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.
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.
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.
