Fitness/PE What do you think?

[SherryTX]

Hey all - my daughter had 3 days of PE at school when she was attending.

We have gotten off track with our fitness plan. However, a good friend and I started taking walks in the park 2 weeks ago, and will resume it again tomorrow and want to do this together at least once a week. I take my daughter with me since it is during the school day and she could use the exercise.

 

She takes fencing lessons on Saturdays, which has some exercise in it of course. I am considering adding one day a week where she and I will go to the local gym and walk on the indoor track, and play ping-pong (she isn't allowed in the room that has the cycling machines, which is a shame, because I think that would be a nice thing for her to do as well.)

 

We have a trampoline that the kids go on quite a bit. She isn't opposed to physical activity for the most part, and has been after me for more consistency. I don't really count the trampoline as too much more than extra fun right now.

 

So what do you think - 2 days of walking (1 outside for 45 minutes to an hour in the park, and 1 day inside for about 45 minutes) and fencing. Do you think this is enough for basic physical activity? She is in pretty good shape, but due to her motor skills issues (AS), she is still struggling to ride her bike, and right now I am not up to including that as anything but extra fun.

 

My other girls are made to walk laps at school the 5th grader every day and the first grader a few times a week, so that is why I am trying to schedule my 9 year old's required basic physical time during the school day.

 

We also have a WiiFit - but I would like to count that as extra as well.

 

What do you think?

[ConnieB]

Is your goal to keep her fit, and of course to instill a life long habit of daily exercise. Or is your goal to teach her the basic fitness regimen?

 

My children have always been naturally active enough to keep fit.....our day includes plenty of get-outside-and-run-and-play days. Of course, as they get older, they don't want to do that quite as much, so we find other ways to stay active.....dance lessons, karate, sports, etc. And several of my kids love to be outdoors hiking.....not something I share, so I farm them out to friends who do hike, lol. "The experts" recommend that all children get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day, and preferably an hour. I'm sure depending on what expert you consult will show whether just playing is enough or if it's required to be regimented.

 

That said....I have noticed that my children don't always know the specific games that other kids (public/private schooled) want to play, because they never had these basic regimen taught to them. Dodge ball for instance required a few minutes of explanation.....however, baseball they've watched enough games to quickly pick up on the way to play. However, after one rather humilating day of trying to play baseball, something my son had only watched never participated, he declared the need to sign up for "lessons".....which made me laugh, because it wasn't really lessons, it was to play on a league. Now he knows how to hold the bat, hit the ball and not carry the bat with him to 1st base because he wasn't quite sure what to do with it!!

 

There were other basic games and such that I remember playing in PE in school that I have come to realize my children didn't know. To remedy that we spent about a year going through a book called The Ultimate Physical Education Game Book. Most of the activites required a minimum of 2 kids to play, so you didn't need an entire classrom (but more than 2 could also do most of them). This might be fun for your daughter to go through with a friend. We picked a different activity every couple of weeks, spent some time learning it, and then I simply sent the kids in the backyard to play it until they got bored or wanted another choice. I'm sure if your library doesn't have that exact book, a search for physical education will turn up one of the other many books on the subject that I've seen from time to time. I chose that one because our library back then only had two choices, and this was the larger book, lol.

 

Whatever you decide to do.....my personal opinion, as someone who absolutely hated PE in school for a wide variety of reasons and therefore has struggled her entire life with weight issues and must "force" myself to exercise because it's "good for me" rather than because it makes me feel good.......please lean more towards making her enjoy being physical and active rather than making it so regimented and required that she too hates it. I sooo wish I had had a teacher who taught us to have fun, rather than teach to the test (i.e. the year end physical fitness exam).

 

If you want motivational ideas....consider the President's Challenge (google it). They give out awards and offer a lot of nice ideas. I found the keeping track and fitting it all to their requirements to be more than I wanted to do, but again, I have such issues with physical fitness, I'm guessing it was more a mind block than a real problem, lol.

[Laura Corin]

The recommendations that I have seen have been for an hour of physical activity per day for children. My boys run for half an hour a day in addition to doing martial arts, swimming and taking walks.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[mom2abunch]

Laura,

how old were your boys when you started them running for 30 minutes a day?

[SherryTX]

I appreciate the responses.

The first goal is to keep fit - but I would like her to learn how to do some other things besides just exercising to stay in decent shape. I appreciate the book recommendation and the link. =)

[Laura Corin]

Laura,

how old were your boys when you started them running for 30 minutes a day?

 

...our local home education group organised a sports day, with goals taken from the Presidential Fitness scheme. At that time (boys were maybe six and eight) they needed to run a mile. We stayed at the mile distance (and worked on speed) for a year or two. When we came to Scotland last year I started them again at about a twenty minute jog - we have built up to half an hour. I won't be taking them beyond this length of time for the moment, but we'll be working on varying the pace (bursts of speed).

 

I had advice from a YMCA child fitness specialist who said that this was a good length of run, but that I could slowly work up to 45 minutes, watching Hobbes to make sure that this wasn't too much for him. The boys run on grass and I make sure they have decent shoes.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[lmrich]

My kids are naturally very active so they are always moving. They have to "do" 30 minutes of exercise a day - running, a class (dance or fencing) or Wii fit. I love Wii fit for them because it has strength and balance, not just cardio. I have a girlfriend who is going to teach PE next year for the neighborhood homeschool kids - Yeah! I think it is important to not just exercise but to also tune into your body and a good fencing instructor or yoga or dance or martial arts teacher can do that.

:) Going for a walk with you is really more than just exercise for her; it is instilling in her a habit and hopefully one she will enjoy. Not to mention that quality time she spends with you.

 

Good luck!

[MamaT]

I think what you have planned looks good. My kids have classes 3-4 days a week in their areas of interest. One is a gymnast, one plays baseball, one is a dancer, and one is on a Junior Olympics track team. Other than that, they ride their bikes, jump on the trampoline, and just generally play outside when they can.

 

I am also thinking of starting to walk daily with my 12yo dd. Although I need the exercise, my main purpose would be just to spend some alone time with her.