School’s been out for about a month and for a lot of kids, they’re already getting bored and squeamish. However, hundreds of Suffolk children are able to keep mind and body active through a couple of summer programs sponsored by the city and the schools.

Planet Recreation, taking place at several schools throughout the city, is serving about 300 kids each day. They show up between 7:30 and 8 a.m., eat breakfast, spend time in the gym getting exercise and then head off to various activities. Field trips are also taken.

Also going on now is the SPORAC program, weekdays at the Kings Fork Recreation Center. Here again, exercise, crafts, classes and field trips help students fill the long summer days.

Both these programs are deserving of praise, particularly for their focus on physical activity, which more and more has taken a back seat in schools desperate to utilize every possible resource to improve standardized test scores – one of the many factors leading to the dangerous upswing in obesity among our youth. It’s a great service Suffolk is providing its youth and their parents.