Let's see, dd did one season of softball (didn't really get into it), one season of basketball (didn't get really get into it), and swimming lessons (she loved that). I'm hoping to be able to afford swimming lessons again next year for her, but we just can't do it right now. Other than that, I try to make sure the kids get at leat 30min of real exercise each day. if it's nice out, we go outside & they can ride bikes, play ball, jump rope, etc. If the weather's not so nice, we pop in an exercise DVD (carido, yoga, belly dancing) or use the stationary bike & Gazelle. In nice weather, we go for family walks and hikes whenever we can. Since we all have ADHD, we're all pretty active & enjoy being up and moving around.
We will be doing PE with our homeschool co op every friday. Besides that i'm not going to have a rigid schedule either. I'm going to be very aware of what they are doing now though. It's funny the things that I realize now that i'm homeschooling.... Just didn't see it before. I will make sure they get out and ride their bikes, jump rope, we have been swimming all summer and during the winter the community college has an open swim 2 nights a week for just a few dollars a day. I was also looking into buying the Wii fit, we already have Wii and we love it, so why not. It will come in handy during the cold winter months. Also during the winter, I figured i'd take them to the mall and we would just walk. It will be pretty during the holidays too. I'm just going to make sure we get some physical activity in every day.
StoneFamily, have you looked into a developmental gymnastics place like The Little Gym or My Gym? Community centers are more affordable, but franchise places like TLG tend to train their staffs better...safety, etc. TLG and MG have free trial classes, so even if you aren't going to enroll, you can get two days of fun for free, for each kid!! I feel so sorry for people who have to type out the whole Peggy-Ty-Kai-Wy! That's a handfull. You can call me PTKW! Seems like everyone else has a short name on here...
The kids head out most mornings to have a quick run around, though this past week has been hideously humid, so they haven't been out to play as such. Most days we head to the pool for a swim ( not formal lessons), and DS has taken up tennis, and DD horse riding. The LO just tags along, and just the running in and out of the pool is enough exercise for her...lol During "winter" ( I use the term loosely), the kids ride their bikes around, and we also head off to the park for a play. During these hot months, the kids also love playing Wii.
Dd8 is in ballet. DD11 is a competitive swimmer. Both of those girls participated in a month-long swim camp this summer. Ds is the one I have the hardest time with. He is too old for most of the sports teams here. Once they hit middle school, it's assumed they will play school sports. He is going to referee our HOA soccer games, so that will be some exercise. Dd5 is just active all around. All of my girls love outdoor play. I am looking for ways to get ds13 to be more active. We have been swimming almost every day this summer, but that will end soon.
We used to have "p.e." as play time outside after school for at least an hour. I didn't really direct what they did, although I did try at first. Then found it was better for them to just run around and play. As of Jan. though we have had the wii fit and we do that daily, the kids love it and it is exercising their bodies while I get to count it as p.e. time. oh...and we also do "laps" from the dining room to the living room and around. The kids actually like to do this and I find that between subjects it's a great way to let out that pent up energy.
We tried our local YMCA swim & gym, but it was inconsistent, expensive, and the instructors changed so often that there was tons of repetition since they never knew what the kids had done previously. Otherwise, my dd does softball spring and fall, my son has done baseball and now runs 5K's with me often, and both swim and hike all the time. At their age now, I don't feel a rigid PE program is appropriate for them as long as we model a healthy, active lifestyle anyway. We also combine that with "health" in that we often discuss nutrition, etc for them as an overall positive lifestyle. Carol
