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Small ClassThese kids are the only students at Lone Tree Bench, a one-room schoolhouse in Montana’s Missouri Breaks. The photo appeared in a 1999 National Geographic article about their sparsely populated region.

Photograph by William Albert Allard, Nat Geo Image Collection

13 Pictures of Recess to Get You Ready for School

Dibs on the slide! Students around the world play and goof off in these photos from our archives.

ByBecky Little

September 12, 2015

Playground time isn’t just something kids want—the United Nations says recreational play is a child’s right. Play is an important part of development, and many researchers argue that this makes recess—a break for outdoor physical activity—an important part of the school day for students.

As students head back to school, we’ve pulled these pictures from our archives of kids playing, laughing, and goofing off in playgrounds and courtyards around the world.