What kind of gym do home school kids do?

Question

Just curious what home school kids do for gym, team sports etc. Is it a requirement for their parents/home schooler to provide some kind of physical activity or not?

Answer 1

the actual requirements are different in each state. In my state, (TX) it is not a requirement, but about 99% of the homeschool families I know either have PE for their kiddos or participate in team sports. We are fortunate to have a great community sports program through our city rec. center, and my son takes karate lessons there. We have also participated in: ice skating, swimming lessons, baseball, softball, basketball, gymnastics, cheerleading...
We try most mornings to take a walk before school starts, usually about 2 miles (or one if everyone is grumpy, lol!!!).
We belong to a teaching co-op and my son takes a PE class through them and my daughter is trying to get in to their volleyball class.
We also belong to a support group in our city and they have weekly PE classes too, offering: basketball, frisbee golf, volleyball, soccer, ice skating, roller skating, putt putt golf, flag football, nature hikes, so on and so forth.
Contrary to what anti-homeschool people say, there are tons of opportunities for hs kids to get out and enjoy life. The HS kids I know are more physically active than the PS kids I know.
Of course, that is just the kids I know, your results may vary, LOL :)

Answer 2

Many do sports just like other children and play outside. My son isn't interested in team sports but he likes karate and he gets plenty of exercise via playing and he and his dad lift weights together. Our daughter is miss active all day long but is also in recreational gymnastics. They prefer non-competetive sports and I'm not concerned at all about it. Yet, when they're with other children they work well as teams, go figure. :-)

No, it is not a requirement in my state, why should physical activity need to be required, except in schools where apparently they are not getting near enough?

I'm just curious...do ALL public schooled kids play team sports? We have a lot of sports leagues around here and although a lot of kids playing, there are more on the sidelines watching.

Answer 3

My children are both involved in community sports. My oldest does Tae Kwon Do. My youngest is in football. They both did baseball over the summer and are both currently on a bowling league. I'm also signing them up for swim lessons soon. Also, our local home educators group has access to a local youth center gym that is designated specifically for the home school group every Friday. Then, of course, there is simply active play when they're in the backyard or I take them to the playground.

Requirements vary from state to state. We're military and where we live there are no specific requirements. We do belong to a school that keeps track of my children's transcripts. They require us to submit individual lesson plans each semester but they are very lenient about what our lesson plans are. We can do whatever we want we just have to show them what our plans are.

Answer 4

"Requirement"? nope.

But most children that we know as home-schoolers do have plenty of activity.

Mine are involved with:
The public high school equestrian team.
4-H horses -- riding and training.
Little League baseball.
Basketball.
Wrestling.
Ultimate Frisbee (team sport).

Non - team activity:
Trampolines.
Bicycle riding.
Swimming.
Bowling.
Hunting.
Weight lifting.
Snowboarding.
Camping.
Fishing.
Dog training.
Jobs to earn money.
Raising chickens, sheep, and pigs.
Running.

And they do NOT sit around playing video games -- no playstation or similar stuff. There is not any time for it because they are so busy with physical activity from dawn to dusk.

Answer 5

In SC PE is in the same educational group as art and music for elementary kids.

In the summers (we home school year round) we do neighborhood swim team. The rest of the year two of my girls have O.T. and P.T. We count these sessions as P.E. we also do walks in the neighborhood and to the park. Play on the playpark equipment.
We go on nature walks, go biking.

My oldest like to do sprints several times everyday. She uses the pro-sensory input to help self-regulate.

We like to incorporate the exercise with other things such as biology -- as we walk, we look at the flowers and bugs and animals we encouter. We do a count of how many we see of each. This not only helps with math, but gives a better understanding of the biodiversity in your neighborhood. When we see a dead frog, we stop and try to identify it parts. We talk about whether the frog is in heaven, or if other frogs feel sad about it or not (ethics for beginers).
We collect acorns and crab apples and go home, research seeds, and try to plant the acorn (some have grown!). We draw pictures of what we saw while we were out, and do journal entries based on our experience.

All this from a P.E. Walk!! That's what home schooling is about.

Answer 6

I'm sure they go out and play alot. I mean they don't have homework to do after school, so they can just go outside and play. Their are also homeschool leagues for sports, or some kids are able to play on High School Leagues.
Requirements vary by State.

Answer 7

Why don't you fast forward 20 years. I'm 28 yrs old and I had a mom JUST like you. To this day, I can't stand her. I don't trust her. She STILL Tries to control and manipulate my life. I'm sure you're thinking "I'm not like that!" ... ok. I wasn't allowed to go places, see things, watch movies, read books, etc, until my mother "approved them" ... talk about embarassing. How does a 14 year old explain to their friends that "mommy won't let me go to the movies with you because there's kissing." Yep, that was my childhood. And perhaps you're thinking you won't be that way. But guess what-- my mother staged a full out protest and war with the principle for letting me listen to MCHammer (Uh- Christian Rapper, btw) during a school function. Apparently she felt that it was against her views for me to listen to rap and felt that it was her right to ruin everything for the other 900+ kids whos parents DIDN'T have a problem with this music. In my 28 years, my mother has never once talked to me about sex, about drugs, etc. I had to learn on my own. She sheltered me TOO MUCH. What you're doing is on the same path. You have a choice. Let them hear the musica at school and be HONEST about it. OR prevent it -- teaching them that they have to sneak around to listen to the 'cool' music so they don't start trouble w/ mom. This is a REALLY small thing in their lives. They're young and the last thing they need is mom going in there and ruining their friendships for the next 10 years through highschool. You think little stuff like this doesn't affect them- it does. They'll hear about this stuff for years to come. Set some basic ground rules. "Don't sing the songs at home. I know you hear them at school- I don't like it but have no say in it. Please respect that I don't approve of the language and don't want it in my house." PERIOD. That's all you can do. You're TRUSTING your kids to make the right choices in life- and that trust is more valuable than any "lay down the law" other paranoid parents might advise you to do. Take a deep breath. Chaulk up the music at school as one of the many things in life you cannot control. What yoU CAN control is your reaction to it. Be even tempered and fair. If you over react, in 20 years you will have children who don't speak to you, who don't trust you, and who don't value you. Its not worth the alienated relationship for the 20 minutes of validation you'll feelwhen they take the rap away.

Answer 8

It is a requirement here where we live, but that can be just going for daily walks. The goal is to have active kids, not necessarily structure phys.ed. learning.

Of the homeschooled kids I know, including my own, here are various things they do: gym classes set up by rec. centres/YMCA for homeschoolers, competitive sports and general lessons in the community (soccer, diving, hockey, gymnastics, skating, swimming, snorkelling) and things of interest (hiking, biking, skiing, snowboarding...). I'm sure there are other things homeschooled kids here do, too.

Answer 9

Of course physical activity is important. to homeschoolers. Most homeschoolers network with each other to form sports teams.
On an individual level, kids taught at home go bicycling, swimming, running, walking, play golf, do aerobics, etc.

Answer 10

I would suggest an organized activity such as soccer which is a good team sport and aerobic work out!

To learn about Home Schooling check out:
http://www.choosehomeschooling.com