how did recess work when you were in school?

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Danieljoe1@reddit

A couple subjects, go outside for 15. A couple subjects, lunch A couple subjects, go play outside A couple subjects, walk the fuck home

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Bright_Ices@reddit

80s kid. Half day kindergarten got one recess.

Full day first and second grades we had ten minute recesses mid-morning and mid-afternoon, plus a lunch period that was supposed to involve at least 15 min of playtime, as long as you weren’t a slow eater.

In third grade we only got the afternoon recess on particularly squirrelly days. From 4-6 grades, no afternoon recess, just morning and lunch recesses.

In jr high ('90s) we had a ten minute passing period between classes. No recess. We did get a lunch break, but it was at 10:30 AM.

In high school ('90s) they shortened the passing periods to 7 minutes, which was stupid.

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elphaba00@reddit

7-minute passing period? We got 4 minutes. And those 4 minutes were to get yourself out of class and get to the next one. And if you need to use the bathroom, that's what the 4 minutes are for, too.

I got a couple tardies in one English class because I desperately needed to use the bathroom to take care of some female issues. I'd always go to class first, tell the teacher I was leaving and not absent or skipping, and then use the bathroom. And every time, she wrote me up. 30+ years later, and I still hate that woman. (That and other reasons.)

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Bright_Ices@reddit

We had three different buildings to go between, and those 7 minutes were for all of it. Though most of my teachers weren’t fascists about the bathroom.

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CarmenDeeJay@reddit

We had half day kindergarten and actually had a nap time as well as two recesses. I could never nap back then, so my teacher let me read books.

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elphaba00@reddit

It was definitely 30 minutes once a day for us. My kids went to the same district, and it was still 30 minutes once a day. Depending on the schedule, it was either before or after lunch.

When my daughter was in second grade, her teacher got pissed off because someone drew on the wall so she took away recess and told the PE teacher no outdoor time either. She said she'd rescind the punishment once someone fessed up. After a couple weeks, after a lot of peer pressure, the person cracked and confessed, but the teacher didn't remove the punishment for the rest of the year. And the drawing on the wall was not permanent at all. It was easily removed. Now the person who did the drawing is one of my daughter's best friends. I'd be like, "Nope. Hate her forever for that."

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Emotional_Shift_8263@reddit

I am old as dirt but we got I think an hour for lunch, cos it was enough for me to walk home, eat, walk back to school and play on the playground for a bit.

When my kids went to elementary school I was shocked they only got 20 minutes for lunch, and gym was only once or twice a week. We had gym every day.

Tbh, I think kids need an outlet, especially in elementary school. Giving them only 20 minutes to eat is crazy especially if they buy lunch.

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jabber1990@reddit (OP)

and when they get a job they have to buy lunch and get a short amount of time for lunch, don't see you complaining about that

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5432198@reddit

My elementary school had a 15 min recess everyday. We also had whatever time we had leftover after from our 30 min lunch to play or do whatever. We would also have an hour of "PE" time once a week. It wasn't really like PE though it was really just an extra hour to play. Usually we would get to go to a different playground though.

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MyUsername2459@reddit

In Kindergarten,

From 1st through 8th grades, there was a 1 hour block of the school days that was for lunch and recess. They'd take us to the cafeteria, and the first 30 minutes were for standing in the lunch line and sitting and eating your food, then the next 30 minute were for recess. From 1st grade through 5th grade it was playing in a playground with a big field and see-saws and monkey bars and similar playground things. . .and for 6th through 8th grades they turned us loose in the school's football field, where some kids would run around the field, the rest of us would sit on the bleachers and hang out or walk around in the area around the bleachers.

We'd on rare occasion have it taken away for misconduct. . .and one awful teacher that would simply take it away from her class for extra class time. We were in her class right after recess, and every quarter, before the big test she'd give summing up that block of the class, she'd take away our whole recess for the week leading up to that test not as punishment. . .but simply because she felt we should have more class time.

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MonsoonMermaid@reddit

We got recess three times a day till middle school. Then it was just lunch break.

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phred_666@reddit

That seems to be pretty much the norm for most of the US back when I was in school.

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DoublePostedBroski@reddit

Uh I’ve never heard of that so I’m betting it’s regional

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phred_666@reddit

It's also one of those things that may be different by generation/decade. In my case, we're talking about the 1970s/1980s.

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Mental_Freedom_1648@reddit

Wow, I thought this was something new. Interesting.

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VisibleSea4533@reddit

Elementary school, once a day directly after lunch. I believe it was a half hour.

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ltsmash1200@reddit

15 minutes 3 days a week?! That sucks.

We had it every day for 30 min from K-5th grade. From 6th on we didn’t have it anymore.

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jabber1990@reddit (OP)

There are more important things to do than recess, like learning shit

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ltsmash1200@reddit

I mean…we learned shit too…

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jabber1990@reddit (OP)

Doubtful

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bestem@reddit

In grade school, we had a 15 minute break from 10 to 10:15. We could eat a snack, run around, etc. Then we had a 30 minute lunch (12 to 12:30 for first through 5th graders, and 12:30 to 1 for 6th through 8th graders). Again, we could eat (should eat), and play (or sit at the lunch tables and talk). I lived in San Diego, so both recess and lunch were outside unless it was raining, in which case we had to stay in the classrooms.

In high school, we homeroom, 2 classes, a 20 minute break, 2 classes, a 40 minute lunch, 1 class, and then we were done for the day. We were above playing... but everything was still outside unless it was raining. I didn't set foot in a cafeteria until I started college.

I don't recall ever having anyone have recess or lunch taken away from them because of misbehavior. We might have sat with our heads on our desks when we were young, and misbehaving, but come break time, we were shooed outside to relieve the pent up energy and give our teachers a small break from us. If they tried to keep us in class, we would have been even worse after break, and they wouldn't have had a break.

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skateboreder@reddit

For recess I always found a shady spot away from kids that I could just ...relax.

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Quix66@reddit

I think 10-15 minutes in the morning, 30 minutes early afternoon, then 10-15 minutes later about an hour or so before dismissal. We would play games like kickball or freeze tag for the long recess in elementary school because we didn't have PE.

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4square425@reddit

K-3 got three recess - morning for 15 mins, midday for 30 mins (and it was separate from the 30 min lunch) and then afternoon recess for 15 mins.

4-6 had the morning and lunch recess (plus the lunch)

7-8 (Jr. High) had the lunch recess (but still lunch).

Now I teach in a middle school with a single 30 min lunch/recess hybrid.

No wonder our kids are so stressed.

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jabber1990@reddit (OP)

Kids have literally no reason to be stressed

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foozballhead@reddit

We had a 15 minute mid morning recess, and howmuchever recess time was leftover after eating your lunch.

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jabber1990@reddit (OP)

When we were done eating, we had to sit in our seat silently until time was over then we went to class

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abmbulldogs@reddit

We had daily recess once a day. I don’t remember exact times but I think it was 20-30 minutes. I teach now and our kids have one 25 minute recess daily plus 40 minutes of PE daily.

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amethystalien6@reddit

I got three times a day until middle school in the 90s and my kids did too. But it wasn’t public school so that probably is part of the reason.

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jvc1011@reddit

“Thrice,” LOL.

We got 15 minutes of recess in the morning and 35 minutes of lunch in the afternoon (which included time to eat). In high school, break and lunch had the same structure and there were also 5-minute passing periods which were like mini recesses between each period, so 4 additional times per day. You could go to the bathroom, catch a quick snack, and create drama in the halls - it’s amazing how much a determined 16-year-old can do in 5 minutes.

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Sure_Tree_5042@reddit

I went to different schools over the years (in different parts of the country) I think in most of my 1-3grades it was 2-15 min recesses a day. 4-6 was once a day… but I think it was 30 mins? Kindergarten was a half day and there was a re was but I don’t really recall the logistics. 7-8 no recesses but we had a longer “break” between classes in the morning. At the end of my 8th grade year I moved to a k-8 school in the sticks and we actually did have an afternoon recess. I thought it was weird as hell.

High school obviously no recesses, but we also had a morning break that was 15 mins or so.

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Constellation-88@reddit

When I was a kid, in early elementary you got a morning recess and then the one that was attached to lunch, but from 3rd to 5th grade, we had recess right after we ate lunch and then we went inside for the afternoon.

We never had recess from sixth grade on.

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Katesouthwest@reddit

Morning recess was 15 minutes. If it was inclement weather, we had indoor recess.

Lunch period was 1 hour because we had no school cafeteria- you ate lunch from home in the classroom or you could walk home to eat. If you finished early, the remaining time was recess until the hour was up.

If the class had been extra good or if the teacher needed a break because we were too antsy to listen in class, we would have an extra 15 minute recess in the afternoon about once a month or so. Those were regarded as a special treat.

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CosmicVolcano@reddit

Elementary school we had, I think, two recesses(morning and afternoon, 15 minutes each) it's possible we also had one immediately following lunch, but I'm not sure. Also, PE, I believe was daily. If not daily, it was Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Middle school(grades 7 & 8), no recess, but we could go outside(weather permitting) after lunch

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AnnicetSnow@reddit

For me it was half an hour a day either before or after lunch.

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Early_Apple_4142@reddit

Not sure across all grades or classes. My oldest is Autistic and is in SPED half the day and gen ed half the day. He gets two recesses for 15-20 min each. Our youngest starts kindergarten this year and they said at orientation they also do two recesses each day.

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GriffinArc@reddit

In elementary school, we had recess on the playground near the end of the day. It was 30 minutes of free play time where you could do whatever you wanted. Sometimes, you could lose recess privileges as punishment. I went to a K-12 school so elementary kids recess times were staggered out to avoid sixth graders and kindergarteners running around together etc. Inclement weather could have a big impact on recess availability. I grew up in a very wet state so rain was common. Bad weather usually meant we were stuck in the classroom playing games or reading. Or we might get extra library time.

We also had a full hour of structured physical activities called PE. Our PE teacher was a former army drill sergeant who really cared about our health. He was absolutely beloved and respected by pretty much all students at the school. PE usually involved exercising but also learning to play various sports and games. Sometimes it might have additional unstructured playground time for the final ten minutes or so if the weather cooperated.

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Birdywoman4@reddit

Through 6th grade we got 2 recesses, one mid-morning and the other mid-afternoon…about 15 or 20 minutes long.

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HotButteredPoptart@reddit

30 minutes a day after lunch from kindergarten to 6th grade.

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BankManager69420@reddit

Had recess daily for 15 minutes twice a day (in the morning and in the afternoon) from Kx12. In middle and high school we started calling it “break” and could go off campus to the local mini mart.

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Nice-Log2764@reddit

If I remember correctly, we would get one 15 minute recess in the morning, a half hour lunch/ recess and one 15 minute in the afternoon

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Gunther482@reddit

I went to a K-6 school and it depended on the grade.

K-3 had two recesses a day. One half an hour recess in the morning and then 15 minutes in the afternoon.

4-6 only had the half an hour recess in the morning with no afternoon recess.

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No-Profession422@reddit

In Elementary school, we had recess at 10:15, for 15 minutes each day. Then, during lunch break.

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Monte_Cristos_Count@reddit

In elementary school, we had 2 fifteen minutes recesses and a 30 minute lunch/recess. They lined up with our teachers' breaks

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Unusual_Memory3133@reddit

Fifteen minutes, 2 x a day

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boomgoesthevegemite@reddit

It was usually right after lunch for about 20-30 minutes I guess.

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Reasonable-Company71@reddit

In elementary we had recess once in the morning and again right after lunch every day up until grade 6.

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honorspren000@reddit

For me, the morning recess was 15-minutes long. The after-lunch recess was 30-minutes long. This was in Maine.

I live in Maryland now and my kids only have a 30-minute recess after lunch.

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stockvillain@reddit

We had it every day, as far as I can recall. Granted, my "recess" years were all spent at military bases - primarily Lemoore, CA and Guam, and it was the 80s.

I do recall a full day recess my class had, but that's because the school screwed up the buses and we got left behind while the rest of the school went to see Arnold Schwarzenegger for some big event he was at.

We spent all day just goofing around the grounds, waiting for the buses to come back so we could go home.

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andmewithoutmytowel@reddit

When I was in Elementary school, we got (2) 15 minute breaks and we had about 40 minutes for lunch, and on nice days we were sometimes allowed to play outside until the end of lunch period. My kids also get (2) 15 minute periods, but their lunch is like (20) minutes with no option for an extra break.

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SunShine365-@reddit

Love to see the underused word “thrice” pop out in the wild

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Texxx81@reddit

I went to a very small elementary school in (very) rural Texas. For context, my 6th grade class had 5 kids in it and we shared a classroom with the 5th grade. So yeah, pretty small.

We had 3 recesses, including lunch. We had one in the morning that was probably 30 minutes, maybe an hour for lunch and we'd all go to the playground after eating, and then another recess in the afternoon.

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Odd-Help-4293@reddit

In elementary school, we had recess once a day for half an hour.

The school cafeteria was only big enough for half of the students to eat at a time. So half the students would go to recess and half to lunch, and then they'd switch.

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CupBeEmpty@reddit

Same for me growing up but my daughter got two 30 minute recess periods in elementary school. Now in middle school she gets one then another 30 minute break for more educational stuff like study/homework time or some kind of cool educational activity apart from her normal classwork.

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MegansettLife@reddit

The 3 elementary schools i went to were all different.

1st one, we played in a large field, had a slide and a few swings. Also, we had to walk, ride a bus if weather was bad, to another school, for lunch.

2nd, everyone walked to school, except for the kids from the island. Us walkers went home for lunch. We had an hour. Most of us got back to school early so we could play - no supervision.

3rd - September to December, we had half days. No recess, had lunch at home or with friends. 2nd half of the year, we had normal school time. Caf lunch and recess.

7 and 8th grade- long lunch periods and we were allowed to go outside in the large field. No supervision then, either.

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Adorable_Dust3799@reddit

We did that also, but there were 3 lunches

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Ecks54@reddit

Recess for me in elementary school was one time in the mid-morning (usually around 20-30 minutes) and then a longer lunch period of about 45 minutes.

In high school I think we had a 15 minute break in between 2nd and 3rd periods, then lunch after 4th period (or 5th for the lowerclassmen)

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HippoProject@reddit

We’d all eat lunch according to grade. First graders went first and fifth graders went last. After every lunch we’d go out to recess for about a half hour. Sometimes recess would be longer for special days like Halloween and Valentine’s Day.

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CarmenDeeJay@reddit

Our recess in elementary school occurred after you finished your lunch. I was always cold, so during the winter, I did whatever I could to avoid going outside. Fortunately, the librarian loved me and gave me free reign of the books. She always let me stay indoors during the winter months.

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smartfbrankings@reddit

I remember having a morning recess, a lunch recess, and maybe a short afternoon recess too until 5th grade. After that I remember having it maybe once a day and after lunch.

Beyond that, it was just extra time at lunch if you finished early.

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Infamous_Towel_5251@reddit

When between 1st and 5th grade we had recess in the morning for 15 minutes, a 30 minute lunch in the later morning where we were also allowed recess after we ate, and a 15 minute recess in the afternoon.

Recess was at teacher discretion. If a student misbehaved they might have recess taken away as punishment and end up sitting in a classroom writing sentences or copying definitions from the dictionary. Rarely, a whole class would misbehave and be punished by losing recess.

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rawbface@reddit

Every day, after lunch, we'd get 30 minutes outside at school. You could play on the blacktop, the soccer/kickball field, or the playground. When it was over we'd line up and go back to class.

This is how it was from kindergarten through 5th grade for me. In 6-12th grade, lunch was a full period, and you could go outside at any point during that period.

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Zip83@reddit

Definitely didn't have three a day. Depending on weather we'd go outside once a day for like 30 minutes or so.

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LadyGreyIcedTea@reddit

In elementary school: morning recess for 15 minutes, lunch recess for 30 minutes. Kids who didn't take the bus home probably played in the back until their parents came to pick them up too.

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elqueco14@reddit

30 min in the morning, hour for lunch, PE for an hour 2-3 times a week which was just more structured form of recess most of the time.

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PuzzleheadedLemon353@reddit

We had a 30 minute break with milk and whatever snack we brought...usually apple, carrot or celery sticks.

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Showdown5618@reddit

Once a day in elementary school, forget how long.

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Jack_of_Spades@reddit

At my school
Lower grades get two 20 minute recesses and a 40 minute lunch.

upper grade (4th and 5th) get one 20 minute recess and a 40 minute lunch. Maybe PE at the end of the day.

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ForestOranges@reddit

Kindergarten was only a half day of school so we got recess once a day.

1st and 2nd grade was a full day of school so we had a shorter morning recess and then a full half hour recess around lunch.

3rd-5th grade was one half hour recess and then no more recess once we got to middle school. But some middle school still do recess.

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La_Rata_de_Pizza@reddit

I stayed inside during recess to avoid the other kids and so that I could play the sandwich stacker game on the Disney channel website

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eerie_lake_@reddit

Thirty minutes a day from K-5th grade. If it was too hot/cold/rainy, I think we stayed in the classrooms and played games?

We also had PE (for an hour ? i think?) twice a week, and did a Dance Party in the music room if the weather didn’t cooperate.

Both of y’all’s schedules have me raising my eyebrows. Especially yours. 45 minutes of recess a week is… really not a lot for elementary.

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Appropriate-Food1757@reddit

I think there was at least 2

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WinterRevolutionary6@reddit

In elementary, lunch was 20-30 min and recess was right after in a similar time frame. Not sure exact times because it’s been a while. Middle school, recess was optional but I think munch was 40 minutes and you could only go outside after 20 minutes of lunch. Idk the rules were weirder. There were also only 5 total people allowed to go to the library during lunch per day

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Forward-Repeat-2507@reddit

Many many moons ago we hand 1/2 hour breaks an an hour for lunch.

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hazmatclean@reddit

I was Pre K to 6th in public school. PreK through 1st or so, it feels like there were 2 recess periods with one definitely associated with lunch. 2nd to 6th was lunch recess. 7th to high-school graduation, it was all male private school. We had frequent free time through the day, but had a much longer daily commitment to schooling than public schools. I would often arrive to school at 7-7:15AM, and wouldn't leave until after 4PM, and often after 5PM

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bmbmwmfm@reddit

morning and afternoons until middle school. Then none. No breaks except lunch. At least by high school you could schedule free periods to be used in the library.

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JesusStarbox@reddit

Once a day until fifth grade.

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TankDestroyerSarg@reddit

Up through 5th grade, and daily. About 20-30 minutes long. If the weather was bad or too cold it was held in the gymnasium.

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Adorable_Dust3799@reddit

Oh fancy lol. My elem school was 3 rows of portable bungalows on a fenced gravel lot. 2 years after i graduated they finally got permanent buildings.

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Adorable_Dust3799@reddit

We got 30 minutes after lunch and woo minutes one other time. I believe we also got PE, which was either walking/jogging around the field or getting pummeled in dodgeball, but i don't think that was every day.

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BoseSounddock@reddit

One 30 minute per day right before lunch.

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VeronicaMarsupial@reddit

In lower elementary school (K-3) we had a 15 minute midmorning recess, a lunch break where we went out to the playground after we finished eating which typically meant about 15 minutes of play time, and another 15 minute recess mid-afternoon. Upper elementary (4-6) we had a lunch break with outdoor playtime and a morning recess daily. My 6th grade teacher was very big on sports and moving more so he usually took us for PE every afternoon for about a half hour as well, when we would all participate in whatever he chose for the day. Most classes only got organized PE time maybe twice a week.

7th grade and up we just got short passing periods between classes and a half hour lunch break. There were no free periods, you were in a class of some kind during all class periods.

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VeronicaMarsupial@reddit

Actually I now recall that my kindergarten was half day, so I think we only got one outdoor recess, although a lot of the classroom time was basically play.

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Zillajami-Fnaffan2@reddit

From elementary all the way to 6th, it was just once

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FadingOut760@reddit

Once a day for 30min approx. My school had everyone line up by the door to do a headcount before we went in

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cofeeholik75@reddit

60’s. The best part was the end of recess. Bell rang. Everybody had to freeze. Silence. Balls bouncing across yard. Kids jumped of swings. Odd poses. Only lasted like 10-20 seconds but I have vivid memories.

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shelwood46@reddit

We did get three breaks a day in grade school (1970s), but the morning and afternoon were pretty quick, they were more for a snack and potty break. We got 20 minutes for lunch and then 30 or so minutes outside for recess after lunch, weather permitting. If it was too wet or cold, we had recess in the gym. We did sometimes have PE outside. Junior high started in 7th for us. Different school, no recess, only lunch and PE (though that gym had some cool equipment and some outdoor areas we could use for running etc).

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therealbamspeedy@reddit

Recess every day after lunch up to 8th grade, that was 35-40 years ago (K-8 was all in one building). My kids have recess around lunchtime (before or after) as well. Been too many years ago to remember if there was also a morning recess for me, I don't think there was (of course gym class would get us outside if they could), but I do remember the after lunch recess and every day. I'm guessing it was a half hour.

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Illustrious-Shirt569@reddit

It was three times a day (morning, lunch, afternoon) when I was in school 35 years ago and it’s also the same for my kids now, at least through elementary school. Jr high and high school they get a morning “snack break” that is 15 minutes instead of the normal 4 minute passing period, and lunch.

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Bluemonogi@reddit

We had recess through 6th grade once a day. I think it was at least 30 minutes but I don’t remember. It was long enough for kids to play kickball or other games. If the weather was bad then recess was held in the library where you could talk, read or play jacks.I don’t remember recess being taken away from us. I bet our teachers used that time for a break or something.

I don’t often see or hear people use the word thrice. It seems old fashioned in my area.

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OkPerformance2221@reddit

Thrice a day through 6th grade: mid-morning, after lunch, and mid-afternoon.

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Individual_Check_442@reddit

Morning and lunch every day. Teachers tried to find other punishments besides keeping you in at recess because if they keep you in they have to watch you instead of getting a break while the yard duty does it, plus not letting you get out some energy will just cause you to behave worse the rest of the day.

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aWesterner014@reddit

Three times a day until roughly 5th grade. Usually 15 minutes in the morning and afternoon with a longer recess at lunch.

At fifth grade we dropped down to just the one at lunch.

The length of the lunch recess was directly tied to how quickly we could get through the lunch line and eat lunch.

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