The recess bell, few sounds are sweeter for a school-bound kid than the signal that they can forget their cares for a while with a game of freeze tag or a few minutes on a see saw.
Now adults can remember that sensation every week as the United Way of Howard County presents Adult Recess from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m every Thursday at the Howard County Courthouse. Put aside that stack of TPS reports and head downtown for old-fashioned schoolyard fun.
And there’s no reason to feel guilty, the idea sprang from a desire to promote public health by relieving stress during the work week.
“We talked about stress,” said United Way health associate Tymon Whitfield. “How can we alleviate some of the stress in the workplace, alleviate some of the stress at home?”
The answer was to head outside.
“We said, ‘What if we can alleviate some of the stress by getting out and having a little free time?’ This is what we came up with, adult recess.”
The United Way debuted the idea during First Friday this May, and organizers were encouraged by the results.
“It turned out pretty good. We had a bunch of adults in there, people doing the hula hoop and throwing the corn hole around,” said Whitfield. “What we want is for people to come out and have a good time.”
Adult Recess will continue every Thursday through Sept. 15. Games and activities will change from week to week. The first outing featured Jumbo Jenga, Cornhole, hula hoops, jump rope, adult coloring books and bubbles.
Future installments will include Yardzee, an enlarged version of Yahtzee, and maybe even a little Four Square.