I am so not a PE person. But my children are. And that, coupled with the knowledge that physical activity and movement are really, really good for kids, along side the fact that I'm required by law to provide physical education in my homeschool, means that PE has become part of our daily routine.
Dallin and Sariah are very active kids. Dallin plays soccer and wants to play football. He has, in the past, played organized basketball as well. Sariah takes gymnastics (though we are on hiatus for a few months since she broke her arm). Dallin wants to take gymnastics, but we've nixed that in order to minimize competition between him and Sariah. In the summer, both kids take swimming lessons, and I can see that becoming a more regular activity for Sariah as she gets older--she is our little fish. In addition, most afternoons when the weather is nice, both kids and about a billion neighbor kids are in our front yard playing all sorts of yard games and pick-up sports. I have never, ever worried about whether or not my children are getting enough physical activity. Even with the mounds of snow in our neighborhood the past week or so, both older kids have spent literally hours outdoors sledding, building snow forts, and the like.
But we do a regular, daily PE as well. It started early in the school year when I noticed that Dallin needed a way to feel involved, to feel like he had a choice in what happened in our school day. PE is his first love! I also wondered if having them get some of their energy out would help them settle down for table learning. So I instituted 20 minutes of PE every morning. In order for it to not become just one more thing for Mom to have to do, we rotate who is in charge. Each person gets to choose what we do on their PE day.
In the fall, we usually played soccer or football in the yard on Dallin's day. He is really good at modifying all of these regular sports to make them fun, unique, appropriate for a limited number of players, or able to be played by both 10- and 6- year olds. (Even 2-year-olds at times!) I really have been amazed at his talent in making up games. On Sariah's day, the game of choice was usually tag or some variation thereof. Now let me just say that if you want to get your heart rate up, try 20 minutes of non-stop tag! This is also the perfect game if you want to know just how out of shape you are... and if you want your kids to never have to experience losing against you. We have also played things like Ghosts in the Graveyard.
Winter has been harder, but Dallin has created a version of indoor basketball that involves laundry-hamper "baskets", a mini-trampoline, and lots of physical contact. (It really should be called bask-foot-ball.)
On Mom's PE days, we normally do kids' yoga. I bought some fun cards with yoga activities on them. It's so easy--I just choose about five cards, and we rotate between the activities. No prep involved! These cards are called Yoga Pretzels: 50 Fun Yoga Activities for Kids and Grownups. The creators, Tara Guber and Leah Kalish, have other games and cards you can purchase as well.
But sometimes we need a diversion, and the other day I created a really awesome obstacle course, if I do say so myself. It involved jumping 10 times on the mini-tramp, then getting down on the floor to do the "fish-crawl" (moving across the floor on your tummy, with your arms held straight at your sides--I made it harder by putting blankets down on the kitchen floor), then climbing onto a stool and jumping off, then walking the balance beam forwards, backwards, and forwards again jumping over the beam and back again... then taking a few steps balancing a couch pillow on your head, then crawling through a tunnel made of a piano bench and small table covered with blankets. The table had a shelf in the bottom of it, which made it more interesting to crawl through. After we had gone through the course enough times to get bored, I invited each child to come up with one way to change the course. Sariah was brilliant! She decided that when we walked the balance beam, we should hold a spoon in our teeth and balance several macadamia nuts on the spoon. Dallin's contribution was that when we took our last jump off the mini-trampoline, someone would stand near and toss a ball, which you must catch in mide-air. Then instead of fish-crawling across the blankets, you would have to move on your back while balancing the ball in one hand. I was so impressed with their ideas!
Anyway, we've been having fun! (And the toddler is now awake, so this post come to an end...)
Dallin and Sariah are very active kids. Dallin plays soccer and wants to play football. He has, in the past, played organized basketball as well. Sariah takes gymnastics (though we are on hiatus for a few months since she broke her arm). Dallin wants to take gymnastics, but we've nixed that in order to minimize competition between him and Sariah. In the summer, both kids take swimming lessons, and I can see that becoming a more regular activity for Sariah as she gets older--she is our little fish. In addition, most afternoons when the weather is nice, both kids and about a billion neighbor kids are in our front yard playing all sorts of yard games and pick-up sports. I have never, ever worried about whether or not my children are getting enough physical activity. Even with the mounds of snow in our neighborhood the past week or so, both older kids have spent literally hours outdoors sledding, building snow forts, and the like.
But we do a regular, daily PE as well. It started early in the school year when I noticed that Dallin needed a way to feel involved, to feel like he had a choice in what happened in our school day. PE is his first love! I also wondered if having them get some of their energy out would help them settle down for table learning. So I instituted 20 minutes of PE every morning. In order for it to not become just one more thing for Mom to have to do, we rotate who is in charge. Each person gets to choose what we do on their PE day.
In the fall, we usually played soccer or football in the yard on Dallin's day. He is really good at modifying all of these regular sports to make them fun, unique, appropriate for a limited number of players, or able to be played by both 10- and 6- year olds. (Even 2-year-olds at times!) I really have been amazed at his talent in making up games. On Sariah's day, the game of choice was usually tag or some variation thereof. Now let me just say that if you want to get your heart rate up, try 20 minutes of non-stop tag! This is also the perfect game if you want to know just how out of shape you are... and if you want your kids to never have to experience losing against you. We have also played things like Ghosts in the Graveyard.
Winter has been harder, but Dallin has created a version of indoor basketball that involves laundry-hamper "baskets", a mini-trampoline, and lots of physical contact. (It really should be called bask-foot-ball.)
On Mom's PE days, we normally do kids' yoga. I bought some fun cards with yoga activities on them. It's so easy--I just choose about five cards, and we rotate between the activities. No prep involved! These cards are called Yoga Pretzels: 50 Fun Yoga Activities for Kids and Grownups. The creators, Tara Guber and Leah Kalish, have other games and cards you can purchase as well.
But sometimes we need a diversion, and the other day I created a really awesome obstacle course, if I do say so myself. It involved jumping 10 times on the mini-tramp, then getting down on the floor to do the "fish-crawl" (moving across the floor on your tummy, with your arms held straight at your sides--I made it harder by putting blankets down on the kitchen floor), then climbing onto a stool and jumping off, then walking the balance beam forwards, backwards, and forwards again jumping over the beam and back again... then taking a few steps balancing a couch pillow on your head, then crawling through a tunnel made of a piano bench and small table covered with blankets. The table had a shelf in the bottom of it, which made it more interesting to crawl through. After we had gone through the course enough times to get bored, I invited each child to come up with one way to change the course. Sariah was brilliant! She decided that when we walked the balance beam, we should hold a spoon in our teeth and balance several macadamia nuts on the spoon. Dallin's contribution was that when we took our last jump off the mini-trampoline, someone would stand near and toss a ball, which you must catch in mide-air. Then instead of fish-crawling across the blankets, you would have to move on your back while balancing the ball in one hand. I was so impressed with their ideas!
Anyway, we've been having fun! (And the toddler is now awake, so this post come to an end...)
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