Boxcar Santa
Have you ever wondered if recess time in the schools could be used to better increase your child's academic ability? Is recess really important or just a waste of precious teaching time?
Until the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), most elementary students, parents and teachers took recess for granted in school. Time left over in the school day or instructional period was not questioned if the teacher chose to give students time to work on art projects. With NCLB, the government turned up the heat on schools to achieve testing standards or to face severe penalties for not performing. Students who do not enter the school system with the same set of skills as their peers require more intense and longer instruction in order to meet the testing performance required in today's system. Plus all students are spending more time in the school day mastering requirements in the core subjects. Sometimes in an effort to make sure that students meet these requirements, schools have to cut back on other subjects or school activities. One area that schools are using to create more time in the school day is recess. Does this reduction of time to play have an effect on students? Is play or recess time important or is it expendable?
Play helps us develop many of the skills we need to help us learn to thrive in the world. Besides our parents, play is our first teacher.
During play children develop problem solving skills. For example, a young girl is serving dinner to her 3 stuffed animals but she only has enough food for 2. What should she do? Problem solving skills that start out as simple as this become more difficult the older a child gets.
Play also stimulates a child's creativity to use materials in new ways. Using a box for a car or making a tent from blankets are creative ways to use new materials. How many inventions have been discovered because someone found a new way to use materials?
Playing games allows a child to learn sharing and turn-taking. They also learn how to establish relationships through negotiation and conflict-resolution.
Playing on the playground, or physical play, allows children to develop muscle strength. Gross and fine motor strength and expanding lung capacity are just three ways that physical strength is developed. Having stamina to keep up with learning is extremely important. Physical coordination helps a child with writing and reading skills because they have control over those muscles.
From the moment children are born, they begin to interact with their world. This interaction comes in the form of play. Play develops our thinking skills. With that development, language develops. Play gives children the opportunity to play with language, use and understand language. Without the time to play with objects and people, students become limited in their use of language. This limitation keeps children from entering school on an equal footing with other children their age. Lack of language skills requires intense remediation.
How can parents ensure that children have enough time to play?
Parents can engage children in play activities that involve language such as reading stories, singing songs, and playing rhyming games. Pair words with actions such as "catch the ball" or "throw the ball". Using words to describe daily actions and play activities gives the child a head start on understanding words which teachers will later expect children to know and understand in school. For a child whose first language is not English, parents need to help their child develop skills in their native language first before introducing a second language.
At school, if you find that your child is spending a lot of time without play or recess, talk to the teacher to find out why. Interactions with other children are extremely important especially in the primary grades. Children should have some time to experience unstructured play and develop interactions with their peers.
At home, make sure your child has time to play. Give them some breathing space between school and homework. But children who watch a lot of TV or who play lots of video games do not develop needed play skills. These activities are limited in the vocabulary they expose children to and children do not get the give and take of interacting with others.
Working together, parents and teachers can improve student academic skills while providing adequate time to play and develop needed school skills.
Theresa Gandolfo, M.Ed is a retired educator with 31 years of teaching experience. She can be reached at theresa@etsnevada.com
11 people in a box car!!
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 LIFELIKE N GAUGE SANTA FE 40 BOXCAR 7754  US $1.00
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 Model Power 40 Steel Boxcar Santa Fe ATSF 16471 N Ship and Travel US $10.00
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 VINTAGE BACHMANN SANTA FE BOX CAR HO SCALE US $2.24
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 MTL Micro Trains 34280 ATSF 10089 Santa Fe 50 Box car Map Slogan Green Gold US $8.99
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 Tyco AT and SF 80680 Santa Fe Box car HO Scale Used Teal US $3.35
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 Athearn HO 40 Santa Fe Hi Cube Boxcar US $5.00
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 LIONEL 6672 Santa Fe Boxcar US $49.99
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 Roundhouse Old Timers 36 Santa Fe AT SF 8520 Box Car US $15.00
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 LIFE LIKE 40 SD BOXCAR SANTA FE 16927 US $9.99
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 MARX O SCALE SANTA FE BOX CAR ROAD SFRD 3280 US $2.99
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 N Scale Santa Fe 40 Wood Box Car by Micro Trains US $3.91
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 N Scale Santa Fe 40 Box Car by Atlas US $.99
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 ATLAS Santa Fe ATSF 50656 Cattle Car PRR 50 Box Car 83247 N Scale NEW US $1.95
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 Red Caboose Santa Fe 40 AAR boxcar US $2.21
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 Lionel 3484 25 Black Lettered Santa Fe Operating BoxcarTK US $146.50
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 ROUNDHOUSE 3205 HO SCALE SOUTHERN PACIFIC SANTA FE SPSF 51918 BOX CAR B US $17.30
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 Lionel Santa Fe Boxcar 3356 Shell Horse Express New US $21.99
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 Life Like Santa Fe 40 map boxcar WMWKD US $9.74
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 HO 187 50 Plug Door Box Car SANTA FE ATSF 520711 Super Shock Control US $.99
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 SANTA FE THE SCOUT BOX CAR O SCALE DECAL OB 19 US $8.50
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 SANTA FE THE CHIEF BOX CAR O SCALE DECAL OB 147 US $8.50
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 BACHMANN G SCALE SANTA FE BOXCAR US $25.00
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 HO SCALE TRAIN TYCO SANTA FE 40 BOX CAR 311U NEW IN BOX FREE US SHIPPING US $10.99
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 Lionel Railroad Santa Fe Boxcar 6 29967 US $45.00
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 AHM Santa Fe box car 35829 US $4.99
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 HO Scale Santa Fe El Capitan 50 Plug Door Boxcar ATSF 49277 With Kadee 5 US $5.01
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 American Flyer 24003 Santa Fe boxcar US $25.00
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 HO Scale Bachmann Santa Fe 55360 Boxcar Lot DT5 1 US $.99
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 Am Flyer LTI 4 9700 Santa Fe boxcar US $39.00
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 Walthers Santa Fe Box Car Set Remnants US $1.50
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 Tyco HO Scale Santa Fe 50 Box Car 339A US $3.99
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 n scale santa fe box car 15913 US $3.50
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 Champion HO scale decal for Santa Fe Railroad letters 2 boxcars US $5.00
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 Train Miniature HO scale Santa Fe Bx 9 wood side boxcar US $6.99
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 MB Marklin HO 4572 Boxcar ATSF Santa Fe All The Way US $55.00
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Christmas With Boxcar Willie
Sale Price: $6.94  |
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Bachmann Trains Santa Fe 50' Plug-Door Box Car
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Lionel Santa's Flyer Ready To Run Train Set
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Lionel Pennsylvania Flyer O Gauge
Sale Price: $229.99 |
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Lionel Christmas Story Train G Guage
Sale Price: $112.00 |
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Move Over, Santa-Ruby's Doin' Christmas!
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Santa Fe Freight in Color, Vol. 1: Boxcars
Sale Price: $75.00 |
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LIFELIKE N GAUGE SANTA FE 40 BOXCAR 7754 US $1.00
|
Model Power 40 Steel Boxcar Santa Fe ATSF 16471 N Ship and Travel US $10.00
|
VINTAGE BACHMANN SANTA FE BOX CAR HO SCALE US $2.24
|
|
MTL Micro Trains 34280 ATSF 10089 Santa Fe 50 Box car Map Slogan Green Gold US $8.99
|
Tyco AT and SF 80680 Santa Fe Box car HO Scale Used Teal US $3.35
|
Athearn HO 40 Santa Fe Hi Cube Boxcar US $5.00
|
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LIONEL 6672 Santa Fe Boxcar US $49.99
|
Roundhouse Old Timers 36 Santa Fe AT SF 8520 Box Car US $15.00
|
LIFE LIKE 40 SD BOXCAR SANTA FE 16927 US $9.99
|
|
MARX O SCALE SANTA FE BOX CAR ROAD SFRD 3280 US $2.99
|
N Scale Santa Fe 40 Wood Box Car by Micro Trains US $3.91
|
N Scale Santa Fe 40 Box Car by Atlas US $.99
|
|
Red Caboose Santa Fe 40 AAR boxcar US $2.21
|
Lionel 3484 25 Black Lettered Santa Fe Operating BoxcarTK US $146.50
|
ROUNDHOUSE 3205 HO SCALE SOUTHERN PACIFIC SANTA FE SPSF 51918 BOX CAR B US $17.30
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Lionel Santa Fe Boxcar 3356 Shell Horse Express New US $21.99
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Life Like Santa Fe 40 map boxcar WMWKD US $9.74
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HO 187 50 Plug Door Box Car SANTA FE ATSF 520711 Super Shock Control US $.99
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SANTA FE THE SCOUT BOX CAR O SCALE DECAL OB 19 US $8.50
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SANTA FE THE CHIEF BOX CAR O SCALE DECAL OB 147 US $8.50
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 N SCALE BACHMANN SANTA FE ATSF 50 PLUG DOOR BOXCAR US $6.99
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 American Flyer 803 SANTA FE BOXCAR in VERY GOOD PLUS CONDITION US $11.06
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 Life Like ho scale Box car SANTA FE ATSF 140185 6 inches long US $3.99
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BACHMANN G SCALE SANTA FE BOXCAR US $25.00
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 HO MODEL POWER ATSF 48274 SANTA FE BOX CAR US $4.99
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 HO Bachmann ATSF El Capitan Santa Fe 51 steel box car US $4.99
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AHM Santa Fe box car 35829 US $4.99
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HO Scale Santa Fe El Capitan 50 Plug Door Boxcar ATSF 49277 With Kadee 5 US $5.01
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American Flyer 24003 Santa Fe boxcar US $25.00
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HO Scale Bachmann Santa Fe 55360 Boxcar Lot DT5 1 US $.99
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Am Flyer LTI 4 9700 Santa Fe boxcar US $39.00
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Walthers Santa Fe Box Car Set Remnants US $1.50
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 Santa Fe Box Car Shock Control HO scale gauge railroad Roundhouse box US $5.08
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n scale santa fe box car 15913 US $3.50
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Champion HO scale decal for Santa Fe Railroad letters 2 boxcars US $5.00
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Train Miniature HO scale Santa Fe Bx 9 wood side boxcar US $6.99
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MB Marklin HO 4572 Boxcar ATSF Santa Fe All The Way US $55.00
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 Vintage Model Train Boxcar HO scale collectible Santa Fe Logo US $44.00
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Christmas With Boxcar Willie
Sale Price: $6.94 |
|
Bachmann Trains Santa Fe 50' Plug-Door Box Car
List Price: |
|
Lionel Santa's Flyer Ready To Run Train Set
List Price: |
|
Lionel Pennsylvania Flyer O Gauge
Sale Price: $229.99 |
|
Lionel Christmas Story Train G Guage
Sale Price: $112.00 |
|
Move Over, Santa-Ruby's Doin' Christmas!
List Price: |
|
Santa Fe Freight in Color, Vol. 1: Boxcars
Sale Price: $75.00 |
