How do you handle PE for your children at home? Do you set aside time when they must exercise in some way? Looking back, we could have done a better job in this area. We made sure each child played on a sports team, but we didn't really plan out a systematic approach.
Well, my oldest Will has been on numerous sports teams as well as taken karate. But esp during the times he wasn't participating in those activities I just had to make time for him to get outside and jump and run, ride his bike, etc. I didn't have a certain time each day that we did it, we just did it at some time each day.
Personally I just let my kid run around outside. I don't feel the need to have a rigid PE schedule for my child. She won't be age to play on a sports team for about 1 1/2 so that currently isn't an issue either.....though if papaw has his way she will be playing baseball...lol.
My oldest is a gymnast. My middle is (now) a Karate Kid (he used to do soccer....but changed his mind). My youngest is a gymnast (not competitive, though). Also, we participate in a co-op that does a gym class every other week. They do true "PE" and talk about all sorts of stuff. Kinda neat.
My kids do karate, virtually every week night during the summer, and three nights during the regular 'school' year. We also have a Wii complete with Wii Fit and other exercise-oriented Wii games, and those go a long way toward helping the kids get exercise.
I'm doing something rigid this year. My kids would do zero exercise without my intervening. If I send them out to play they sit down and play in the dirt or sand. Their motor skills are not where they should be either so we are doing a full-scale exercise and health program this year. Hoping to change some habits around here.
Oh yeah! I forgot about the Wii! That comes in mighty handy on days that are too hot, cold or wet to go outside! I LOVE that system!!
My boys are physically active in the house as it is but for outdoor play we have to consider our oldest son's safety. Our oldest is prohibited from playing contact sports. He had two skull reconstructive surgeries at age two to correct two skull sutures that closed prematurely (craniosynotosis). He enjoys sports such as bowling, mini golf and swimming. We are thinking about him playing soccer but we need to get the o.k. from his Neurologist. Besides outdoor sports, the boys enjoy walking, dancing and aerobics.
We don't own a tv and I have noticed since getting rid of it about two or three weeks ago. My daughter's energy level went sky high. So did the rest of the families! I've heard alot of people say the wii is great exercise but personally you are still infront of a tv and not enjoying the reall benefits from actual exercise. JMO. Next easter we hope to get a swingset and a fenced in back yard to keep the little one in. We are looking to get one with an awning so she will have plenty of shade since we don't have any. I suggested in one of the other posts that while your kids are outside playing ask them questions that require out loud answers. We play eye spy, even though she gets most of them wrong, we just correct her and continue on playing. Our neighbor likes to do counting games if he is out there with her. He has raised three children (his youngest is 15) so it is great to have someone with some experience to ask questions to.
I usually have my kids run and play outside. My kids love to ride their bikes, and a few times a month they ride their bikes while I walk/run to the park that is 2.5 miles from our house. They are in swim lessons, climb trees, play with the dog, do cartwheels and jumping jacks and my 6 yo dd just found a love of jumping rope. So although there are days where we don't get much exercise I am not too worried because they are healthy and active most days. I am starting a PE class this year though because of all my kids my 6yo dd has put on some extra pounds that her pedi is a little worried about. I know she put on the weight because she has a habit of stealing food and hiding and eating it. Sometimes it's fruit and veggies, but I swear she would eat a stick of butter if I let her! And yes I do feed her...3 meals a day plus 2 snacks! I have to lock the pantry and the fridge just to keep her out...but that is for a whole other post! We will start out at 30 minutes a day and bump it up to 60 minutes after a few weeks. on a side note, I have thought about getting a wii but I H-A-T-E game systems and have been so hesitant to get one. Is it really worth the cost just for wii fit?? I do live in WA where it rains a great deal of the time.
The curriculum we are using has a PE program. There are jump rope games and a yoga DVD included. I haven't even peeked at the 'health' part, mostly because I plan to 'do my own thing' while still keeping the school happy. (We're using a "virtual academy" through a public school.) DS takes swimming lessons, and really wants to try karate or gymnastics. I think we'll settle into a routine with schooling before we add in any extra extra-curriculars. I think we'll make it a point to take a walk or ride bikes every evening, too.
Our local YMCA offered PE classes for homeschoolers, but it would have meant driving a few miles each way and, to be honest, we didn't feel the fee was justified. Still, the Y benefited because all their sports teams were Y teams.
If the Y still does classes it would be worth it to me. Maybe that means I would have at least 15 min to just swim by myself. That would awesome......Just wishin though.
I was a sportsy kid so I teach my kids the rules and such of the sports, we play MINI teams haha, but get the idea down for how to play the different ones that we can.
We love the Wii. Wii Fit has yoga, pilates, aerobics, and balance games. Really, the yoga and pilates are no different than anything you'd do from a fitness DVD or in a fitness class. As you do more exercises, you unlock more positions and more reps for positions. The aerobics and balance games are fun. They have a step boxing section, a hula hoop section, a running section, and a step aerobics section. I like the step aerobics one because it has a free step option that will allow you to choose how long you do the step aerobics and then turn the TV from viewing the Wii to regular TV viewing. It'll count out the steps for you on the controller and vibrate to let you know you're done. We were able to watch an educational DVD the other day while I did my aerobics. There are quite a few kid-oriented exercise games. My kids like Outdoor Adventure [lots of running and jumping over logs], and we all like Dance, Dance Revolution [which also has an exercise program that will allow you to set how many calories you want to burn and count them down for you by song]. I live in Texas, and it's so hot here in the summer and into part of fall; going outside too long can really make people ill. So, this is a nice supplement to their karate on days when it's too hot [or, in winter, too cold] to be outside.
My Jeannie will take two gym-type classes at our Y (Kid's Cardio), a kids' yoga class there, and a tumbling/coordination class there. She will also go back to swimming lessons, and she'll be in a hip-hop class each week. The hs PE classes at our Y really lacked, plus they'd be filled with kids younger than Jeannie. She was never in with her own age, cause there just weren't any her age. She might even try cheerleading this year.
Our charter school offers PE classes and started offering a weight training class. All three of our kids 4, 12 and 14 race bmx bikes on a regular basis and train for it. They race and go to a practice session once a week and then they train through out the week. During the winter we do use the wii for activites, I cannot believe how sweaty you get from playing some of those games. I wouldn't have thought it, until I tried it myself.
My degree is in Recreation Management, and my kids are too young to do any organized sports (in this small town anyway) or programs. On one hand, I can't wait to move to civilization and put them in everything from Soccer to Gymnastics and Karate, but on the other hand, I recently read a book called "Last Child in the Woods" which has me looking at things much differently. The benefits of being in the woods, just playing, exercising creative juices far outweigh the benefits of the oodles and oodles of organized sports that today's children are in. The studies done on this Nature-vs-organized sports type of thing have been done mostly in Europe, but they are pretty convincing. Even playgrounds of wood -vs- the metal/plastic contraptions have been studied. Open Ended play is a gazillion times better than sports, according to the research cited in this book. I haven't even finished the book. It got kind of monotonous with the constant "wins" for nature and "losses" for civilized/organized activities. I have a link to a great summary article about the book if anyone wants it. So, while I don't have a final answer, I try to make sure my kids get out and move, but they are still too little to send out by themselves, and Nebraska's weather pretty much stinks year round anyway. Maybe I just need to get over the fact that we no longer live in Hawaii? I bought a bounce house last winter for the play room, to get the kids moving, but they would just take their toys in there and play with them on the nice bouncy floor...grrr...then the neighbor kids popped it.... Now I'm trying to talk DH into getting a Geodesic Dome Climber for this winter. I think it would get a ton of use, but that's just me. and they are decently affordable from one place I found. figuring out how to keep them moving during the winter is the hard part for me...
Peggy-Ty-Kai-Wi wanna trade? We live in a the city and are trying to move to the middle of nowhere....lol. It is important that we teach our child from the beginning the importance of going outside and just moving around. I'm just in the beginning stages of looking for a tumble class for my little spider monkey...lol.
Our park district has a "Homeschool Gym and Swim" program that's one day a week. They get one hour of gym and one hour of swimming. The cost is so inexpensive! We do that when they offer it, plus tumbling, gymnastics, soccer and swimming class. It all balances out since all she does is sit around and watch TV at her mom's.
