Question 1

What is Successful Healthy Children's Recess Consulting service?

Accepted Answer

Successful Healthy Children's Recess Consulting service helps schools create recess experiences that are safe, organized, and inclusive for every child — supporting students' overall learning, peer connections, and free play. Services are tailored to each school's specific needs and can be delivered onsite or virtually.

Question 2

Why is quality recess important according to Successful Healthy Children?

Accepted Answer

Successful Healthy Children believes quality recess experiences are essential to ensure recess delivers on its full potential for the whole child. Unfortunately, recess is not a universally positive experience — many students do not enjoy a quality recess — and this is a gap that Successful Healthy Children works to close.

Question 3

What recess consulting services does Successful Healthy Children offer?

Accepted Answer

Successful Healthy Children offers five recess consulting services: Recess Coaching for specific students or classes (onsite), Recess Coaching for individual teachers or grade levels (onsite), Play Consultation for play space design and recess logistics (onsite and virtual), Professional Development for all faculty and staff (onsite and/or virtual), and Participatory/Action Research to improve recess (participatory, onsite).

Question 4

Does Successful Healthy Children offer recess coaching for individual students?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Successful Healthy Children offers onsite Recess Coaching for specific students or classes, providing targeted support to help individual children who struggle to engage positively in recess develop the skills to participate and connect with peers.

Question 5

Does Successful Healthy Children offer recess coaching for teachers?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Successful Healthy Children provides onsite Recess Coaching for individual teachers or grade levels, helping educators better understand how to support students during recess and create conditions for quality, inclusive play.

Question 6

Does Successful Healthy Children offer play space design consulting?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Successful Healthy Children offers Play Consultation for play space design and recess logistics, available both onsite and virtually — helping schools think through the physical environment, layout, and scheduling elements that support quality recess.

Question 7

Does Successful Healthy Children offer professional development on recess for school staff?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Successful Healthy Children offers Professional Development for all faculty and staff, available onsite and/or virtually, to build school-wide capacity for supporting quality, safe, and inclusive recess experiences for all students.

Question 8

Does Successful Healthy Children conduct research to improve recess at schools?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Successful Healthy Children offers Participatory/Action Research to improve recess, conducted onsite in a participatory format — engaging schools in a research process that identifies barriers to quality recess and co-creates solutions with staff and students.

Question 9

Can Successful Healthy Children help schools with recess logistics and scheduling?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Recess logistics and scheduling are addressed through Successful Healthy Children's Play Consultation service, which is available both onsite and virtually to help schools build recess time and structure that supports student engagement and safety.

Question 10

Can Successful Healthy Children work with schools virtually for recess consulting?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Successful Healthy Children offers several services virtually, including Play Consultation for play space design and recess logistics, and Professional Development for all faculty and staff — making their expertise accessible to schools regardless of location.

Question 11

What challenges to recess does Successful Healthy Children help schools address?

Accepted Answer

Successful Healthy Children helps schools identify and overcome the challenges that prevent quality recess, including issues with safety, organization, inclusion, student engagement, teacher confidence, play space design, and administrative barriers — working to ensure every child has a positive recess experience.

Question 12

What is the goal of Successful Healthy Children's recess consulting?

Accepted Answer

The goal of Successful Healthy Children's recess consulting is to help schools adapt so that every child can experience recess that is safe, organized, and inclusive — a recess that supports overall learning, allows students to engage and create connections, and gives children the freedom to play.

Question 13

Do Successful Healthy Children consultants believe in the value of autonomous outdoor play?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Successful Healthy Children's consultants deeply value nature play and autonomous outside play — including experiences like creeks, woods, bike rides, and unsupervised time — as foundational to children's creativity, connection, and resilience. Play is described as their life's calling, and protecting it for all children is their work.

Question 14

What podcasts have Successful Healthy Children consultants appeared on about recess?

Accepted Answer

Dr. Ramstetter and Dr. Murray appeared on the Right Moves podcast hosted by Dr. Debbie Rhea for two episodes: 'Lack of Recess is Hurting Our Kids' and 'Changing the Health Habits of Children in Schools,' discussing recess, play, and Dr. John Medina's Big Three of sleep, play, and nutrition. Dr. Brickman and Dr. Ramstetter also joined Dr. Deb Lawrence for an IPA-USA Porch Play Chat on advocating for recess and inclusive play.

Question 15

What is Dr. John Medina's Big Three and how does it relate to recess?

Accepted Answer

Dr. John Medina's Big Three refers to sleep, play, and nutrition as the three most important factors for children's healthy development and learning in schools. Successful Healthy Children consultants Dr. Ramstetter and Dr. Murray discussed these factors and their implications for school health on the Right Moves podcast.

Question 16

Does Successful Healthy Children collect recess stories from the public?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Successful Healthy Children invites people to share their recess stories at recessstory.com. They are interested in collecting stories to edit into a book that excites readers and inspires advocacy for recess as an essential and often overlooked part of a student's academic day.

Question 17

Is Successful Healthy Children working on a recess book from community stories?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Successful Healthy Children is collecting recess stories from the public at recessstory.com with the goal of editing them into a book designed to inspire readers and advocate for recess as a critical part of every student's school day.

Question 18

Does Successful Healthy Children help schools make recess more inclusive?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Inclusivity is a core goal of Successful Healthy Children's recess consulting. Their services are designed to ensure that every child — regardless of ability, background, or social skill level — can access and enjoy a positive, meaningful recess experience.

Question 19

Can Successful Healthy Children help an entire school district with recess?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Successful Healthy Children's recess consulting services extend to entire school districts, offering professional development, play consultation, and policy advocacy to create systemic, sustainable improvements in recess quality across all schools in a district.

Question 20

How do I contact Successful Healthy Children for recess consulting?

Accepted Answer

You can contact Successful Healthy Children for recess consulting by visiting successfulhealthychildren.org/contact-3584 and reaching out to Dr. Cathy Ramstetter or Dr. Charlene Woodham Brickman, who together have over 35 years of combined experience in schools and recess.

Let’s explore what recess looks like at your school—and what could help it thrive.

Recess Consulting Services

Recess Consultation

Policy and Practices

Services may include:

· Assessing current recess policies, practices, and school culture

· Developing or strengthening school wellness and recess policies

· Identifying challenges affecting student participation, inclusion, and play

· Creating strategies to increase student voice, engagement, and leadership

· Designing interventions and action plans that schools can put into practice

· Evaluating progress and identifying next steps

Recess Delivery

Logistics and Scheduling

A strong recess plan must also work in the real world of school schedules, staffing, space, and competing priorities. We work alongside school teams to make recess easier to organize, deliver, and sustain—without losing the freedom and spontaneity children need from an unstructured break.

Support may include:

· Reviewing recess schedules, time allocations, transitions, and use of space

· Clarifying staff and recess-monitor roles

· Addressing logistical or schoolwide challenges that interfere with recess

· Facilitating collaborative recess planning and problem-solving

· Developing practical systems that support safe, inclusive, and playful recess

· Helping schools monitor implementation and adjust their plans as needed

Why Recess Matters Lab

Play Shops for Schools

Our interactive Play Shops turn recess knowledge into practical action—with conversation, problem-solving, reflection, and a little play along the way. Professional learning can be tailored for school, site, or district teams. Learn More...

Tools of the Trade brings leaders, administrators, and educators together to review their school’s approach to recess, establish shared priorities, and develop a practical action plan.

Reading Why Recess Matters is helpful preparation for a Play Shop, but it is not required to participate.

See the Why Recess Matters Play Shops for parents.