What are your kids doing in gym class?

[aristocatz]

What are your kids learning/doing in gym class at school?

Are they playing games, being introduced to different sports? Are any of them really learning how to exercise?

I haven't seen a school gym class in almost 20 years, when I was a high school kid, & I remember that it was really lame back then. Different competitive sports, in which kids took winning way more seriously than actually focusing on good skill and form. As we got older, we were sent outside to the track area to run/walk a few miles......though, most of us ended up behind the bleachers smoking cigarettes & other things

My DF was just saying it would be so ideal for today's school gym classes to focus strictly on developing lifestyle exercise regimes. Really focusing on learning warm up and cool down exercises, cardio machines & exercises, weight lifting, aerobic exercises, learning healthy lifestyle habits.

If school gym classes focused on this year after year, kids would really adopt a consistent exercise regime into their every day life, which woulds be more likely to adopt these routines into their adult life and thus reduce the ever growing & really serious obesity problem going on in our country. It would also help kids to make healthier eating choices as they grow older and help reduce heart disease.

I know kids learn warm ups and some exercises & daily regimes when they are involved in sports teams, but not all students are involved in athletics as their extracurricular activities.

Any thoughts/experiences on this?

 

[aprilgail2]

During gym they play made up type games- like guarding a pin while being pelted with foam type balls and weird games like that. Twice a week you can drop them off an hour before school for an exercise type program which is open to all 3-5th grade kids. Last year they had a program before school but it was only open to kids above a certain BMI-which led to those kids being made fun of so this year they changed it so its open to all kids. During recess they have bikes the kids can ride in the field, use the mile long fitness trail or just play. One week a month they have intramurals and they play games like soccer, kickball etc there.

 

[clh2]

My DD (now 15) gets some units in phy ed that are definitely sports for life...they have a big "bowling" unit every year. Who new bowling was actually a sport.

The other thing that they did when DD was in middle school was Dance Dane Revolution or DDR for short. The kids LOVED this unit.

When DD was a freshman, the phy ed focus was on team sports, it was coed. The "split" though was you could choose if you wanted to be on competitive teams or "recreational" teams.

As a sophomore, DD could actually pick a phy ed course that she wanted to take. She picked one that is focused on "individual" fitness, i.e. yoga, pilates etc.

If you want to know more about DDR - this was an article in the NY Times a couple of years ago.

 

[kidzmom3]

gym is one of the few places some kids are introduced to team sports. Without Volleyball in gym, our school would never have started a team. Which the kids now love. Don't discount team sports so quickly.

My kids are all Middle and High school aged. They can choose, fitness room (exercise equipment, treadmill, ellipse, stair climber) Or sports

 

[aristocatz]

gym is one of the few places some kids are introduced to team sports. Without Volleyball in gym, our school would never have started a team. Which the kids now love. Don't discount team sports so quickly.

My kids are all Middle and High school aged. They can choose, fitness room (exercise equipment, treadmill, ellipse, stair climber) Or sports

I agree with you that team sports are important, but I love the idea that your school has options!!

I just think that the obesity program in our country is growing rapidly every year, schools really need to start taking extreme measures to teach healthy lifestyles & getting kids started on a consistent exercise regime early on (with proper technique) will be so beneficial in the long run to help lower this issue.

 

[englishteacha]

At our school our students get lots of choice in PE. Basketball, aerobics, fitness machines (we have a small fitness center on site with ellipticals, treadmills, weights, bikes), rollerblading, biking, DDR, snowshoeing and skiing...and lots more. Team sports are an option, too, like soccer. Oh, they do croquet and bocce, too! I like to go play with them in PE. I teach middle school.

If my PE classes had been like that when I was in school, I think I would have actually enjoyed PE! Being the slightly plump, very klutzy girl led to being picked last, even though I could throw/hit a ball, and make a darn good b-ball shot!

 

[okeydokey]

My DS is in 4th grade and they are doing the Champions Program which measures their fitness at the beginning and gives them goals to work toward throughout the year. My DD is in 6th and is the band so she doesn't have PE this year.

 

[AshleyW]

I don't remember much of what I did in gym K-5, but 6-12 was all pretty much the same. We had an hour class, and 10 of that was spent dressing/undressing. For the other 50 minutes, it was usually the same every day:

Stretch for about 5 minutes
10 minute jog around the gym
25 minutes playing some type of game - softball (if it was nice out), basketball indoors, soccer, dodgeball, kickball, tennis.. They taught us all the rules of everything and actually made us play.
Another 10 minute jog around the gym
Then we were done!

One day a week we had a 2 hour block class. During block classes, we usually did A LOT more running. We went in the weight rooms a lot of the time and learned how to use all the machines and did rotations. We also had a bowling unit every spring, so we'd spend 2 or 3 gym periods learning how to bowl. It was pretty fun. One year we spent a couple block classes learning self defense and kickboxing. That was definitely fun.

We also took a ski trip (an entire day, 7am - 8pm) once a year. We could choose to either ski or snowboard, but they taught us how either way.

We ran the mile 3 times a year - twice outside in the fall and spring, and once indoors in the winter. It went towards our fitness assessment that we did twice a year - they kept track of our mile run time and scores for: sit and reach, sit ups, jump ropes, push ups, and.. I don't remember what it's really called, I just remember calling them "butt kicks". You had to jump and bend your knees and kick your butt with your heels. Anyway, you had to improve overall in the spring compared to your fall scores or they'd dock your grade.

I think what our school did was pretty standard for our area.

 

[Cinderella94]

At my high school, actually- in my whole county, you are required to take a one semester long course called "Fitness for Life." There are NO sports played, it is just about cardiovascular stuff, aerobics, weight lifting, etc. From there, you must take one other semester long gym class of your choosing: Fitness for Life II, Team Sports (basketball, soccer, baseball, etc each get one unit), or a class on a specific sport (all basketball, all soccer, all lacrosse, all dance, all weight lifting, etc). They have just started offering something called "Recreational Leadership" (I have no idea what the entails) and "Lifetime Sports," which is more like tennis, ping pong, croquet, etc. So we have a variety to choose from.

 

[golfgal]

They mix it up, some units are sports, some are weight lifting/exercise machines, etc. They have a rock climbing unit as well.

Keep in mind that the teachers have 190 days of PE to teach and if all they did was weightlifting and exercise machines it would get VERY boring fast. Also, many kids find that they like a sport after playing it in PE and that can become a lifelong sport for them as well.

As a parent, you also have plenty of opportunity to teach your child things outside of PE that you want them to learn.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My dd in 7th hates PE. I wish they could pick between sports or exercise, that would be cool. I think she can do that in HS.

Basically they run thru all the sports and health is also a part of the PE curriculum. Most of it is spent running.

Her school does not have weightlifting equipment, rock walls, or other fancy stuff.

 

[donac]

At my high school they do a lot of different things. Ultimate frisbee, pilates and yoga and even ballroom dancing. During ballroom dance they even have them scored(like the tv show) and announce the winners to the entire school.
They also have a climbing tower and some high sdventure courses.

 

[clarabelle]

They do units of usually some kind of team sport. Basketball, soccer etc...
Along with that they run and have a timed mile every two weeks. Awards are given at the end of the year for best times etc...
They go to the weight room when it is raining.

There is a little health stuff thrown in there somewhere