How We Do PE

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October 29, 2018 By Jennifer 9 Comments

Physical education is so important, but often overlooked by homeschool families.

I want my kids to be healthy inside and out, and being active is a part of a healthy lifestyle.

In this world of planned playdates and scheduled activities, I want my kids to have fun and freedom to play and learn how to stay active for the rest of their lives.

I have to model healthy activity if I want my kids to be active.

I can’t just tell them to go outside while I sit at my computer or watch Netflix. I often go for a walk while they rollerblade or scooter or we all walk as a family after dinner. I plan hikes in the woods or a local nature center. I don’t force my kids to play team sports, but I try my best to offer that option. When we have bad weather or it’s very cold, we stay active in more creative ways.

How We Do PE

Outside Play

I encourage my children to spend time outdoors at least 30 minutes each day, no matter the weather. Sometimes, this is hard…and other times, I have to drag them inside to eat or bathe or go to bed.

We’re thankful we live in a neighborhood where they can roam and be kids.

They like to rollerblade, ride bikes, and scooter around the neighborhood.

They play with hula hoops and jump ropes.

We have wiffle balls and scoops and frisbees.

We sometimes do fun things like obstacle courses.

They often wander the woods behind our house and play in the creek and come home with ropes and ropes of daisy and clover chains.

Their friend down the street has a pool and they learned to swim this summer.

Team Sports

I’m not big into sports, and my kids have tried almost all of it, with varying results.

The kids used to do gymnastics. My eldest participated in Civil Air Patrol and they have a PT program.

Currently:

My youngest daughter is playing recreational soccer.

My son loves baseball, and plays on a rec team in the fall and spring. He tried out for some elite leagues, but isn’t quite strong enough yet.

Family Activities

We love to go hiking and exploring and do nature study at local parks and playgrounds, state parks, and natural areas.

We often go bowling, usually for free summer bowling or for celebrations.

During bad weather, we often join a homeschool group at a trampoline park.

The kids have gone ice skating each winter.

We’ve gone snow sledding during the winter. Climbing back up is a workout!

We love homeschool park and gym days.

My teen daughter and I used to go the base gym each week.

Our local YMCA offers great deals throughout the year on classes and events for families and homeschoolers.

I was a part of a family workout group one year for moms and kids and that was super fun. Stroller fit is a good one for moms with young kids.

Family Time Fitness offers lots of PE options for families.

Inside Play

I try to make sure my kids get outside a little while every day, but still, it’s sometimes cabin fever in the winter or rainy season.

We have a Wii with active games like Sports and Just Dance.

I often turn on a Spotify playlist and have a dance party or do a big house cleaning.

I feel it’s super important to model healthy activity to my kids so we’re all leaving a healthy legacy.

How do you stay active year round?

Also, check out Health for High School Homeschool Credit.

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The Problem with Kids Sports

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November 18, 2015 By Jennifer 1 Comment

I didn’t play sports as a kid.

I played outside in the neighborhood until the streetlights came on, every single night and all day long in summer.

I really don’t remember any of the neighborhood kids doing recreational sports until we started junior high. As far as I know, there were no after-school sports practices or Saturday games or tournaments or summer camp sports intensives. There certainly were no kids’ Sunday sports events in the Bible Belt.

I’m not totally anti-sports. I’m sure sports in and of themselves are fine. I’m sure there are lots of positives for kids playing sports. I don’t want to play and I sometimes struggle to get excited with and for my kids.

I have some issues with the recreational sports organizations my kids have participated in.

Our family’s kids sports experiences are a little different since we homeschool and we’re military.

We move around a lot – every two to four years. We don’t have the luxury of really delving in with volunteering, training, learning, or growing with teammates and coaches. We’re never gonna be part of that good ole boy network.

As homeschoolers, we don’t look to the junior high or high school for team sports. We probably won’t live in this school district long enough anyway. I realize that many school districts offer extracurriculars and sports to homeschoolers. We’re just not interested in having our kids participate in anything at a government-run school.

Kids sports seems like a race to nowhere, and it does not often produce better athletes. It too often produces bitter athletes who get hurt, burn out, and quit sports altogether.

The pressure and anxiety of kids sports steals one thing our kids will never get back: their childhoods.

Great Articles:

How organized sports have co-opted play and why early organized sports aren’t a great option for kids.

Playing tackle football before age 12 doubles the risk of behavioral problems and triples the chance of depression.

Maya Castro, author of The Bubble: Everything I Learned as a Target of the Political, and Often Corrupt, World of Youth Sports, who says her own experience as a young soccer player was tainted by misguided and misbehaving adults, offers ideas on how adults can improve the youth-sports culture:

Strive to be a mentor. Castro says parents and coaches have a great opportunity to use sports as a teaching tool for life. “The learning aspect of the game needs to be the focal point of youth sports,” Castro says. “Sports should be an extension of family values and behaviors. Good parents and coaches tie in the ups and downs of competition with the challenges in navigating adult life.”
Model positive behaviors. Part of the negative image of youth sports is related to parents yelling at coaches, referees, opponents, or even their own kids. “There are enough critics in the stands hurling profanities and insults during a game,” Castro says. “Parents should set the right example for their kid – and for adults who obviously haven’t grown up.”
Enjoy the moment. Too many parents and their young athletes are fretting the future. “Too often it’s all about winning and getting the scholarship,” Castro says, “but my parents told me there was a time when kids actually enjoyed playing for the sake of playing, and parents won just by getting to watch them play. We need to get back to that. Without it, memories are wasted.”
Be encouraging. “Celebrate the effort, not just the result,” Castro says. “This goes for youth coaches as well as parents. When kids do some good things, don’t let the mistakes cloud your post-game comments. Be honest in discussing room for improvement, but not at the expense of making them feel like they have to play perfect to get praise.”
Make education first. Castro and many observers of youth sports say parents have lost perspective by thinking their kid is on the fast track to a scholarship or a pro career. Statistics show few advance that far. “In the meantime, kids are exhausted from travel leagues and tournaments,” she says, “and the way their future through sports is emphasized, education becomes a distant second.”

The military child and youth sports organization CYS is just haphazard (both Army and USAF). I understand it’s all volunteers, but anyone who pays plays and often it’s just a free for all at practices and games.

We’ve had some lovely experiences with track in Hawaii and Utah and Germany. Those coaches seemed really passionate.

Soccer, gymnastics, and baseball have been a bit disappointing.

There are just some problems with kids recreational sports.

Poor organization and planning.

The kids are assigned to a team randomly, with no knowledge or care to talent or gender. Anyone who pays plays.

My teen daughter quit playing soccer at age 12 because it was just uncomfortable and pointless for her to continue playing with boys.

Even my 8-year-old is experiencing some ability issues playing with boys in soccer. It’s not fair to have co-ed teams.

The military kids activities on base have volunteer coaches who get points on their performance reviews for volunteering. Each year, it’s a new coach and new kids on the team. Some of these parent coaches have no clue whatsoever how to coach children or sports at all. Often, not enough volunteers are found until after the season begins.

Schedules changed 4 times for fall soccer, which lasts 2 only months! Uniforms were only borrowed. It makes me wonder what the registration fee is even for – $40 for Peewee (ages 5-6) and $34 for minors (ages 7-8). We will look for another organization to play soccer next year if we even bother.

With the time change, it got dark by 5:30. Soccer practices and games were cut short or canceled because it was too dark to see the ball or other players. There are no lights on the kids’ soccer fields.

There is no education.

Even when the kids begin playing sports at age 3, there is nothing but running around and playing with the ball instead of teaching discipline or rules. Some kids act like they’re forced to be there and pick flowers or cry or refuse to listen.

There are few drills or strategies taught to the kids even at age 8-12. There is no teamwork. There is no actual coaching.

My kids, thankfully, know most of the fundamentals and rules of soccer and baseball. These organizations don’t focus on the rules. It’s all supposed to be fun and sharing and fuzzy wuzzy feelings. My kids come away frustrated that rules aren’t followed and scores aren’t kept. They don’t know what the point is.

We often just have other priorities.

Sports are just a fun past-time for us, an extracurricular activity for my kids. I think it’s important that they get some exercise and learn something about teamwork. But sports are not our lives. And I know some families who are really into it.

We enjoy lots of other things way more than sports.

We focus on academics. I sure don’t encourage my kids to strive for a sports scholarship or anything. We don’t put any emphasis on sports around here.

We like to travel. We’ve missed practices and games for trips. Whatever, my kids are 5 and 8 and life goes on. The coaches and other parents sometimes get a little bent out of shape over this.

I don’t enjoy listening to parents during practices and games yelling at all the kids (including mine) like they’re at some professional event. They’re children and all the fun is taken out of their playing if they’re being screamed at by maniac adults giving them conflicting directions from what the coach says. We look sideways at them and just wonder what they’re like at home.

My kids are confused by the mixed messages of “it’s all just fun and we don’t keep score” yet being hollered at to score goals or make a good play.

Everyone gets a trophy.

This mentality is everything that’s wrong with America.

What’s the point of even trying if that kid picking flowers gets a trophy along with this kid who scored a goal from the midfield?

My kids know when they play well. They know who really cares about the game and who doesn’t want to be there. Who are we fooling with participation trophies?

I loathe this self psychology we’re teaching American kids.

Trophies and awards are for merit. We cheapen it by offering it to everyone, regardless of excellence.

At least in gymnastics and track, the kids only get ribbons or trophies if they earn them. There are clear finish lines and points systems.

Snacks after games.

The snacks kill me.

Why do these kids even need snacks after an hour of outside time?

We don’t reward with food.

And why do these parents think it’s ok to offer my kids non-food as snacks every week?

It’s usually lunchtime after games. We’re heading home to eat real food. I don’t want my kids munching on Doritos and Fruit Roll-Ups and drinking neon Gatorade ever, much less right before a meal.

After the last game, some well-meaning parent often brings store-bought or box mix cupcakes with brightly colored icing.

I always get weird looks when we politely decline the chemicals offered each week. Some kids and parents get really offended.

Parents

I’m disgusted by how the parents speak to and about their children.

At practice and games, they brag about punishing their kids, complain about their kids’ behavior, and ridicule things their kids say.

At games, parents compete to holler loudest at their kids, distracting them from the game. They laugh at injuries. They roll their eyes and complain about lack of skill. The children are 6 years old! And we’re all just supposed to have fun, right? Everyone gets a trophy.

One mom called a kid a mo-fo. Others laughed. I was horrified.

Most of the coaches are parents of a player. There are some coaches that really shouldn’t be around kids. They scream at their own child and their teams. They use punishment and humiliation as motivators. It’s inappropriate for 8 year olds. We’ve witnessed some really terrible coaches who want to win at any cost. And the parents on these teams aren’t anyone I want to be around.

Check out this horrific video!

I don’t think the answer is to quit sports altogether.

My kids are mostly oblivious to the issues I see with kids sports, except the garbage snacks, at which they turn up their noses.

I realize that the volunteer rec teams and military CYS doesn’t exist to prepare kids for anything, except maybe the tryouts for travel teams or prep for school teams. It’s just another service offered to military dependents as a semblance of normal American life, especially when we’re overseas. It’s harder for American kids to join local teams. We’re up against a language and culture barrier. Some kids just might not succeed at tryouts without natural talent or real training – that isn’t offered until about age 10 anyway. The American mentality is that everyone should be accepted onto a team despite having any aptitude or ability. Many local teams don’t want to waste time and resources on kids who will be transitioning soon.

Aaron’s family is obsessed with sports. They live and breathe it. I think that’s great they have something they love to do together. They spend lots of time and resources on sports – coaching, teaching, playing, traveling, watching. I think they have an advantage because they have lived in the same town their entire lives and know everyone there. They can build a real team and grow together. They often win tournaments – even state.

Military kids only get to skim the surface of the world of sports. The athletic services offered on base don’t allow for anything other than recreational play. It doesn’t prepare kids for high school sports nor the real world.

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No More Incontinence

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April 30, 2014 By Jennifer 9 Comments

Apparently, I have a tiny bladder. My family teases me that I have to go all the time.

My first grade teacher told my mother I was retarded because I needed to use the restroom frequently – and got my p’s and b’s mixed up. I remember too many embarrassing days when I had accidents sitting at my desk because my teacher refused to allow me to use the in-class toilet except during her prescribed breaks.

Of course, pregnancy and childbirth causes stress to the bladder and urinary tract. It seems I haven’t fully recovered and my youngest is now four years old.

Time to research and heal so I can run, jump, laugh, and sneeze without having an embarrassing accident.

Urinary Health

Going to the gym is always an adventure. Many of my acquaintances can’t relate because they’re stronger or they don’t have kids – or maybe they only have a couple kids who were born with average weight and don’t have any bladder issues.

I have four kids and I can’t do jumping jacks.

My kids were BIG babies. And they kickboxed my bladder. They came out like toddlers, holding their heads up and their hands out for the car keys and demanding steak dinners.

Liz was almost 8 pounds and I bounced back completely after having her because I was young at only 24. Tori was almost ten pounds. A mere fourteen months later, Kate came along at almost eleven pounds. She was my C-Section baby. Alex was VBAC and he was 9 pounds, 1 ounce.

I’ve been taking half dropperfuls of a urinary health tincture twice a day, morning and evening. I use a great oil blend that includes spearmint, sage, geranium, myrtle, nutmeg, and German chamomile (over kidneys) and cypress essential oil (over bladder) topically every evening to try to help balance out everything and support urinary health.

It does help! I forgot to do this routine a couple nights and I had more problems those days than when I remembered to do this regimen.

I drink lots of water. While that does mean I go more frequently (which is really, really frequently compared to most people), it does help toxins get flushed out of my system. I love citrus oils like lemon, grapefruit, and other citrus oil blends in my water for flavor and antioxidants. Peppermint in water is great for workouts since it keeps me cooler and helps with energy (or maybe I imagine that part). Just a teeny drop of peppermint is enough for a humongous glass water bottle. Any more and my lips tingle rather unpleasantly.

I try to limit caffeine and alcohol consumption because those irritate the bladder.

I try to eat well. We had lots of catering trays of sandwiches the week the moving company was packing and moving our household goods. While it was a healthier option than greasy fast food, that was not the best week for my urinary and digestive health.

One day, I drank a Throwback (real sugar) Mountain Dew and that was a big mistake. A healthy digestion oil blend and rest and eating better the next day helped.

I should stick to water and tea.

Strengthening the Muscles

Some of us bounce back fine from having babies. I did ok until Kate came along. Then, there was no more bouncing for me.

It took quite a while for me to lose weight and feel better after having Kate. My body was pretty drained. I was advised to take mineral supplements and adjust my diet. It was recommended we follow a Paleo-type diet – long before that was a fad! This was the beginning of our healthy journey!

I slowly got healthier and got my energy and body and life back.

Then I got pregnant again with Alex.

I was healthier during that pregnancy since I was put on a no-sugar diet.

I still have about ten pounds I would like to lose. I usually feel great and have enough energy to get done what needs to get done. Supplements and great diet help.

But diet alone isn’t enough to heal all the mama parts that are stretched out and loose and weak by pregnancies.

But most of the exercises at gyms and in home videos and online aren’t helpful. They could actually harm the body more.

I recommend Fit2Be. It’s a great membership with online workout videos, a Facebook group, forum, and a lovely teacher.

I love how Beth teaches. She’s direct, professional, and knowledgeable.

The exercises are short and sweet for busy moms, but they really work with regular use. Many of the exercises can be done sitting while you’re doing other things.

There are programs for the whole family. The kids love to do yoga moves with me!

There are workouts for pregnancy, strengthening that core and pelvic floor, challenges, and running. I’ve never found another workout program so comprehensive, challenging, yet gentle.

I’m still on the strengthening part. But I’m getting stronger.

I think incontinence is more common than we think. My mother even had surgery to repair her bladder. Many women occasionally confide that they have to wear pads in case of accidents. They complain they can’t play with their kids on the trampoline or run for fear of accidents.

It’s embarrassing.

It shouldn’t be.

We’re all in this mama journey together. Let’s help each other instead of hiding.

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Fitness Club

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October 24, 2013 By Jennifer 1 Comment

I’ve joined a fitness club on base and since the schools were on fall break, the trainer asked us to bring our kids.

They loved it!

Here’s what we did:

Butt shots of the bear walk. It was fun!

Tori did cartwheels all the way down the field.

Tori and Kate did forward rolls down the field.

Alex did rolls up and down the field a few times instead of following directions.

Katie crab walking

Getting ready for frog jumping

Kate was pretty worn out about halfway through

The girls took turns being the wheelbarrow. Alex was my wheelbarrow. He’s strong!

The fireman carry. Alex was giddy! He loved it.

Here’s our group (minus Alex, who was just so done)

Here’s our group being silly!

I told the kids to thank the teacher. Here’s when they jumped on my friend.

We’re competing in the Family Time Fitness 90 Day Challenge.

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Homeschool PE Time with Wii

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September 14, 2012 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

I’ll tell ya: these Wii games can make ya sweat!

We’re loving Wii Just Dance games right now. The girls are saving their allowances to pool together to collect them all! We currently have the Kids’ Just Dance 2 and the regular game Just Dance 3. The kids love the songs and moves. It’s great fun for me to watch!

You get stars and praise when you do a move perfectly. I need the praise.

The games are a great incentive to get the girls to complete their work. They love to dance and the songs are fun! I occasionally join in, but they make fun of me! I guess I don’t have the moves.

I love that they’re not just lying on the sofa watching something pointless; they’re active and we count this as homeschool PE!

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Last Track Meet

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June 16, 2012 By Jennifer 2 Comments

Tori did great on her last track meet Tuesday. All the kids had the option of competing in 6 events: 50, 100, 200, 400, softball throw, and long jump. Tori did them all. Only 5 out of 15 kids did all 6 events.

Getting ready to run!

Tori has learned well how to pace herself on the longer runs.

Throwing that softball! I keep asking if she wants to try to play softball, but she keeps saying no.

Jumping like a frog. This was a new event for Tori. She hadn’t even practiced before today. She jumped at a distance of a little over 4 feet.

Awards. A very lovely medal which we will get engraved with her name and year.

The coach was pretty awesome. Very encouraging. Tori already can’t wait until next season!

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1st Track Meet

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May 10, 2012 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

Tori and Liz had their first track meet this season.

It was just an inner-squad meet, but it was fun!

Tori got 2nd place in the softball throw!

Tori ran the 200m and 400m.

Liz ran the 400m and 800m.

They didn’t do as well as we’d hoped, but it gives them a base to start from.

Liz started ASTYM therapy for her legs yesterday and we hope that helps her pain.

Tori is young and has years to improve!

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Outdoor Challenge

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April 2, 2011 By Jennifer 1 Comment

We’re accepting an outdoor challenge for April.

30 days with time spent outside every day, no matter the weather.

Thank the Lord for a beautiful spring day! We ate our lunch on the warm and sunny deck.

We played on the playground lots. Almost all day!

We played with our new sand. The other parts of the day!

For some reason, the girls found it entertaining to outline my stepping stones with rocks from the garden…Alex didn’t really want to help put them back.

I cut the grass for the first time since winter. I edged around the deck. I planted two forsythias. I finished up the yard chores, like chopping all the dead pampas grass. Fun stuff like that.

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Homeschool PE Obstacle Course

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March 15, 2011 By Jennifer 1 Comment

Now that the weather’s nice and the evenings are LOOOONGER, we’re trying to spend time outside every day.

I found this really cool track agility obstacle course set and it’s a big hit! The girls set it up and ran relays and had soccer drills. It was awesome to watch.

Katie had a timer and was calling out directions. My little drill sergeant! When I called them for dinner, I heard three “awwww”‘s. :) Super.