When l was at school ( in the UK) we had PE ( Physical Education) lessons. I don't know if they still do. I rember always looking forward to running about playing some game or other usually decided on by the teacher. We also had swimming lessons, which where even more fun.
If, as l suspect, none of it happens anymore it's a terrible thing.
Physical activity is essential to our well being no matter what our age. Square dancing provides physical and mental benefits for people of all ages. Our square dance group has people ages 13 through 93. I don’t know many activities that can provide such excellent benefits as dancing for one’s lifetime. Personally, I don’t think muckle stands a chance! Lol
YES!!! Nailed it. As a boy mom (and recent girl mom), I cannot tell you how many times I have had this conversation with other moms, with teachers and others. Exercise of any kind is the best medicine for every body, but it is also absolutely necessary for mental success. When I asked about recess on a couple of occasions, my oldest son (2nd grade) said “Yeah, we didn’t get to go outside today. Sometimes we do laptop time if it is too cold or we don’t have time to go outside.” WHAT?! I then asked if they got gym time instead, and he said “No, that’s just for Mondays when we have PE.” In the 90s, PE and recess were EVERY day, rain or shine. This has to change.
aaarrrggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! I had NO idea it's like this today!!!! I have 6 grandkids, ages almost 4-12. They're in private or charter. I'll have to ask about recess time...
“Boys are treated like defective girls.” Okay. I guess that’s wrong, but maybe not?
I loved recess/PE. We didn’t play muckle but certainly roughhoused quite a bit. My fave was fight for the football. Basically a scrum with the ball in the middle. I was so good at it my PE teacher made me wait until near the end to join. Square dancing likely helped a bit with my coordination which I needed.
I'm older than you Bill, & several of your readers. When I was a kid every Wed for a long time my entire family would go to the local school for square dancing, kids in one area, adults in another. I love love love to dance. My ex didn't. When I moved to TX I didn't know what two-step meant. I did know I wanted to learn to swing dance. Met my husband on-line & 1 criteria was must love to dance. When he was a kid in Mass his mom made him take dance lessons & he continued on... so he was a great teacher. We now dance every week, my favorite, other than lots of country is West Coast Swing. As MG said, dancing is excellent exercise AND mentally beneficial!!
Also, as a kid, we left the house after chores were done & gone till dinner, had a wild area a block away w/ a natural creek, wildlife, snakes, etc... allowed to walk or bike to little store area about a mile away... after dinner out playing after dark...
always had recess, no supervised games, lots of swings, jungle gyms, played four square, tetherball - all my favorites - in CO so weather never had an impact, girls had to wear dresses/skirts so we'd just put pants on underneath.
Raising my boys was about the same - let them roam on their own, also had a creek nearby, their school had recess, but the jungle gyms & swings were either taken away or protected more. No hard surfaces. Different state, but could have cold weather which could keep 'em inside.
I had a business for awhile, working w/ childcare centers. Some of these places made me very sad. I know they've improved a lot since then, but then I saw a lot of kids plopped down in front of the tv for way too much time. I saw kids plopped down on mats for nap time & if they weren't tired they were forced to close their eyes, not even get to hold a book. I saw those little "so called too fidgety boys" get roughly shoved into chairs & told to SIT STILL... ok, I'll stop w/ what I saw...
I don't know why, Bill, but today's post really caught my attention.
First, "Square dancing. Why did we have to take square dancing? (Answer: Because Henry Ford hated jazz and insisted it was a corrupting influence on American youth, so he spent the equivalent of millions today to promote square dancing in schools as an alternative.)"
I HATE square dancing. I remember being forced to learning it in elementary school, and hating it. (I had a pretty embarassing and terrible incident with my gym teacher b/c I was goofing around with my female partner - I was made an example - my partner, not so much. But that's a different story for a different time).
Second, "there has been a long recess in the practice of actually having recess." Whether it's standardized testing or a shift in educational paradigms, I'm amazing at how the public education system has lost its mission. While I've known a lot of teachers in my life (and I've taught at the college and graduate levels), I put some of the blame on teacher's unions and state legislatures and departments of education. A great many unions seem more concerned for their own existence (according to almost every teacher I've talked with), while states' legislatures seem to think if they throw enough money (good money after bad), that will somehow make things better, and departments of education have for the last twenty to thirty years have fallen victim to mission creep, IMHO.
Third, "Some researchers say that mistake leads us into a three-pronged, perfect storm of problems: 1. We overprotect kids, trying to keep them safe from all physical dangers–which ultimately increases their likelihood of real health issues. 2. We inhibit children’s academic growth (especially among boys), because the lack of physical activity makes it harder for them to concentrate. 3. When they fail to conform quietly to this low-energy paradigm, we over-diagnose or even punish kids for reacting the way they’re naturally built to react."
Everything's dangerous. This attitude is killing the imaginations and therefore the activity of kids. I don't know if this directly related to "helicopter parenting", but it certainly seems at least indirectly related, and perhaps more than just a correlation. But, bottome line, we're amusing ourselves to death in this brave new world. I'm surprised parents or schools aren't wrapping children in bubble wrap before leaving for school or walking down the halls.
Fourth, "anyone up for a game of muckle? Better than square dancing, anyway." I think every kid growing up in the 70's and early 80's played some version of muckle or rough two-hand touch at recess. By high school and college, we were meeting on Saturdays to play tackle, no pads/helmets. HOW did we survive? Again, I HATE square dancing.
Fifth, "President Trump has two big crypto-focused dinners coming up, one aimed at deep-pocketed political donors, the other at meme coin millionaires." How is this not self-serving? So much corruption, malice, and wickedness in this President and his administration.
Sixth, "Top French chefs are warming to the idea of using artificial intelligence in the kitchen." Not just top French chefs. AI is the buzz everywhere, and very much in both church ministry and even in theological education. It's frightening how a pastor can gain time by letting AI write their entire sermon from start to finish. I'm all for using it as a resource, but Lord, have mercy!
And last, thanks for putting out your various newsletters. They are one of the few things that help my day start off well. Many blessings to you and yours!
I had no idea Ford was behind our square dancing. Another oligarch trying to control what the peasants do. But then, regular education evolved to teach kids to line up and answer the bell so they would be trained for the factory floor.
If you want to know what we do to boys just read the following:
Real Boys
1998 book by William S. Pollack
Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood is a 1998 nonfiction book about boyhood and boy culture by clinical psychologist Dr William S. Pollack, in which the author asserts that toxic conceptions of masculinity in boy culture leads to boys doing poorly in education and health and having higher involvement in violent crimes and suicide than girls. Pollack devoted more than 20 years to researching the material presented in the book. Wikipedia
Wow. Did this grab me this morning. And I'll first say I have never heard of "muckle". Instead, however, we had 'tackle the man with the ball', a freeform grab-the-ball-and-run-until-someone-tackles-you- unless-you-pitch-it-to-someone-else. No boundaries. No rules. Just get the ball and run or lateral it to someone else. No referees. We all worked it out on the playground (which was hard and where I broke my arm - and my parents didn't sue the school for not realizing that a broken arm could happen there). Terrific read, Bill Murphy, Jr. Terrific.
In the 70's, my elementary and middle schools had recess every day. In elementary, I remember having PE every day. We had to change for every PE class. Our "uniform" was a plain white t-shirt and white shorts. The girls, though, had to have elastic strung through the hem of their short legs, turning our shorts into "bloomers". Girls had to be protected from anyone seeing our underwear! So funny! And yes, I am part of the squaredancing generation, and I loathed those days in PE.
Like another reader said below, us gals also had to wear dresses or skirts to school in elementary. We weren't hip to wearing shorts underneath yet, so the boys would often chase us around at recess and try to pull our dress up, singing, "I see London, I see France - I see somebody's underpants!" !! lol such great memories.
I teach in a high school now. The students have ONE required semester of PE, AND in these modern times, they can't be forced to change or "dress" for it if they don't want to. Hmm.
Thank you so much for writing about this topic. I am involved in a number of men's organizations that focus on emotional development and leadership in men, and my judgement is that we are very much seeing the effects of what you've written about. Men are struggling.
I'm not someone who demonizes systems. The choices that were made to get us here were most often well-intended, though I am shocked at the lack of responsiveness to what's happening to our boys right now. In this seemingly never ending 'battle of the sexes' children are being hurt (no matter their gender). Boys are growing into adults who are taught to doubt their masculinity or be scared of it.
Gender and Sexuality are a spectrum, yes, however we have overcompensated to the point of repressing our young boys to violence, depression, and suicide. All the numbers are there to support these claims.
How can we continue to structure the systems that shape our future in a way that neglects natural truths? How is denying boys are more physical any different than denying rights to any other group?
Your writing gives me hope that the conversation is being had. Thank you.
I am not an education expert, not do I know much about educational performance history. But my observation is that kids my age (Boomers) weren't exiting school without knowing how to read at the rates that kids are doing it today. Not everyone was super smart or a great student, but the old school, rote way of learning seemed to be more successful than what they are doing today. In addition to doing away with recess and physical activity, we have also done away with art, music, singing, etc. Yes, I remember square dancing--hated it, of course (I'm male)--but it was gateway dancing. It led to dancing to rock and roll and rhythm and blues in the 60's. (I was a city boy--never got into western dancing until I was much older.)
We learned square dancing, I remember how gross it was to have to hold some boy's sweaty hands. But it was still fun in a way and I love the floofy dresses. Never heard of muckle, but still have scars from no holds barred floor hockey. It is really sad how kids don't get much free play time any more. Everything seems to be scheduled for them. How do they learn to occupy themselves if they are always occupied? I can't imagine school without regular outdoor breaks. I agree that teachers unions are often the problem, it seems like they are more interested in politics than in education.
How is it possible that the President of the Unites States can not only have his own crypto currency but then auction off access to him to the highest bidder? There is something seriously wrong in the USA these days.
Lord Bill, what a luddite you are. Not like square dancing? For shame. Of course I am lucky enough to have come from one of the square dancing areas of the US; the mountains of Western North Carolina. When I started third grade, we had a new principal, one Otis Clark. He was a well known square dancer in the area so we not only learned to square dance, we learned the minuet and yes, we girls had gowns(I remember mine well)and “wigs” made of cotton. To show all this off, the school had a dance festival in the spring and all grades participated. We learned all kinds of folk dances. I have no idea if the boys hated it or not but I know I had a ball every year. I was so disappointed in the fifth grade though because just about the time we were to perform, I came down with appendicitis and ended up having my appendix out. I couldn’t do anything for what seemed like forever so I missed the festival. On top of that, we did have recess both in the morning and then in the afternoon; probably for 30 minutes each. We played dodge ball, red rover, soft ball. We had jump ropes and playground equipment. If anyone got hurt, the school nurse handled most things. When the weather was bad, we always had activities in class and for the first two years, we had a rest period. And when I was home, all the neighborhood kids played, unsupervised, in the playground that was there and as we got older we could branch out and explore the whole neighborhood. Our parents knew we’d be home for dinner.
Later on in junior high we had required PE where yes, the girls had to wear godawful sea foam green, short bloomers. They were meant to look horrible and they succeeded marvelously. When we got to high school the uniforms got better and I had gym class thru my junior year. Showering was the worst every year but we all managed to survive.
Both my boys had recess periods and gym class thru their school years. My older son was in band from seventh grade on til graduation and participated in marching band as well as orchestra. My younger son, not so much but he got his exercise in other ways. Both are pretty well-rounded, sane and all around good men.
I suppose I wrote all this just to say that the kids in school today are getting very short changed if they aren’t given the time to run, play and develop teamwork habits, coordination and just letting off steam and excess energy. I’m just glad my boys and I grew up when we did.
One thing that did happen today besides the Canadian PM basically telling that man in DC that no, Canada isn’t for sale so get that crazy idea out of your head.
And if the world isn’t screwed up enough, India and Pakistan are throwing missiles at each other.
As someone who hasn't grown up in the US and had free playtime plus PE in school every day (unlike the kids nowadays, which is so sad!) I love the idea of square dancing!
That's it, Bill and fellow readers: I am looking into group dancing classes for me and husband!
Thanks Bill, yesterday's newsletter is awesome and I do look forward to reading yours everyday!
A great book that goes deeper into the science of the connection of movement to learning and brain development.
And there are other resources that schools are using (in the absence of recess) to help. GoNoodle.com is used to get kids moving in the classroom
My wife is also a pediatric occupational therapist, so I hear about the impacts of this every day. So much I could say... but I'll just agree that you're right on.
I homeschooled our youngest son who was having difficulties in school. Every morning I had him run on the treadmill and dons series of exercises at the Gym. I was doing exercises too. He was able to do his work much more quickly and efficiently. When I tested him, he was functioning at a 3rd grade level. After a year, he finished 9th grade and we continued with a Homeschool Program.
When l was at school ( in the UK) we had PE ( Physical Education) lessons. I don't know if they still do. I rember always looking forward to running about playing some game or other usually decided on by the teacher. We also had swimming lessons, which where even more fun.
If, as l suspect, none of it happens anymore it's a terrible thing.
Physical activity is essential to our well being no matter what our age. Square dancing provides physical and mental benefits for people of all ages. Our square dance group has people ages 13 through 93. I don’t know many activities that can provide such excellent benefits as dancing for one’s lifetime. Personally, I don’t think muckle stands a chance! Lol
YES!!! Nailed it. As a boy mom (and recent girl mom), I cannot tell you how many times I have had this conversation with other moms, with teachers and others. Exercise of any kind is the best medicine for every body, but it is also absolutely necessary for mental success. When I asked about recess on a couple of occasions, my oldest son (2nd grade) said “Yeah, we didn’t get to go outside today. Sometimes we do laptop time if it is too cold or we don’t have time to go outside.” WHAT?! I then asked if they got gym time instead, and he said “No, that’s just for Mondays when we have PE.” In the 90s, PE and recess were EVERY day, rain or shine. This has to change.
aaarrrggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! I had NO idea it's like this today!!!! I have 6 grandkids, ages almost 4-12. They're in private or charter. I'll have to ask about recess time...
“Boys are treated like defective girls.” Okay. I guess that’s wrong, but maybe not?
I loved recess/PE. We didn’t play muckle but certainly roughhoused quite a bit. My fave was fight for the football. Basically a scrum with the ball in the middle. I was so good at it my PE teacher made me wait until near the end to join. Square dancing likely helped a bit with my coordination which I needed.
Still. Not like jazz?
Come on Henry!?!?
I'm older than you Bill, & several of your readers. When I was a kid every Wed for a long time my entire family would go to the local school for square dancing, kids in one area, adults in another. I love love love to dance. My ex didn't. When I moved to TX I didn't know what two-step meant. I did know I wanted to learn to swing dance. Met my husband on-line & 1 criteria was must love to dance. When he was a kid in Mass his mom made him take dance lessons & he continued on... so he was a great teacher. We now dance every week, my favorite, other than lots of country is West Coast Swing. As MG said, dancing is excellent exercise AND mentally beneficial!!
Also, as a kid, we left the house after chores were done & gone till dinner, had a wild area a block away w/ a natural creek, wildlife, snakes, etc... allowed to walk or bike to little store area about a mile away... after dinner out playing after dark...
always had recess, no supervised games, lots of swings, jungle gyms, played four square, tetherball - all my favorites - in CO so weather never had an impact, girls had to wear dresses/skirts so we'd just put pants on underneath.
Raising my boys was about the same - let them roam on their own, also had a creek nearby, their school had recess, but the jungle gyms & swings were either taken away or protected more. No hard surfaces. Different state, but could have cold weather which could keep 'em inside.
I had a business for awhile, working w/ childcare centers. Some of these places made me very sad. I know they've improved a lot since then, but then I saw a lot of kids plopped down in front of the tv for way too much time. I saw kids plopped down on mats for nap time & if they weren't tired they were forced to close their eyes, not even get to hold a book. I saw those little "so called too fidgety boys" get roughly shoved into chairs & told to SIT STILL... ok, I'll stop w/ what I saw...
I don't know why, Bill, but today's post really caught my attention.
First, "Square dancing. Why did we have to take square dancing? (Answer: Because Henry Ford hated jazz and insisted it was a corrupting influence on American youth, so he spent the equivalent of millions today to promote square dancing in schools as an alternative.)"
I HATE square dancing. I remember being forced to learning it in elementary school, and hating it. (I had a pretty embarassing and terrible incident with my gym teacher b/c I was goofing around with my female partner - I was made an example - my partner, not so much. But that's a different story for a different time).
Second, "there has been a long recess in the practice of actually having recess." Whether it's standardized testing or a shift in educational paradigms, I'm amazing at how the public education system has lost its mission. While I've known a lot of teachers in my life (and I've taught at the college and graduate levels), I put some of the blame on teacher's unions and state legislatures and departments of education. A great many unions seem more concerned for their own existence (according to almost every teacher I've talked with), while states' legislatures seem to think if they throw enough money (good money after bad), that will somehow make things better, and departments of education have for the last twenty to thirty years have fallen victim to mission creep, IMHO.
Third, "Some researchers say that mistake leads us into a three-pronged, perfect storm of problems: 1. We overprotect kids, trying to keep them safe from all physical dangers–which ultimately increases their likelihood of real health issues. 2. We inhibit children’s academic growth (especially among boys), because the lack of physical activity makes it harder for them to concentrate. 3. When they fail to conform quietly to this low-energy paradigm, we over-diagnose or even punish kids for reacting the way they’re naturally built to react."
Everything's dangerous. This attitude is killing the imaginations and therefore the activity of kids. I don't know if this directly related to "helicopter parenting", but it certainly seems at least indirectly related, and perhaps more than just a correlation. But, bottome line, we're amusing ourselves to death in this brave new world. I'm surprised parents or schools aren't wrapping children in bubble wrap before leaving for school or walking down the halls.
Fourth, "anyone up for a game of muckle? Better than square dancing, anyway." I think every kid growing up in the 70's and early 80's played some version of muckle or rough two-hand touch at recess. By high school and college, we were meeting on Saturdays to play tackle, no pads/helmets. HOW did we survive? Again, I HATE square dancing.
Fifth, "President Trump has two big crypto-focused dinners coming up, one aimed at deep-pocketed political donors, the other at meme coin millionaires." How is this not self-serving? So much corruption, malice, and wickedness in this President and his administration.
Sixth, "Top French chefs are warming to the idea of using artificial intelligence in the kitchen." Not just top French chefs. AI is the buzz everywhere, and very much in both church ministry and even in theological education. It's frightening how a pastor can gain time by letting AI write their entire sermon from start to finish. I'm all for using it as a resource, but Lord, have mercy!
And last, thanks for putting out your various newsletters. They are one of the few things that help my day start off well. Many blessings to you and yours!
I could ditto many parts of what you wrote... let me just say I detest teacher's unions
I had no idea Ford was behind our square dancing. Another oligarch trying to control what the peasants do. But then, regular education evolved to teach kids to line up and answer the bell so they would be trained for the factory floor.
If you want to know what we do to boys just read the following:
Real Boys
1998 book by William S. Pollack
Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood is a 1998 nonfiction book about boyhood and boy culture by clinical psychologist Dr William S. Pollack, in which the author asserts that toxic conceptions of masculinity in boy culture leads to boys doing poorly in education and health and having higher involvement in violent crimes and suicide than girls. Pollack devoted more than 20 years to researching the material presented in the book. Wikipedia
Wow. Did this grab me this morning. And I'll first say I have never heard of "muckle". Instead, however, we had 'tackle the man with the ball', a freeform grab-the-ball-and-run-until-someone-tackles-you- unless-you-pitch-it-to-someone-else. No boundaries. No rules. Just get the ball and run or lateral it to someone else. No referees. We all worked it out on the playground (which was hard and where I broke my arm - and my parents didn't sue the school for not realizing that a broken arm could happen there). Terrific read, Bill Murphy, Jr. Terrific.
In the 70's, my elementary and middle schools had recess every day. In elementary, I remember having PE every day. We had to change for every PE class. Our "uniform" was a plain white t-shirt and white shorts. The girls, though, had to have elastic strung through the hem of their short legs, turning our shorts into "bloomers". Girls had to be protected from anyone seeing our underwear! So funny! And yes, I am part of the squaredancing generation, and I loathed those days in PE.
Like another reader said below, us gals also had to wear dresses or skirts to school in elementary. We weren't hip to wearing shorts underneath yet, so the boys would often chase us around at recess and try to pull our dress up, singing, "I see London, I see France - I see somebody's underpants!" !! lol such great memories.
I teach in a high school now. The students have ONE required semester of PE, AND in these modern times, they can't be forced to change or "dress" for it if they don't want to. Hmm.
Thank you so much for writing about this topic. I am involved in a number of men's organizations that focus on emotional development and leadership in men, and my judgement is that we are very much seeing the effects of what you've written about. Men are struggling.
I'm not someone who demonizes systems. The choices that were made to get us here were most often well-intended, though I am shocked at the lack of responsiveness to what's happening to our boys right now. In this seemingly never ending 'battle of the sexes' children are being hurt (no matter their gender). Boys are growing into adults who are taught to doubt their masculinity or be scared of it.
Gender and Sexuality are a spectrum, yes, however we have overcompensated to the point of repressing our young boys to violence, depression, and suicide. All the numbers are there to support these claims.
How can we continue to structure the systems that shape our future in a way that neglects natural truths? How is denying boys are more physical any different than denying rights to any other group?
Your writing gives me hope that the conversation is being had. Thank you.
Sadly boys are now being taught to celebrate their toxic masculinity.
I am not an education expert, not do I know much about educational performance history. But my observation is that kids my age (Boomers) weren't exiting school without knowing how to read at the rates that kids are doing it today. Not everyone was super smart or a great student, but the old school, rote way of learning seemed to be more successful than what they are doing today. In addition to doing away with recess and physical activity, we have also done away with art, music, singing, etc. Yes, I remember square dancing--hated it, of course (I'm male)--but it was gateway dancing. It led to dancing to rock and roll and rhythm and blues in the 60's. (I was a city boy--never got into western dancing until I was much older.)
We learned square dancing, I remember how gross it was to have to hold some boy's sweaty hands. But it was still fun in a way and I love the floofy dresses. Never heard of muckle, but still have scars from no holds barred floor hockey. It is really sad how kids don't get much free play time any more. Everything seems to be scheduled for them. How do they learn to occupy themselves if they are always occupied? I can't imagine school without regular outdoor breaks. I agree that teachers unions are often the problem, it seems like they are more interested in politics than in education.
How is it possible that the President of the Unites States can not only have his own crypto currency but then auction off access to him to the highest bidder? There is something seriously wrong in the USA these days.
L
Lord Bill, what a luddite you are. Not like square dancing? For shame. Of course I am lucky enough to have come from one of the square dancing areas of the US; the mountains of Western North Carolina. When I started third grade, we had a new principal, one Otis Clark. He was a well known square dancer in the area so we not only learned to square dance, we learned the minuet and yes, we girls had gowns(I remember mine well)and “wigs” made of cotton. To show all this off, the school had a dance festival in the spring and all grades participated. We learned all kinds of folk dances. I have no idea if the boys hated it or not but I know I had a ball every year. I was so disappointed in the fifth grade though because just about the time we were to perform, I came down with appendicitis and ended up having my appendix out. I couldn’t do anything for what seemed like forever so I missed the festival. On top of that, we did have recess both in the morning and then in the afternoon; probably for 30 minutes each. We played dodge ball, red rover, soft ball. We had jump ropes and playground equipment. If anyone got hurt, the school nurse handled most things. When the weather was bad, we always had activities in class and for the first two years, we had a rest period. And when I was home, all the neighborhood kids played, unsupervised, in the playground that was there and as we got older we could branch out and explore the whole neighborhood. Our parents knew we’d be home for dinner.
Later on in junior high we had required PE where yes, the girls had to wear godawful sea foam green, short bloomers. They were meant to look horrible and they succeeded marvelously. When we got to high school the uniforms got better and I had gym class thru my junior year. Showering was the worst every year but we all managed to survive.
Both my boys had recess periods and gym class thru their school years. My older son was in band from seventh grade on til graduation and participated in marching band as well as orchestra. My younger son, not so much but he got his exercise in other ways. Both are pretty well-rounded, sane and all around good men.
I suppose I wrote all this just to say that the kids in school today are getting very short changed if they aren’t given the time to run, play and develop teamwork habits, coordination and just letting off steam and excess energy. I’m just glad my boys and I grew up when we did.
One thing that did happen today besides the Canadian PM basically telling that man in DC that no, Canada isn’t for sale so get that crazy idea out of your head.
And if the world isn’t screwed up enough, India and Pakistan are throwing missiles at each other.
Stop the world! I really do want to get off.
As someone who hasn't grown up in the US and had free playtime plus PE in school every day (unlike the kids nowadays, which is so sad!) I love the idea of square dancing!
That's it, Bill and fellow readers: I am looking into group dancing classes for me and husband!
Thanks Bill, yesterday's newsletter is awesome and I do look forward to reading yours everyday!
https://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-Brain/dp/0316113514
A great book that goes deeper into the science of the connection of movement to learning and brain development.
And there are other resources that schools are using (in the absence of recess) to help. GoNoodle.com is used to get kids moving in the classroom
My wife is also a pediatric occupational therapist, so I hear about the impacts of this every day. So much I could say... but I'll just agree that you're right on.
I homeschooled our youngest son who was having difficulties in school. Every morning I had him run on the treadmill and dons series of exercises at the Gym. I was doing exercises too. He was able to do his work much more quickly and efficiently. When I tested him, he was functioning at a 3rd grade level. After a year, he finished 9th grade and we continued with a Homeschool Program.