FLORENCE Ala.
Physical education teachers like Missy Cupp have known for decades that summertime can have a negative impact on children.
Sure, children love the freedom that comes with summer break, including the relaxed schedule with more time to romp and play.
The problem is that summer often spawns a more lackadaisical attitude.
“I see it every year in the kids I teach, especially at the first of the school year after the summer off,” said Cupp, who teaches at Muscle Shoals Middle School, and in the summer, directs the Kids in College program at Northwest-Shoals Community College.
In her 17 years with the program, “we’ve always incorporated both components academics and exercise.”
Some recent studies confirm what educators and parents already know: summertime means weight gain and learning loss in children.
