Homeschooling PE

I wanted to share a Guest Post with you from Len Saunders, MA. These tips for Homeschooling PE isn’t only great for our children but adults as well. In our home I will use my Treadmill while Charlie completes these exercises.

Children all over the globe are leading sedentary lifestyles. Many young children already suffer from at least one risk factor for heart disease (physical inactivity, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure) and some experts are saying this could be the first generation of children whose life expectancy may be shorter than their parents.

The children’s obesity epidemic prevalent in our society is a reality. Numerous resources are stating that children watch an average of 2-4 hours of television a night while they exercise less and less. 

So, here was the dilemma. The children who watch over 20 hours of TV per week were most likely not getting the recommended amount of daily exercise. How do you get them to exercise without taking away their television privileges? 

This is where commercial-cizing was created.  If children exercised during their commercial breaks, this could add up to a lot of exercise time.

Here is an example of what an 8-year-old child may do during a commercial-CIZE period watching a half hour TV show. We will envision there are 3 separate commercial breaks per show, each break showing 3 commercials (total 9 commercials per half hour). Most shows will have a commercial break at the beginning of the show, the middle, and at the end of the program.

 First Commercial Break 

 Commercial #1 – 10 push-ups

 Commercial #2 – 10 Hops

 Commercial #3 – 10 Curl-ups

 Second Commercial Break 

 Commercial #1 – 20 Arm Circles

 Commercial #2 – 20 Jumping Jacks

 Commercial #3 – Running In Place For 30 Seconds

 Third Commercial Break 

 Commercial #1 – Jump Rope for 30 Seconds

 Commercial #2 – Stretch In Place For 30 Seconds

 Commercial #3 – Crab Walk Around Room for 30 Seconds

 If you run out of exercise ideas during future commercials, just repeat the examples given during breaks 1, 2, and 3 mentioned above. Remember, parent supervision is important.

Use the checklist provided on the downloads page to keep track of your progress. Please keep in mind, Commercial-CIZING is not to replace a regular exercise session, but to work in conjunction with the child’s already established exercise routine.

Len is an award-winning, best-selling author and a motivational speaker in the fight against childhood obesity. He is recognized nationally for his innovative wellness events.

Recently, you may have seen Len on such media giants as CNN, Good Morning America, CNBC, The Today Show, ESPN, Nickelodeon, MSNBC, The Fox Channel as well as the front page of The Wall Street Journal.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates