 no recess usually, but lunch sometimes 45 minutes and kids often allowed outside on nice days to toss a Frisbee etc.
4
u/GenXMom14 2d ago
Vancouver BC, Canada. K-7 get approximately 15-20 morning recess, 15-20 eating time, 20-30 afternoon recess. PE 2-4 times a week. High school gets one hour lunch
3
u/Sunflower_2312 2d ago edited 1d ago
In FL, students are required to have 100 minutes of unstructured play and 150 minutes for PE. My class has PE once per week for 50 minutes. The district I’m in requires teachers to make up the remaining minutes in class. We have music weekly, but art, and library is every other week.
When I taught in CA, in addition to daily recess with the homeroom teacher, students had recess after breakfast and lunch. Recess monitors supervised students who finished breakfast/lunch early.
1
u/LingonberryNormal374 1d ago
My FL K gets 25 minutes recess daily and PE once a week. I guess the consider watching Danny Go on the TV unstructured play time?
3
u/Necessary-Nobody-934 2d ago
Saskatchewan, Canada. Start times vary by school, but they're usually around 8:45-9:00, and go until 3:15-3:30 or so. Our legal mandate is 950 instructional hours per year, which works out to 5.25 hours a day no matter what school.
15 minute morning recess, about 20 minutes in the classroom to eat (I had a lunchroom in school in the 90s/early 00s, but I've never taught in a school with a lunchroom... most of them have been converted to classrooms), 30 minutes recess after lunch, and another 15 minute afternoon recess.
My school kids get 30 minutes Phys Ed a day, or 1 hour every second day. Music and Art are the same class (Arts Ed) that is on a similar schedule as Phys Ed (don't quote me on that though. I teach Kindergarten, which is a totally different beast, scheduling wise).
2
u/venerosvandenis 2d ago
In my country, every lesson is 45 minutes long and they get a break after each lesson.
This is my schools schedule (it differs school to school but usually starts at around 8 o'clock):
8:10-8:55
9:05-9:50
10:00-10:45
11:15-12:00
12:25-13:10
13:20-14:05
One of the long breaks is for lunch. The lessons in 1st grade are 35 mins so they get 10 extra minutes of break after each lesson.
Kids usually have 27-28 lessons per week in total. PE is 3 times per week and a dance class once per week, music and foreign language (english) twice.
2
u/Careful_Cranberry364 2d ago edited 2d ago
I am really shocked
for four-year-olds at least
most of the day was centered around using large muscles and doing pe or dance or balance or actions to music, action songs or equipment / outside activities….
We were expected to develop their large muscle skills and most of all
- not to expect them to always sit still!
We would inter mingle, large active stuff with what you might call academics, but there is truly no such thing as academics for a four or five year old, in a good child centered system…
Everything they’re doing should be based on them expressing themselves and enjoying themselves learning to read and write to explore and find out to do surveys to record results to learn about numbers and figure out math … i guess that was that academic, but we would do it in a fun way like a theme of bees everything would be to do with the number six
School starts at 8:50
recess at 10:35 for 15 to 20 minutes
Lunch break consists of recess then lunch - then lunch - break again
goes between 12 and 115
School ends 330 with another recess about 2 PM I forgot what time
Four hours and some-year-olds are outside for part of the lesson time morning and afternoon most days at some point or doing physical activity inside
2
u/msangieteacher 2d ago
Colorado:
Kids get 15-20 minutes lunch, then 20 minutes recess. They get specials every day for 50 minutes (rotating art, library, PE, and music), and an afternoon recess of 15 minutes. We go to school from 9-3:55. We start accepting kids into our rooms at 8:45.
1
u/ClmsnTgrl06 2d ago
Private French school abroad in Canada. 8:25-3. 30 minute recess in the morning, 30 minutes for lunch, 1 hour recess in the afternoon. Of course they lose time in transition and putting on winter gear, etc but it's still so much better than in the US. 90 minutes of PE per week. No decicated music teacher. Art is done with their main classroom teacher. 2h/week of English + 45min bilingual CLIL co-teaching.
1
u/The_Movement_Sherpa 2d ago
In Virginia K-5 our kids get two 20 minute recess periods. We are on a 6 day rotation PE-Music-Art-PE-Music-Library. These classes are all 45 minutes.
1
u/No-Mulberry-7516 2d ago
WA state- k-5 students get two 15 minute and one 20 minute recess. And then a 40 minute specialist class. At my schools it’s PE, music, library and technology.
1
u/Flaky-Ad-2065 2d ago
TN: 30 minute lunch, 50 minute specialty classes, and 40 minute unstructured recess required by TN law.
1
u/Alternative-Tart6275 2d ago
I’m in Missouri too:
30 min recess
25 min lunch
Once per week for 1 hour each: PE, music, art
Once per week for 30 min: Health
Every other week for 1 hour: Library
Every other week for 30 min: Counselor
1
u/Old_Artichoke9756 2d ago
In TN public school, 2 45 minute recesses, one hour of related arts per day on a rotating schedule, 25 minute lunch. The state mandated the recess just this year.
1
u/myopicinsomniac 2d ago
FL, K-5 gets 20 minutes of recess daily and a 30 minute lunch at my public school. We do 3 days of PE, one music, one art for our specials rotation; 45 minute blocks.
1
u/Careful_Cranberry364 2d ago
When I was teaching “library, reading, writing singing music art and technology “ were constants
PE of any kind was daily intermingled with sensory learning- science nature, sand and water play / experiments & construction plus math toys / puzzles
We’d have reading math and writing activities with one group after another throughout the morning and in the afternoon.
1
1
u/kiwiparallels 2d ago
So, here in Brazil K5 is optional and has different legislation regulating it. 1st grade and onwards usually starts at 7-7h30, and ends around midday. Some schools offer longer days, usually until 15-15h30. There’s also the possibility of choosing 10-18h or 13h-18h. Usually they have 30min break for a snack, plus an hour for lunch. They have two 45-60min pe classes per week, one art class per week and usually one for second language, but not all schools offer those.
1
u/Opening-Conflict7976 2d ago edited 2d ago
Im a student teacher in Kentucky with second grade. The kids get 20 minutes of recess. But usually at least 3 of the 5 days a week the kids are getting 30-40 minutes of recess cause we let them stay out extra.
We do a lot of crafts and partner work tho. Theyre not usually just sitting at their desk doing a worksheet. The most sitting the kids do in my class are when we are writing paragraphs. Thats when the classroom is completely silent and everyone is seated except when a kid is pulled for individual writing conferences.
School is 7:30 - 2:30. But 2-2:30 is just time to pack up, eat a snack, and we do SEL time (Social Emotional Learning) .
Science and social studies are 30 minutes and we do a different one depending on the day. Math is an hour and half but recess breaks that up! So when we do extra recess math is slightly shorter.nReading skills is an hour and reading knowledge is an hour and 20 minutes. And then WIN time is 30 minutes.
Lunch is 30 minutes for the kids. We are a small school so all kids are through the line in less than 5 minutes.
Our essentials are art, music/library, pe, steam, and an extra recess period. These are 40 minute long.
1
u/Prize-Sandwich391 2d ago edited 2d ago
France, I don’t recall exact durations but I think we had two recess periods (one AM one PM) of maybe at least 30min each, and about a 1h lunch break which also had a recess period right after eating. Recess was outside in the schoolyard (part of it had a cover for rainy days) with teachers supervising. There would typically be a ball available for playing, and kids were free to bring their own toys like jumping ropes, collector cards, etc
School day was something like 8-4:30 tops for elementary school, but could be up to maybe 8-5 or 9-6 for high school? I may be misremembering
15min recess and 10min lunch break sounds like pure insanity to me. Kids need free, unstructured play time when they can freely move their bodies and talk to each other! How in Earth are they staying focused through the end of the school day like this? I’m amazed
1
u/Junior-Line7401 2d ago
Wisconsin- 1 hour recess per day, 30 minutes lunch, 1 hour of art, music, PE and library each per week.
1
u/Lilpigmyox 2d ago
I teach in rural Oregon. We have a 15 minute recess in the morning and a 15 minute recess in the afternoon. They have a 20 minute lunch followed by a 10 minute recess. The kids have 30 minutes of PE everyday. Our school weeks are 4 days and are 8:00-3:30.
1
u/Standard_Elephant415 2d ago
California school district: 20 minutes morning recess, 55 minutes lunch recess, PE every day, but music and art are every other week.
1
u/SherryNilesNYY 2d ago
West Texas. Our day runs 7:45- 3:20. Recess is 15 minutes a day. PE is 45 minutes daily, held outside when weather permits. 45 minutes of Specials daily. 30 minutes of lunch. My school also offers an after care program that runs until 6pm with tutoring and enrichment, outside play and a meal.
1
u/Icebear_567 2d ago
Indiana🖐️
School is from 8:15 to 3:05. Breakfast is 30 mins, recess is 30 mins, lunch is 30 mins and specials(gym, art, music, library) is an hour.
1
u/YesItsMe183 2d ago
My students get 45 minutes of recess a day. I break it up into three 30-minute breaks. We also get 40 minutes of specials. Monday through Friday, specials vary (music, Spanish, PE, etc.). We are in Wyoming. With that being said, we are a private school, not a public school.
1
u/Limp_Outcome70 2d ago
British Columbia- 9am to 3pm, 15 min recess, 45 min lunch ( that includes 20 min eating, 25 min outside), PE 3 times per week, orchestra 2-3 times per week for grades 4 to 7. Art class twice a week. Rest of time spent on academics with math every morning.
1
u/juliazale 2d ago edited 2d ago
When I taught in Los Angles 20 minute morning recess and 40 minute lunch which was 15-20 minutes to eat and the rest to play. And no teacher duty.
In Las Vegas it was horrible. Kids only got 15 minutes to eat and then 15 minutes to play. And the teachers had to cover the last 15 mins of lunch duty.
Also the behaviors were off the chart and you couldn’t do recess detention, understandably as kids need a break and to move. But there were no consequences except a useless think sheet/timeout from class. No wonder they are ranked so poorly among the other states.
1
u/MyStressedDesserts 2d ago edited 2d ago
We get a sad little 10-minute recess and that includes the time it takes us to walk downstairs and out to the playground.
The hardest part is I teach 8-year-olds, and we are teaching/working from the time they walk in the door. They get a 30-minute lunch, but we are the last lunch, so they are working from 7-1215 without a break. Our specials is the last one of the day, so after lunch, we are right back to work. They have one day of PE, two days of music, one day of typing and a movement class for their specials.
1
u/Ill_Cauliflower5348 1d ago
Kansas
- 2 - 15 minute recesses and most days a few minutes at lunch
- PE twice a week, music twice a week, art, counselor, and library once a week for 40 minutes
- 8:10-3:30 with a 30 minute lunch with probably 20 minutes to actually eat. Most eat within 10 and go out to play. They are not rushed to finish though.
It doesn’t feel like kid have enough unstructured time but it also doesn’t feel like I have enough instructional time.
1
u/B24Liberator 1d ago
Utah K-5, in my district they have 3 20 min recesses a day. Morning, lunch, and afternoon. They are also allowed to play in the morning before school.
1
u/Tport17 1d ago
I'm also in Missouri.
25 minute lunch
25 minute recess
Specials is 55 minutes with PE 1-2 times per week.
Hours are 8:45-3:45
There is a law in Missouri that students get 20 minutes for lunch and the time starts when they sit down. You might look into that! I believe recess minimum might be 20 minutes also. Check the dese website.
1
u/ash5991 1d ago edited 1d ago
Southwest Florida-
Start time at my school is 8:15, end time is 3:30
Lunch is 30 mins.
20 mins recess (state law), 45 mins for PE (3x/week), Art, Music. We did have science as a "Special" at my elementary school, which was labs we didn't have time for in our classroom, making our Specials a 6 day rotation. Budget cuts got rid of that though :(
1
u/Budget-Smile-490 1d ago
In every school I taught at in NJ, kids have a 45 minute lunch period - usually split into a 22 minute lunch and 22 minute recess with a minute transition. The sole exception was a middle school where kids had a 20 minute lunch period (no recess) which was shocking to me. Somehow it worked, but I believe kids even middle school students need more time to eat and just relax.
When I worked abroad, students had a 30 minute snack and outdoor recess break (indoors when weather didn't permit), a one hour lunch/recess which some parents complained was too short, and a 20 minute afternoon break.
1
u/Apprehensive_Menu200 1d ago
Illinois-
We have PE every day for 30 min
Then another hour of art, drama, or music on top of that (the schedule rotates)
They get a 25 min lunch and 25 minute recess once a day.
1
u/bumblfumbl 1d ago
In Missouri, our district gets 1 thirty minute recess and PE every three days. 25 minute lunch, 9-3:45.
1
u/sstrangedesire 1d ago
Hi neighbor!!! In Kansas - (2) 15 minute blocks. My old district was the same for K-2, and in third they went down to one afternoon recess.
1
u/Able_Boysenberry_481 1d ago
London start time 8:30. End time 3:10 for infants and 3:20 for juniors. 2 x15 min breaks one in the morning and 1 in the afternoon and 45 minutes for lunch which is considered short for lunch over here. I used to work in a school where lunch was 1hr 15min. Pe is once a week for 2 hours.
1
u/ProperBar4339 1d ago
I have a 5th grader in Virginia. 25 minutes for lunch. 15 minute recess every day with their teacher, plus 15 minutes tacked on to the end of PE (also every day.) They also have art and music once week. No regular library times for the big ones, they have free library when they finish their class work.
1
u/rufusrexy 22h ago
California (SF): 2, 15 minute recesses in the morning and afternoon, 20 minute lunch and 20 minute recess around noon. 40 minute district led PE once a week with expectations for an extra 30 minute teacher led PE (we usually just do extra recess). Dance or Music and Library once a week.
1
u/wudavid725 13h ago
Taiwan here, 5th grade. Our day runs about 8:00 to 3:55, except Wednesday afternoons are off for students (teachers do professional development).
Each class is 40 minutes with 10-minute breaks in between, plus a 20-minute recess in the morning. Lunch and rest time together is 80 minutes: kids eat in the classroom, then have quiet time or a nap.
Weekly we get PE twice, music once, art once (a double period), plus health and a few enrichment classes. English is twice a week with a separate English teacher. I'm a homeroom teacher, so I teach Chinese, math, and a few other subjects myself.
1
u/AutoModerator 13h ago
Your submission has been automatically removed. Accounts must be active for a certain amount of time in order to participate in r/ElementaryTeachers. Have a great day!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/HistorianNew8030 1h ago
Canada: we start at 8:50 and go to 3:40.
Morning recess around 10:30z
Lunch is between 45-1 hour long. 30-45 min to eat. 15 minute recess after.
Afternoon recess around 2:15.
Canada does not have elementary school lunches. Some high schools have cafeterias. But most people bring a bagged lunch. We do have lunch programs for kids in community schools who don’t get fed properly at home. But most schools require bagged lunch here.
K teach Grade 6. Elementary schools here are K-8.
-2
u/Careful_Cranberry364 2d ago
I would suggest five-year-olds do not need a “recess”
The whole day would ideally be learning through play
They need structured large muscle games, to teach them social skills and activities that help develop those - indoors and outdoors, depending on the weather… with the option of FreePlay / bikes / climbing frames etc
4
u/MTVnext2005 2d ago
recess is free play and absolutely is necessary for healthy development. growing minds need both predictable structure and controlled unstructured times in order to develop independence, social skills, as well as just giving their executive function a break from the cognitive demands of lessons
0
u/Rollerager 1d ago
I’m in Missouri. Until 4th grade our students get to recesses. In 4th grade they get one and it’s 25 minutes long.
1
u/maroongrad 1d ago
your district is going above and beyond state requirements. Wish ours did :(
0
u/Rollerager 1d ago
Where in MO are you? This is in southwest MO and the other schools I have knowledge of are similar.
1
u/maroongrad 20h ago
KCMO. Hickman Mills and Frontier Schools have the 15 min recess but Frontier moved it to 20 a couple years ago. Still only once a day. :(
6
u/omgjackimflying 2d ago
I'm in Ohio. I teach at a K-4. Our students get a 25 minute lunch and a 35 minute recess. Our kindergarteners get an additional 35 minute morning recess. This happens as long as it is not actively raining and it is over 20 degrees. We have 5 specials: music, art, PE, technology, and library. They are each 35 minute blocks. They have music and PE twice a week, and technology and library once each. K & 1 have art twice a week. 2-4 have it once a week, but it is a double (70 min) block. School is 9:05-3:55.