Homeschool Sports – 5 Ideas for Physical Education Classes when Homeschooling

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It is a common misconception that homeschooled children miss out on extracurricular activities or the team building experience that a typical physical education class would offer.  You do not have to sacrifice physical education, or gym, when you make the decision to homeschool.  There are many options for homeschool sports opportunities.

Physical education classes can provide such a benefit to children, far beyond exercise.  These sports programs allow our children to meet other children their age, develop friendships, learn new skills, and learn how to learn from other people.  Our children can develop these skills while having fun and not even realizing they are learning.

Playing is the best way to learn.

Today I wanted to share with you just a few of the ways that we incorporate homeschool sports into our daily lives.

We live in a major city and, because of this, we do have quite a few options available to us.  Hopefully at least one of these will be an option for you, no matter where you live.

 

YMCA Programs

Many YMCAs have homeschool sports programs.  These programs are very similar to the other sports programs they offer except that they are offered during the day.  The sports programs offered are designed like a physical education class in school which covers a variety of sports.  They cover such sports as badminton, soccer, basketball and much more.

You do not have to be a member of the YMCA to participate in the homeschool sports programs.  If you are a member, then the fees for the class are discounted.

 

Sports Clubs

Many sports clubs offer skill-specific classes, and if there is enough interest, they are usually very willing to work with a group of homeschool students.

Our local soccer club offers a homeschool specific class.  Many parents enquired about the club doing something specifically during school hours for homeschool students and, because of the demand, the soccer club agreed to start the homeschool soccer program.

We have participated in skills classes in the evenings, team soccer, and also this homeschool class – all with the same soccer club.  The boys really benefited from the skills classes this club has put on in the past, and we are now enjoying the homeschool program as it allows our children to connect with other homeschool children.

Different clubs may have different approaches but one thing we like about our homeschool class is that there is no age group.  Students in the class range from 4 years old to 13 years old.  They all warm up together and learn the skills together.  Students are often paired up by size or ability but still learn to work together as a group of people with different skill levels and abilities.  Rarely, outside of school, are you grouped together by age to work together on something so this approach is a very realistic, real-world approach.  At the end of the class, they do group them by size for games.

Team Sports

There are so many different kinds of sports you can enrol your children in.

Team sports are a great way for your children to socialize and interact with other children in their age group.  It also allows them to pursue different interests and get their body moving.

• hockey
• lacrosse
• soccer
• volleyball
• basketball
• dance

Team sports may not be homeschool specific, but they are still a great resource for parents to take advantage of to get your children involved in sports and getting them active.

 

Martial Arts

We started this new activity recently, and have quickly become big fans of the Martial Arts.

As unschoolers, we are often asked about structure and self-discipline in our home.  That is a blog post unto itself, but a simple answer is that martial arts are a great way to implement these concepts into your lives.  Lucas (9) and Jack (7) have been doing karate for only three months but are going for their first belt exam at the end of May.  Every week, the boys look forward to karate.  They are dedicated to practising every day so that they can progress to higher belt levels.  Lucas is so excited that he even wrote it on the calendar to remind him to practice. They are learning to set goals and learning what it takes to achieve those goals.

Karate promotes self-control, body awareness, concentration, and respect.  Each movement is very precise and students learn to control their bodies and concentrate on each action they are doing.  The students stand ready for their next instruction for their Sensei.  Fidgeting and moving around between sequences can start you off on the wrong foot – literally.

Karate and other martial arts teach respect.  Respect for your environment (dojo) and everyone around you in a big part of each karate class.    Upon entering or exiting the dojo, each student is expected to bow.  Children need to be standing at the ready, and be aware of others around you. The senseis teach respect by implementing these expectations.

Our karate class is also in our community.  All of the participants live close by so the boys are able to make friends with people who live in our area.  The class is also for all age groups, so once again the children are learning real-life skills of how to interact and socialize with people of all ages.

 

Create Your Own

My final suggestion for homeschool sports is to get out into your community and create your own.

Growing up, I remember going throughout the neighbourhood and just asking the other kids if they were available to play.  We lived close to a schoolyard and would often start up impromptu baseball or soccer games.  Even games like tag, hide and go seek, and hopscotch were great ways to get outdoors and get active.

Encourage your children to get to know the other children in the neighbourhood and let them create their own physical education experience.

 

 

 

We hope you enjoyed these ideas and would love it if you would share!

Have a wonderful day!