Archive for the ‘PE’ Category

Flag Football

Monday, October 11th, 2010

flag-footballMy 8-year-old son Stephen is playing flag football for the first time this year. It’s a Christian-based program called Upward Sports, it only lasts 8 weeks, and it has one practice per week. This makes it a good fit for homeschoolers, who don’t want their lives taken over by sports.

Before the game on Saturday, the boys line up and run through a tunnel when their name is called. Music plays over the speakers, and a big hoopla is made as everyone cheers for each kid. The boys then run to their field, where the team huddles together and prays before the game. Being a mom, I also like the fact that it’s not tackle football. Instead of tackling, the opposing team pulls off a plastic flag from your kid’s side, making a fun popping sound. The kids each have a wrist band that explains many different plays, so each boy knows what they’re supposed to do.

Why spend 8 weeks playing football? For your kid not be a dork when he is in college or beyond, and the guys invite him over to watch the Super Bowl. Part of having a full education is understanding many aspects of life, including not being completely clueless about football. It’s also good exercise, and the boys learn teamwork. (It’s hard for me to say all of this because I’ve always hated sports, and I have no idea how football is played. All I hear is “blah, blah, second down, blah, blah,” whatever that means. I understand what a touchdown is, and I understand which direction they’re supposed to be going. Otherwise it just looks like a random swarm of bees to me.)

If you plan to put your boy into flag football, I recommend that your husband teach him how to throw and catch the ball, since his entire success as a player depends on it. If your kid is a complete klutz, you might just spend a year or so throwing and catching the ball before putting him in.

Volleyball is “Torture Ball”

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

volleyball-problemsFor our homeschool PE, I like to introduce my children to each of the different sports for a few days so that they are not ignorant when the church sets up a volleyball game or whatever. I want them to know what the rules are, and some basic skills so that they have the ability to play, or to enjoy watching. I do not want my children to have to join every team out there for season after season. No, I think a week or two to learn the basics with me is decent enough.

I use the Cub Scouts Academics and Sports program, which you can pick up for $5 at any Boy Scout store. In the sports section of that program, you can earn a pin for each sport that you complete. If you are not in Cub Scouts, you can buy the pin yourself and give it to your kid. Each sport lists different skills that need to be mastered, so I drill those skills.volleyball-problems-2

For volleyball, 90 minutes of practicing skills was required, so we practiced serving, setting, and bumping the ball. Each time the children served or bumped the ball, they screamed in pain. My son Bryan nicknamed the game “torture ball.” He said he was bruised after that first day of half an hour. I told him I was bruised, too. On the way home, I turned the opposite way and decided to get a softer ball at a sporting goods store. After all, I had bought this old volleyball for 99 cents at Goodwill two years ago, so who knows its condition?

Arriving at thevolleyball-problems-3 sporting goods store, I asked if there was a children’s volleyball or a softer volleyball. One of the men who worked there spoke authoritatively. He stated that the main reason a volleyball would hurt is because there is too much air in the ball. I should let some air out of my ball. Secondly, he had a ball that was softer, but it was expensive at $35. Also, he had me feel the ball. He said, “See, this one has too much air. This one over here is better.” I felt each one and figured out how it should be. I thanked him and left.

volleyball-problems-4The next day I let air out of the ball. (My husband took something off the air pump and pressed it into the hole.) When we arrived at the park with the volleyball net, we fared no better. It was slightly less pain for me to serve it, but it certainly didn’t make much difference. My husband told me volleyball always hurts. I told him that a couple of times that I played it, it didn’t hurt. There must be a way to hit it to minimize pain. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. Meanwhile, all I hear from my boys is “Ow,” “ow,” “ouch,” “ow.”

Archery

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

archery

One of the fun activities at Cub Scout camp is archery. Each of the boys is given an opportunity to shoot with a bow and arrows. First the boys are given a set of safety instructions. They put on three things: goggles to protect their eyes, a wrist guard to protect their arm, and a finger guard to keep their fingers from hurting when they pull back the bow with their fingers. One finger goes above the arrow, and two fingers go below. The arrow is notched into the bow string right below a white dot. You pull back the string to the edge of your mouth, which is a lot harder than it looks. Then you let the arrow fly, hoping it lands somewhere in the target.

archery-3

I tried archery for the first time this year, and I realized that I have no upper body strength. I had no way to aim the arrow because my arm was trembling, making the bow and arrow tremble. Three of my six arrows went into the tarp behind the bulls eye. I had always envisioned archery as a fun Robin Hood activity, but it would be much more fun if I did pull-ups and push ups for several months before I try it again.

archery-2

My boys did much better than I did. My one perfectionist son was upset that he didn’t hit dead center every time like he does with BB gun shooting. My husband told him that archery was much more difficult. I think each of my boys got all their arrows in the target, but they had help. Nobody put their arms around me to help me steady my bow. I’m just saying.

Practicing Sports Skills

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

practicing-sports-skills

The summer is the perfect time for practicing sports skills, especially if you are a homeschooling family and don’t have the opportunity during the school year. I’ve gotten inexpensive sporting equipment at Goodwill. For example, I bought a metal baseball bat for $4, and most of my leather mits cost me from $1 to $4 each. I bought enough for a whole baseball game because I was leading a Cub Scout group. If your family owns enough equipment for a real game, you can always invite one or two other homeschooling families to come play ball with you.

One way I helped my sons to learn how to bat a ball was to hang a wiffle ball from a tree branch or other contraption. With a wiffle bat, the child would bat the ball when it was not moving. This helped with the child’s aim. Batting T’s are helpful, too. I also drew a circle on the shed with chalk, and the child had to throw the wiffle ball into the circle. This helped the child to aim the ball when he was throwing it.

softball-skills

We always start learning about a sport by reading a picture book about it from the library. That way we know what the rules are and what skills we need to practice. We also find out what all the equipment is called. Sometimes you can find a video at the library that is a tutorial for one specific sport. These can be helpful, especially for people like me who always hated sports at school.

My children and I grab our sporting gear and walk to the nearest school. We use the basketball hoops that are there. The schools are usually empty in the summer, so you have the whole place to yourself, especially if you go in the morning. Sometimes Little League or other teams are practicing in the late afternoons.

baseball-skills

Some parks have a rectangular sand pit with a volleyball net. You can play badminton or volleyball with your children. Volleyball is much harder for young children than badminton, but if you buy a large, lightweight bouncing ball at Walmart, it can be hilarious to hit over the net. Use your imagination, and you can improve your children’s sporting skills while having fun.