Despite the disappearance of recess from the daily school schedule of our children, nearly everyone agrees that play is an essential part of a child’s life. In fact, the cultural historian, Johan Huizinga goes much further when he writes: “You can deny, if you like, nearly all abstractions: justice, beauty, truth, goodness, mind, God. You can deny seriousness, but not play.”
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Word-Games-for-Game-and-Puzzle-Week.mp3 Author Laurie Taylor Air Date 11/25/2003 Word Games for Game and Puzzle Week Transcript We’ve all seen word puzzles like anagrams and crosswords in the local paper, but most of us aren’t aware of the long and complex history of these conundrums. For instance, most scholars believe that word […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Spy-Alley.mp3 Author Laurie Taylor Air Date 8/7/2003 Spy Alley Transcript By this point in the summer, the children in your household are probably ready for some intrigue, deception, and suspense — the kind provided by daring, fictional spies and crackers of mysteries like Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and the […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Dance-Dance-Revolution.mp3 Author Laurie Taylor Air Date 5/15/2003 Dance, Dance, Revolution Transcript Despite all our knowledge about vitamins, foods, and exercise, so many of us are not eating or exercising the right way. Because of our poor habits, childhood obesity and other health problems are on the rise. Luckily, though, some […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Tivoli-Gardens-The-First-Theme-Park.mp3 Author Rita Smith Air Date 8/15/2002 Tivoli Gardens Transcript Tivoli Gardens — the famous amusement park in Denmark, which took its name from a much older Tivoli Gardens in Italy — opened its gates in the late summer of 1843. It was the brainchild of an entertainment entrepreneur named […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Hopscotch.mp3 Author John Cech Air Date 5/2/2002 Hopscotch Transcript Imagine yourself a Roman Legionaire, dressed in full battle gear, as part of your training, having to hop up and down a 100-foot long line of squares that have been scratched into the ground. That’s one of the possible origins of […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Kids-First-Crossword-Puzzles.mp3 Author Rita Smith Air Date 4/17/2002 Kids’ First Crossword Puzzles Transcript On April 10, 1924, Simon and Schuster published the first crossword puzzle book. A dollar thirty-five bought all the fun and challenge of 50 puzzles, and to top it off, the book came with a free pencil. Within […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Walter-Camp-Athlete-and-Childrens-Book-Writer.mp3 Author Rita Smith Air Date 4/8/2002 Walter Camp, Footballs and Books Transcript Walter Camp was born April 7, 1859. As a boy Camp wasn’t particularly athletic nor strong, but he loved sports and wanted to excel in them, so he set himself a personal regimen. Every morning he did […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Spring-and-Jump-Rope.mp3 Author John Cech Air Date 3/20/2002 Spring and Jump Rope Transcript Ah, let the games begin. In spring festivals in ancient Greece and Rome, young people would jump over vines, not only to show their physical prowess, but to predict how high that year’s crops would grow. We don’t […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/The-Secrets-of-the-Frisbee.mp3 Author Kevin Shortsleeve Air Date 1/11/2002 The Frisbee Transcript Today, we celebrate the Frisbee, that sublime, colorful and somewhat mysterious flying disc. The ancient origins of the Frisbee are lost in the annals of history, though no doubt, it was a child who first discovered that flat wood chips […]
Listen to the Recess! Clip https://recess.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/Thanksgiving-Games-.mp3 Author Kevin Shortsleeve Air Date 11/22/2001 Thanksgiving Games Transcript As a child, Thanksgiving was the one day in the year when my entire family would play games together. On other holidays, we were together, but with a family as large as mine, – eight children two parents – and […]