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Young children do not just burn off energy, when they exercise - it is also the way they find out about their bodies and their capabilities, grow strong bones and muscles, develop confidence, learn resilience, learn social skills (e.g. taking turns, coping with not winning, playing fairly etc...) and develop co-ordination of hand/foot and eye (which is important for later skills like learning to read and write) and much more. Therefore it is essential that they have plenty of practice!
As Christians, we do not recommend sending children to organised sports activities (like football), mainly due to the fact that sooner rather than later, it will involve sports on a Sunday. In addition to the fact that sport can take over youngsters lives and although a few may be particularly gifted, few are going to be able to pursue it as a career. There is also the problem of the fact that it takes children out of the home and puts them under the influence of others, of which we may have no control.
However, sport is fun as well as good for you, so we play football/sports with family and friends. This helps to bind the family together, rather than pull us apart. There are many activities you can do, which encourage children to get their daily exercise, that are cheap. You can equip your home-school with a range of small pieces of equipment to encourage your children to run around. You don't need all of these things - but I would suggest that balls are essential. Being able to catch a ball is a skill all children should have. We have only listed products that we found helpful and that our children used. Many things are often bought, but some you get more benefit from. These are ours! Do scour charity shops! Also look out for NCT sales and jumble sales.
Obstacle courses: In summer we would make an obstacle course around the garden. What can you use? Garden tables, canes balanced on plastic chairs, tunnels, hoops. What have you got? Use your imagination! As they got older they would time themselves.
Tennis/badminton: We found ourselves a good net and it provided many years of fun. As the got older we were able to make use of the free tennis courts at the local recreation ground.
A selection of balls of differing sizes: Learning to throw and catch helps to develop hand/foot eye co-ordination and control.
Although climbing frames/slides are great if you can afford them, your children will not be disadvantaged if these are out of your budget. Some like trampolines and get a lot of use from them. We personally never had one - except for a mini one indoors when they were very young. They did enjoy this one and it lasted well. It needed new bands once, but Galt easily supplied new ones.
Swimming lessons are fine if you can afford them, but if not, don't panic! Teaching your child to swim is not difficult! We equipped ourselves with age appropriate floats to aid water confidence (we didn't have children who naturally enjoyed going under water!) One easy way to learn to swim is by walking on hands in shallow water and then increasing the number of times you can kick your feet. Pool Noodles are great for instilling confidence and fun to play with too!
Don't forget: Bikes, scooters, skates etc... and just good old walking!
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Welcome!After studying for an Early Years Specialism degree (B.Ed. Hons), and teaching in mainstream education, I home-educated my own children, after my husband and I were persuaded of the need to take responsibility for bringing up our children 'in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.' (Ephesians 6:4) We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
This costs the purchaser nothing extra. In this way I can continue to provide free resources. Thank you for your support. Looking for a read-aloud?
Here's one I heartlily reccomend for ages 10 +. Search
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