Tip #4 in our series of homeschool tips is “Get Up and Move.” This is a tip that every homeschool should take to heart. How you interpret it and put it into action is up to you.
As homeschoolers, we can find ourselves stuck in the house all day on those days we don’t have co-op or extracurricular activities. Therefore, it is important to remember to get up and move. This can mean incorporating full-blown Physical Education into your week or it can be as simple as making a point to move.
Here are some ways to get moving in any weather:
Take a nature walk – Incorporate learning into your moving. Walk to a park or walk around the trails at a park and then do some nature studies and observations while you are there. This can be an excellent way to get moving AND staying learning.
Join a walking club – Many cities have 5k Clubs that have regular times to get together and walk or run to prepare as well as a regular schedule of 5k events. Many of these events have kids fun runs before the 5K. This can be an excellent way for the whole family to stay moving.
Give me 10 – Break up the day by doing jumping jacks between subjects, run around the room, or even have a child-led play game or calisthenics. This can be a great way to keep the blood flowing and break up the day. Set a timer and do it for 10 minutes two to three times each day and you will have some great exercise and help the kids get the wiggles out.
Grab the Wii – If you have a Wii, or similar product, use it for some exercise time. Try dance and movement games or fitness games that the whole family can do together. This is great for activity and family time.
Turn to You Tube – You Tube has some great videos to help you and the kids stay active. Here are some of our favorites:
- The Work Out Kid Level 1 (Quick)
- Just B Fit Kids (workout starts at minute 2:53)
- Yoga for Kids
- Zumba for Kids
Take an online PE class – CurrClick offers some great online physical education classes if you are looking for something to keep you motivated and that the whole family can use. Check out some of their classes here.
Whether you get up and run around your desk, up and down the stairs several times, or a take a family walk after dinner, getting moving each day is the best way to stay healthy AND keep the kids from feeling cooped up. We find that moving for short spurts during the day, between subjects, is a great way to stay focused and keep up our energy level – yes, moms too! We start the day with a walk around the block (with the dog) when the weather is good and end the day with a walk to the park and some play most days, weather permitting. Figure out a great way to stay moving at your house and don’t underestimate the value of getting up and moving!
How do you stay active in your homeschool?
Here is a good exercise that kids love.
One day I was curious to see how many miles I walked in and around the school so I wore my pedometer and checked it out. I noticed that on most days I walked over two miles a day on average.
I was on duty at recess and a student asked if she could wear my pedometer to see how far she could walk during recess. I handed it to her and all the couch potatoes saw what she was doing and wanted to try it too. That year I got the kids to exercise way more than they normally did.
You may find that they want to keep a log of their exercise and your kids could be real walk or run buffs if they had their own pedometers. They could keep track of how many calories they burned and relate that to how many calories are in food. It could be a real learning experience.