February 4, 2025

Rochester kids will be learning as they jump, run and play games Wednesday, Feb. 5, during Global School Play Day. This is the second year Healthi Kids and Rochester have participated in the international event, which draws attention to the importance of play in schools.

Healthi Kids will provide healthy snacks, play supplies, and activity ideas to more than a dozen Rochester City School District (RCSD) schools, encouraging unstructured, child-led play throughout the school day. 

This year, Healthi Kids is working with the following sites:

  • Pre-K sites: School 50, School 33, Rochester Early Childhood Education Center
  • Elementary schools: Schools 4, 16, 17, 22, 33, 34, 45, 58
  • Freddie Thomas Middle School

  • Home school collective: Berr’s Infinite Mindz Learning Pods

“Play is more than just fun; it is how kids naturally learn and develop physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally,” said Mike Bulger, director of Whole Child Health Advocacy. “All children in the RCSD need access to playful learning and unstructured play opportunities throughout the day.”

Global School Play Day is an international movement that promotes the importance of unstructured play for children’s development. Unstructured play—also called free play—allows kids to take the lead in deciding how and what they want to play, sparking creativity and fostering problem-solving skills. This type of play helps children build friendships, strengthen motor skills, and better retain lessons from class. In 2024, more than 2.1 million children from over 81 nations participated.

2024 was the first year that Healthi Kids coordinated Global School Play Day celebrations across the City of Rochester. Nearly 60 sites, from schools to public libraries to R-Centers, participated, ensuring a day of play for thousands of Rochester students.

Healthi Kids advocates for policies and practices that ensure children have time, space, and opportunities for play in schools and beyond. This work included collaborating directly with the RCSD on the district’s wellness policy, which requires elementary students have at least 20 minutes of recess per day.

Parents and caregivers can support play by learning more about its benefits and advocating for recess, unstructured play and playful learning in schools. Learn more at healthikids.org/GSPD25. 

About Healthi Kids 

The Healthi Kids Coalition, an initiative of Common Ground Health, advocates for the creation of policies, systems, environments, and resources that promote the health and well-being of all children birth to age 8 in Rochester and the Finger Lakes region. We advance policies to ensure all kids have the supports they need for the healthiest start in life.