Is There Recess on Mars?

The pandemic of 2019 created a multitude of challenges for teachers and students alike. The urgency with which education was forced to transition to a fully online delivery paradigm necessitated a triage and curate process to decide where efforts were to be placed. Teachers, forced to move quickly, leveraged existing research in designing their courses and activities. However, little research exists concerning how to meaningfully create online learning environments for K-12 students. This chapter explores the importance of recess, where children have free-play, self-constructed interactions essential for developing a sense of belonging. Through exploring the sense of belonging construct in the context of how it is formed, its importance for developing social skills, and the connection between a sense of belonging and successful online learning, the authors present critical gaps in research and suggest directions for research.