Homeschool PE – Should Homeschoolers Only Exercise for Credit?

Many homeschoolers only include physical education because they have to.   However, our bodies were created by God to be active. Exercise is good!  We should choose to be active not because it is required for credit or graduation, but because it is good for our bodies.

This also holds true for exercise during the winter season. The reasons for exercising in the winter are much the same as during the summer. The main differences between these seasons are that people usually are more lethargic, get more colds, and eat higher caloric foods in winter. Therefore, it’s very important to continue moving your body as part of your homeschool during the winter season.

More reasons for exercising in winter include boosting your immune system to help ward off a circulating virus, increasing levels of Vitamin D by getting outdoors in the sunshine, regulating sleep patterns to avoid oversleeping, fighting off winter blues, and helping with overall mood and temperament.

If your household is new to regular exercise, start slow and easy.  Work your way up to 30-60 minutes a day.  It doesn’t matter what you do so much as that you do something!  Forward progress, no matter how small the steps, is still progress!

Great outdoor activities to get the blood pumping are walking and hiking, snow shoveling, snow ball fights, skiing, sledding, and building snowmen.  If the outdoors are not welcoming, it doesn’t take much to exercise indoors. Jumping jacks or sit ups.  Light hand weights and even athletic stretching are beneficial!   Some games such as Twister and Hullabaloo are also good alternatives.  You can check out YouTube for appropriate family-type exercise videos from aerobics to weightlifting to stretching.

So while it may be a little more difficult to exercise in the winter as part of the homeschooling day,  it shouldn’t be discounted altogether. All homeschool families should make regular exercise a part of their routine whether or not it is required by the state.  While we are instilling good habits in our children, exercise and care of our bodies should be among them!

What is your favorite family-friendly exercise?

Check out homeschooling resources at Rainbow Resource!