With the Dynamic School concept, of which Nick’s physical education lesson is a part, lessons and movement are alternated, and movement is literally included in the timetable. Every half hour, sitting is interrupted with movement breaks, outdoor play or a physical education lesson. Nick has worked at De Waterhof for 20 years and put movement on the agenda there. Nick convinced his colleagues and, together with them, set up a ‘movement team’ that devises and organizes all the activities. At a Dynamic School, pupils have a continuous school schedule until 2:15 p.m.; this stipulates that sitting must be interrupted by at least three movement moments per day.

Zones for movement

At ordinary primary schools, children have a 15-minute break in the morning, after which five classes rush onto the playground at the same time. Teachers then often have to resolve conflicts and comfort children who may not be able to participate very well.

At De Waterhof’s playground, no more than two classes may play outside at the same time. The playground is also divided into sections. The blue zone is for children who want to play alone for a while (keeping a ball in the air by themselves), the yellow sections are for games in which you have to wait your turn (long-rope skipping), the orange sections are for playing together without it being about winning or losing (for example, a game of tag), and in the red sections you play a match against each other, such as 3-on-3 soccer.

Nick explains the thinking behind the sections on the playground: “You have to enjoy moving. And it helps if you can choose a section where you can quietly do something on your own, or if you can choose tag because you love it. It is also important that this allows them to interact with their classmates in a different way. Then they learn that there are children who do want to play soccer, but do not necessarily want to kick the ball as hard as they can.”

Nick’s mission

He then talks about his mission. “My mission is to give every child in the Netherlands a dynamic school day. You see that children are increasingly less able to roll, turn, throw and balance. In fact, these skills have been declining for 30 or 40 years. Yet being able to do these things, and experiencing success, gives you self-confidence. And I think children should leave physical education with the feeling that ‘I simply succeeded today.’ Wow, what a wonderful feeling.”

Barely 1 percent Dynamic Schools

In the Netherlands, 400,000 children are already overweight. One of the causes is that about half of all children do not exercise enough: only 40 percent of children engage in moderately intensive physical activity for one hour a day. Yet not all schools support becoming a Dynamic School. There are only 52 in the Netherlands, out of a total of 6,500 primary schools. Many schools fear that the movement breaks will cause disruption in the classroom and that basic skills such as mathematics and language will suffer as a result.

De Waterhof principal Nora Bolderheij sees it differently: “By moving in between lessons, children can release their energy, after which they perform better on cognitive tasks. And movement is important not only for fitness, but also for children’s social skills.”

Children enthusiastic

The children in Mr. Nick’s class enjoy movement as a pleasant change of pace. “We are very sporty, which I like,” says Mootje. “After that, you can sit quietly in your chair again,” Djaiden adds. “And then I can concentrate better and think more clearly,” says Jack.

Read here the extended article on Pointer’s website. Read here more about the Dynamic School Day on De Waterhof’s website.