This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure for more information.
Being a former teacher, I never really stressed over the core subjects in our homeschool. But when it came to things like art, P.E. and other electives … I always worried a bit that I was dropping the ball.
We joined a local Homeschool Co-Op for a few years where we mostly took part in those kind of elective courses. My boys took things like Drawing, Lego Engineering, and Carpentry.
I looked into structured P.E. programs for homeschoolers, and I’m sure there are some great ones out there, but we took a more un-structured approach that worked great for us.
If you’re thinking of homeschooling, or are in a rut, here’s my best P.E. advice:
Do Fun Stuff Outside and Get a Trampoline
In what other school can a teacher tell her student, “Go outside and jump 100 times on the trampoline before math.”? With the way that many boys learn, this was a tremendous blessing!
We were fortunate to find our trampoline on Craigslist for a great deal.
Look into it. You might be surprised what you can get just for going to pick something up.
We also picked up roller blades for the boys at Goodwill and regularly would drive to our local commuter train station to skate in the parking lot and watch trains go by. During the middle of the work day, there was never any traffic, and it made it more special than just rollerblading on our street.
One of my boys’ favorite activities is going to the indoor rock climbing location. They offer special prices once a month for homeschool families. Vertical Endeavors is the one we go to most often, in Minneapolis. We’ve also begun a habit of getting a post-climbing treat at Sebastian Joe’s, our favorite homemade ice cream place down the street.
We sought out parks within a reasonable driving distance and did a lot of hiking when the boys were in elementary and middle school especially.
In high school, I signed them both up for community education ballroom dance classes with their cousins. While they weren’t initially thrilled with that one, they did enjoy it a lot more than they thought they would.
What do you do for P.E. with your kids?
Leave a Reply