Night Elf Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 P.E. :( Dd14 is starting public high school next month. She has P.E. first semester and she is full of anxiety. It's supposed to be a personal fitness class, but her friend who was in 9th grade this past school year told my dd that they played baseball a couple of times and that basketball was regular, although her teacher didn't make the kids play basketball if they didn't want to. Now, my dd did a basketball camp several years ago so she's a bit familiar with the game, but she was afraid of the ball and hated every moment of it. She's never played any other team sport, including baseball. She doesn't even know how to hold a bat! She's so anxious about this class that she cried because she's certain she's going to make a fool of herself and be humiliated. We have a signed bat from a baseball team so at least I was able to show her how to hold it. But I can't teach her the rules of baseball and basketball. Chances are that the other kids will already know these things too. We're just hoping that her teacher doesn't try to do anything team related. We met with her counselor to set up her schedule and the counselor assured her the class was about personal fitness goals and included lectures on nutrition and wellness. She wants to go to school really badly but hates the idea of this PE class. My heart hurts for her. I wish I could be there and talk her through it like I've been able to do with everything else while she's homeschooled. But that can't happen anymore. She will be on her own. I think I'm overprotective because I'm really feeling anxious myself that I can't protect her from this. Ugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 We are not sports fans. We don't watch televised sporting events. My kids played baseball when they were 6 or so, but that was it. My son had no problems. His PE teacher went over the rules for each sport they played as a part of her teaching. In fact, the mid-term was all about the rules and how to play the different sports. He learned them along with many other of his classmates. The teacher didn't assume they knew anything. Not every PS kid plays sports or cares about them. My son ended up making some really great friends in PE and enjoyed the class and the teacher. K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Can you take her to a batting cage? I hated PE and tolerated the sports aspect, but I would give her lessons to help her feel prepared. Youtube might be helpful too. My parents were not into sports and skateboarding was not part of the PE curriculum, so there were several times I felt foolish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Can you find some books or DVDs from the library that go over basic rules? DS played basketball at the Y for the first time last year and his coach was awful at explaining the rules. DH and I were clueless. We had a crash course at home, via library materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 For team sports, they will explain the rules to her. Even in college, any Kineosiology 101 classes assumed no prior familiarity with the activity. If she's really anxious, an online search can explain the basics. Keep in mind that even for well-known sports like baseball and basketball, there are different rules for each level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Can you take her to a batting cage? I hated PE and tolerated the sports aspect, but I would give her lessons to help her feel prepared. Youtube might be helpful too. My parents were not into sports and skateboarding was not part of the PE curriculum, so there were several times I felt foolish. Wii sport! It helps with those rules and such. I was amazed how much my kids picked up, baseball, bowling, golf, and tennis. They starting playing softball with a real live team this summer and they really like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 My daughter did PE after ten years of homeschooling. They switched to a new sport every two weeks. My daughter never did team sports, but the classes were taught assuming you knew nothing, so you were taught to hold a bat. Yes, the baseball kids blew the rest of the class away, but the un-sporty kids weren't traumatized and there were plenty of them. If you hated a sport, it changed soon enough and the class was one semester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Thank you ladies. DH is going to talk to her about some basic rules, but we're hoping you are right and that the teacher will assume no one knows anything. We got a sneak peek at her schedule so we know her teacher is the dept. head. Do you think it would be weird if I emailed him and just told him I'm a parent and was wondering what types of activities they do in the class? I don't want to come across as being overprotective so I wouldn't mention my dd's name but it can't be too hard to figure out since he'll see my last name. She can handle all of the personal stuff like the sit ups, push ups, stretches, and one mile walk/runs. Team sports is a different class but they might throw that in and that is what is stressing her out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Calvin was similar when he joined school at thirteen. The teachers were happy with him so long as he tried. He has poor coordination anyway and we had stressed fitness at home rather than particular sports. The school seems to be particularly good at bringing out a child's talents and supporting him in areas where he lacks skills. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 If it's any help... my experience in high school was that the kids who take PE are the ones who are not particularly athletically inclined, because the ones who do a lot of extracurricular physical activity get their PE credit that way. For any given sport, most likely there will be a handful with some experience, and everyone else will be in the same boat as her. I played soccer for 7 years, but was consistently one of the worst players on my second-rate team. This made me a star on my team in high school PE class :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Thank you ladies. DH is going to talk to her about some basic rules, but we're hoping you are right and that the teacher will assume no one knows anything. We got a sneak peek at her schedule so we know her teacher is the dept. head. Do you think it would be weird if I emailed him and just told him I'm a parent and was wondering what types of activities they do in the class? I don't want to come across as being overprotective so I wouldn't mention my dd's name but it can't be too hard to figure out since he'll see my last name. She can handle all of the personal stuff like the sit ups, push ups, stretches, and one mile walk/runs. Team sports is a different class but they might throw that in and that is what is stressing her out. Don't email. You'll come across as overprotective, no matter how you frame the issue. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 My daughter did PE after ten years of homeschooling. They switched to a new sport every two weeks. My daughter never did team sports, but the classes were taught assuming you knew nothing, so you were taught to hold a bat. Yes, the baseball kids blew the rest of the class away, but the un-sporty kids weren't traumatized and there were plenty of them. If you hated a sport, it changed soon enough and the class was one semester. my pe experience was lots of soccer, volleyball and basketball. I have always wished to create a pe program that incorporated dance, yoga and other unconventional sports that would challenge the athletes and teach teens forms of exercise that would be useful for their entire lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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