In Slovenia there is no outside playtime

This time I’ll tell you a bit more of how happy kids are around here to attend school which offers outside playtime. Spending time outside school fills them with fresh air and gives them strength to cope with all the hard work which awaits them during lessons in the classrooms. As games are a crucial part of happy childhood and the best way for the children to learn, it’s nice to see they are a part of everyday practice at the schools around the UK. I’ve also joined in to see what kids do during outside playtime at Glaitness. What is important is that the kids are always supervised by the adults and are never left on their own. However, they are free to choose whatever it is they want to play with, which gives them freedom to try, take risks and make decisions. Games teach kids how to establish an attitude towards life, which is way they are to be taken as very precious.
It was really not the best weather to be outside on the day I joined in for the outside playtime, but the children were eager to go outside anyway. It was freezing cold and the wind was blowing, it was also raining at times. Irrespective of this, all the kids couldn’t wait to get outside (see photos below). They were told to get in for a few minutes as the rain became heavier, but were out only a few minutes after. It seemed to me like they were enjoying it despite the weather. In Slovenia, you wouldn’t see anything like this. Students are not allowed to leave the school during break times (It’s like this at primary schools only). Moreover, kids can’t really play around school, at least not the games they could if they were allowed to go out. Some years ago, when I was at primary school myself, it didn’t matter much of whether there was no outside playtime at school, as we had our outside playtime after school almost every day. Nowadays, you wouldn’t see kids playing outside to that extent as most of them would be playing computer games or spend time on the Internet chatting with their friends rather than going out with them to talk. Sad but true. Anyway, some of the games we played when I was younger are listed below (check out the links, you may find out better of how some games are played):
~ dodgeball,
~ land stealing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUuTvqOygyo),
~ gummitwist (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OksBs8VWZ8),
~ hopscotch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MH8k89WHv8 ),
~ hide and seek,
~ stand still,
~ Miss, what time is it?,
~ Blindfolded mouse,
~ Stinky egg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqdNthzl8YU )…