Most elementary schools in the United States have standard time when it comes to eating and playing—a 50-minute lunch break followed playing outside. But at the Sharon Elementary School in New Jersey, they have found a way to push kids to eat more vegetables, drink more milk and waste less food.

They said that by putting recess before lunch, it will mean fewer visits to the school nurse for head and bellyaches. It also means there will be 15 minutes more extra instruction time per day.

Kids who are not rushing outside to play will have more time to sit down on their lunches while they can also release pent-up energy by looking forward to more playtime during the morning.

According to Janet Sinkewicz, Sharon school principal, “Kids are calmer after they’ve had recess first . . . They feel like they have more time to eat and they don’t have to rush.”