By Margie Peterson
mcall.com Columnist

I would gladly pepper you with research about the value of exercise to learning, but — like building a model of an erupting volcano with baking soda and vinegar — this is one of those experiments you can do at home.

Make your child sit doing schoolwork for six hours at a desk and test him on how much knowledge he absorbs. Then do it again the next day, but let him take an hour in the middle to run around. If he learns more the first day than the second, I'll eat this column.

Last week, I wrote about recess and how it enhances children's ability to focus, and about a national campaign to reverse the trend of schools to end or reduce recess.