Homeschooling and Health: Practice and Class Requirements

While a child’s education is important, helping them develop healthy habits and a healthy lifestyle is just as important and can begin at a young age as part of the homeschool curriculum. Homeschooling provides flexible options for families to create a custom routine and schedule that works specifically for their children instead of being limited to what works for a large group in a traditional classroom. When looking for online homeschool programs, it is a good idea to find one that includes health and fitness courses designed for each grade. These courses may be applied starting in late elementary or middle school when the maturity level of the students allow them to understand the concepts being taught.

The best online schools for 6^th grade introduce health as an individual course where students can learn about the importance of physical exercise, their bodies and changes, eating habits and the many ways to stay healthy. The course should not be limited to physical health but also include emotional and mental health as these are critical aspects especially for pre-teens whose hormones will undergo changes for the next couple of years. Parents should review the course with the school so they are comfortable with the subject matter, whether they are the teacher, or choose to leave it to the professional instructors through the online portal.  

Of course, it’s not enough to just read about health matters. Action and putting concepts into practice are critical to actually see results and to keep kids active. Physical exercise should be done on a regular basis and is just as important a class period as reading and math because it keeps the muscles in motion and helps to stimulate the brain. However, parents can get creative with this class so that it doesn’t always look like a typical Physical Education class -- all push-ups, sit-ups and running. Instead, it can be playing games in the driveway that make the kids move around a lot, engaging in community or youth sports clubs at a recreational or competitive level, swimming at the local pool or going for bike rides to a spot where you can hold afternoon classes. There are a variety of possibilities and ideas to get students excited about activity and exercise when you take the time to go outside of the traditional ‘boxes’ and personalize the class with activities the students enjoy. Remember, their bodies change as kids grow through different developmental phases and health activities need to be adjusted to meet their needs and match their abilities.

Lastly, in addition to exercise, eating healthy is another aspect where homeschool students have more freedom and flexibility.  Because they are at home, they can select healthy food or snacks from heir own kitchen. Fresh veggies and fruits along with cooked meals are easy to incorporate into the lesson because everything is right there for mom, dad or the student to prepare as they learn how important it is to eat healthy with delicious dishes. Teaching kids at home with the top homeschooling programs online is important, but take care to keep a holistic view of the individual so they can become smart and healthy adults.

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Created on Jun 19th 2020 02:05. Viewed 221 times.

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