Physical Education plays a strong role in our homeschool and as someone who disliked PE in school, that is really saying something!
Physical activity reduces the risk of premature mortality in general, and of coronary heart disease, hypertension, colon cancer, and diabetes mellitus in particular.1 Regular physical activity in childhood and adolescence improves strength and endurance, helps build healthy bones and muscles, helps control weight, reduces anxiety and stress, increases self-esteem, and may improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Postive experiences with physical activity at a young age help lay the basis for being regularly active throughout your life.
The US Department of Health and Human Services recommends that young people between the ages of 6-17 participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day.
Furthermore, according to a study done by the National Association of Sports and Physical Education (NASPE), infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers should engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily and should not be sedentary for more than 60 minutes at a time except when sleeping.
One of the many things I like about homeschooling is that my children are not tied to a desk or a classroom. They are definitely not sedentary individuals and I have a lot of control over the health habits they are developing.
In our family we have good old fashioned recess on our new playground. But we also have bike riding and outside games including hopscotch and kickball.
In addition to all of these things we are sure to enroll the children in various activities such as: gymnastics, swimming, golf, dance, and even our local homeschool PE program. In my mind I count these things as their “school time”. In our children’s mind its just part of everyday life that they enjoy.
In traditional school Physical Education has begun to take a back seat due to budget cuts and time constraints. As a home educator I am careful to make sure that we don’t do the same.
What does your family do to meet PE requirements and stay physically active?
In the past we've done Tae-Kwon Do, gymnastics, and dance. We're looking for some new activities now that we have moved. I think that we will do some swimming and possibly a team sport. I like your idea of having a real "recess" for the kids. Hopscotch and jump rope sound like a good break from bookwork!
In the past we have had a formal PE class, movement class as a part of a drama program and activity cards in our workbox system. This year we will again do workbox activity cards and organized homeschool PE as well as co-op soccer, Park days and Upward athletics.
The activity cards include hulu hooping for us both, jump rope, scooter time and Leslie Sansone's Kid's Walk dvd.
Good for you! Physical activity is such an important part of a well rounded education. Kids need to know how to learn, but they also need to build good life habits.