Physical Education : Social Interaction Opportunities Among Homeschooled Students

Physical education is a requirement in most U.S. jurisdictions even for homeschooled children as the purpose is to promote health through physical activities. In fact, it is through engagement in physical activities that homeschooling students get the chance to socially interact not only with peers, but other members of the community as well. The opportunities are in fact greater because parents can let their children engage in physical activities in which the learners are truly interested.

The options available to homeschool learners are wide-ranging as opposed to the limited choice of physical education and sports activities offered by school programs. Physical education in fact becomes more meaningful when the activities involve improving a child’s sense of balance, coordination, physical strength, whilst experiencing training and exercises that they truly enjoy.

Most public schools now allow homeschoolers to attend the physical education class in their grade level. Yet there are other organizations or learning institutions that can provide home-based students opportunities not only to learn skills; but also to participate in competitions either individually or as part of a team.

Non-Profit Community Sports Organizations

The most common potential source of physical activities among homeschoolers are the different community sports organizations (CSOs) usually established by nonprofit organizations. As a community service. CSOs offer facilities and trainers to provide people of all ages opportunities to engage in physical and sports activities where they can participate either individually or as part of a team.

CSOs not only provide home- based learners the chance to learn the basic rudiments of a sport, such as swimming, gymnastics, track running, and other sports not usually offered by traditional school, like tennis, archery, taekwondo, judo and Brazilian jiu jitsu (bjj). Here, participants also learn about the value of teamwork, hard work and concerted efforts, which more often than not, lead to social bonding.

Community Sports Associations

Community sports associations are basically established as a way to attract more participants to a specific type of sport, which in the long run will allow different local sport ecosystems to thrive in the community. Sports clubs or sports associations may ask their members to volunteer in providing basic training for their sport as a way to grow club membership, to which students may even develop interests in making that sport a future career.