What does a tenth grader boy do for P.E. if the family can't afford lessons or team..

[Merry]

sports? He could ride a bike, go jogging, etc. but he would like to do the fitness thing with other kids. Any ideas on what he can do that won't cost much? He did take TWD through the parks but felt that the classes were not fun and not challenging enough.

[Brenda in MA]

The Personal Fitness badge requires that the boy follow a 12-week plan of aerobic and strength exercises and measure his performance on a regular basis. My son is a scout, but anyone could spend the $3 - $4 for the merit badge pamphlet that explains the program and then do the exercises.

 

He could also log hours on bike rides, walks, hikes, etc.

 

HTH,

Brenda

[Gwen in VA]

We tend to do PE as a family thing --

 

We play LOTS of frisbee as a family -- and 45 minutes of frisbee is GOOD exercise!

 

We regularly walk 2.5 miles, which is decent exercise though obviously not challenging to a teen. It is a great time for talking!

 

We do some hiking -- and though it is rare, it shows up in our PE description.

 

We do some kayaking occasionally -- and that shows up in our PE description.

 

I challenge my son to go out and bike at least 10 miles once a week. (He has an odometer). He has learned to enjoy it.

 

Is there some activity he is involved in that he can bike to? I loved it when my ds was taking a college class and HAD to bike to it, rain or shine!

[Jane in NC]

Another idea would be to include some health and nutrition in your PE credit. Could your son plan and cook some healthy meals? Could he earn a Red Cross first aid certificate? Take a CPR class?

 

4-H might have some free curricular materials for you, also. You could check with your county extension office.

 

Jane

[Jenny in Florida]

http://www.presidentschallenge.org/

 

It's completely free to join and to log activity. He can do whatever he wants and log his hours. When he earns an award level, you can order something small to commemorate it if you want. I think the basic package of emblem (sew-on patch) and certificate is about $1.50.

[periwinkle]

Sportsman's Clubs in your area, they may offer trap shooting or archery for free or at reduced rates.

 

Bowling alleys will offer really cheap rates daytime during the week for groups if you gather a few friends. Our co-op does this once a month.

 

We also tend to do a lot of PE as a family. Last year I taught my kids tennis; we had 3 old rackets lying around, so we only had to buy one. Access to local courts is free.

 

You may be surprised at what is available locally if you check out all the opportunites (sorry if you are way out in the boonies, then this advice may be inapplicable!)

[Lori D.]

A lot of public and private high schools look for homeschoolers to fill in their sports teams, especially if it is a less popular sport. A homeschooled neighbor is on a nearby high school wrestling team. One of our sons played on the start up tennis team last year for the nearby private middle school (though, there was a charge for that one -- every student on the team had to pay the fee, as this was a private school trying to cover costs of an extracurricular activity).

 

Basketball, baseball and football teams are usually full. But what about:

- track and field

- cross country running

- wrestling

- gymnastics

- flag football

- field hockey

- volleyball

- tennis

- swim team

 

 

Or, what about regularly getting together with a few other high school homeschooled boys in your area and they all work together (biking, running, swimming, tennis, etc.) on each achieving the physical fitness challenge of one of these two programs:

- President's Challenge program (http://www.presidentschallenge.org/)

- Congressional Award (http://www.congressionalaward.org/)?

 

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

[Blue Hen]

t he would like to do the fitness thing with other kids.

 

I noticed that your son would like to do PE with other kids. For a no-cost option I would look into setting up a PE co-op, held at a local park where the kids could play Frisbee, Frisbee golf, baseball, soccer, bike ride,.....Do you have a support group where you could pull together a PE co-op? I know it is allot like work to pull something like this together but sometimes we just have to do it.

 

Here are some low-cost items my kids do where they are with other kids.

Our hs support group has a 'Social Club' for the high school kids and another one for the Junior High kids. Monthly they have an activity for the kids. This month they had a pool party with volleyball at one of the leaders homes, are going canoeing (cost $17 for the day), next month bowling ($3), Frisbee golf (free) has been on the agenda in the past. This winter they will go skiing ($25 including travel to and from and equipment rental for the day).... It is a great group and we are very lucky to have this.

 

Our support group also has once a month, roller skating, bowling, ice skating. The boys love going to see their friends, make new ones and get some PE in. The weekly bowling began because one mom's son loves bowling and he wanted to do it with other kids. The local bowling alley gave them a great deal cause they were willing to come in during their ultra-slow period.

 

When we lived in Mass a local ice skating rink gave hs'ers free ice time, 10 -12 am every Thursday. I accidentally found out about it, but once I showed my hs'ing proof we were in for free too.

 

This summer my oldest was out on his inline speed skates, flying around the neighborhood. He met a boy a few years younger out riding on his bike, they struck up a converstion and for many days there were meeting on the road, my DS skating beside the boy riding his bike. His mom was thrilled that Cody was getting lots of exercise and mine was happy to have someone to slow him down. Yes, he is that fast. Since this is the first week of school they've missed meeting up but I can see the two of them going out for some exercise together here in the near future too.

 

Hope this gives you some ideas.

 

Carole

[Nan in Mass]

and if we wanted, I'm sure he could take gym at the high school. Even if he doesn't want to take the class, you might be able to ask the gym teacher there to suggest something. Maybe the school has fitness equipment he could use. The other option is coaching. It is pretty common for older students to coach little ones to pay for their own coaching in something like gymnastics or dance. I bet the martial arts work that way, too. Lots of barns have a system where a child can do yea many hours of stable work for yea many hours of riding. Where we live, there are lots of adult teams of things, too, many of them pretty informal, who might be glad to have more players. Or what about juggling club? Or rock-climbing club?

-Nan

[Hoggirl]

How does one get the scout merit badge materials? Do you have to be a scout to actually get the badge? I am guessing, "yes." So, what you are saying is that one can get the pamphlet that tells you what would be required if you were trying to get the badge?

TIA!

[Gwen in VA]

Ummm...I think I am missing something! Did I write about scout materials?

 

Ds2 was a Scout, so I happen to know that you can get merit badge materials from any scout store (look up scout in the yellow pages or google it to find the closest one). You don't have to be affiliated with scouts in any way to get the materials.

 

Still pondering why you asked me about scouting materials! :001_smile:

[Merry]

I especially like the idea of tennis and frisbee. These can be done with the other kids with no cost other than the cost of the equipment. And an odometer on the bike, what a great idea! I think my ds would like the challenge. And the homeschool coop does have rollerskating twice a month and ice skating twice a month but the cost is too high but I should try to work something out for his sake. Thanks!

[Brenda in MA]

How does one get the scout merit badge materials? Do you have to be a scout to actually get the badge? I am guessing, "yes." So, what you are saying is that one can get the pamphlet that tells you what would be required if you were trying to get the badge?

TIA!

 

Cynthia,

 

As Gwen said, you can purchase the merit badge pamphlet at any scout shop. Google should help you find it. You do have to be a scout to earn the badge, though, but anyone can follow the exercise plan in the book. When my oldest worked on that badge, we did all the exercises together. At the end of it, I felt I deserved a badge, too, but oh, well......

 

HTH,

Brenda

[lllll]

He could also do things with his brothers like running, weight-lifting, riding bikes, etc. The youngest could ride his bike while the older runs. Our girls go running with their brothers. The guys will double back to keep the girls in sight, so they don't have to break the pace to wait for their slower and smaller sisters.

 

Also, you can go walking with him yourself. I usually walk with one child per day. It doubles for exercise and private time where they discuss things with me that they'd rather their sibs didn't hear. Works great.

 

FWIW.

[Alyce]

Look for a YMCA in your town. They give all kinds of classes and do a lot of team sports for very little money. That way he can be with other kids. My children went that route for several years. I think we paid about $30 month.

[Jan P.]

My ds did lots of things. He played soccer, ran, bicycled, and lastly I had him dig up dirt! Yep! Dirt! When we first bought our home there was a huge pile of sand in our front yard left over by construction workers. I wanted the pile moved, so I assigned my ds to daily shovel the sand into a wheelbarrow and dumped it in the back. I guess that counts for weight lifting!

 

Jan

[love2read]

In our area there are hiking and biking clubs that go year round. Within five miles of us there are 3 churches that have a basketball court and the men/boys get together to play ball at least once a week. It's by word of mouth and they welcome anyone and they don't try to convert the players. It's very informal, but a serious game is played.

[Tina]

Our co-op gets together an afternoon bi-weekly for some type of sport during the school year: soccer, hockey (some with skates, some without), Ultimate (like frisbee football?), volleyball. If we rent a local gym for a day (splitting the cost between families) we do basketball or something. We do some bowling, maybe one day of mini golf, and swimming, if we can find a hotel pool to use (these would all have a cost). During the summer months, several of us teach/run a sport: tennis, softball, volleyball. We also planned some geocaching outings for hiking as a group. We do a lot together for free.

 

Here's a link for the boy scout badges. The books have a good amount of reading on the topics to go along with the requirements shown here. http://meritbadge.com/home.htm