Schedule Time Wisely
The sun’s rays are strongest between the hours of 10a.m. and 4p.m. During these peak sun intensity hours, school children may be outside for a variety of reasons. Whenever possible, try to reschedule outdoor events for early morning or late afternoon. Children’s exposure to ultraviolet radiation could be reduced up to 60% if they avoided the sun during peak sun intensity hours.
To minimize time spent outdoors:
- Schedule outdoor activities and field trips before or after peak hours whenever possible.
- Make indoor areas available to students. Allow students to choose visiting the library, study hall, gym, or computer lab as alternatives to going outdoors during peak sun intensity hours on high sun intensity days.
- Offer indoor physical activities, such as aerobics, jump rope, basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, or dance, on days of high sun intensity or schedule outdoor physical activities early in the day.
- Create rotating schedules for physical education classes in elementary schools so the same students are not exposed to high UV times of the day consistently.
- Plan field trips to interesting indoor locations (e.g. museums, science centers, theaters) or where adequate shade is available.
- Encourage all field trip and athletic event participants to wear sun safe clothing, hats, and sunscreen.
- Include requests for sun protection (clothes, hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen) on all permission slips for field trips and other outdoor events.
- Schedule school practices before or after peak sun intensity hours.
