Try Biking With Your Boys
Biking is a wonderful activity to incorporate into your homeschool gym class. As a child, I remember playing dodge ball,
climbing ropes, and doing lots of other activities in gym class which I couldn't easily do at home. Either they required specialized
equipment, like parachutes or expensive sports gear - or they required a lot of kids!
We feel strongly that a good homeschool gym class will train our sons to enjoy activities which they can continue to do for a
lifetime - and bike riding is a wonderful example of this kind of activity. Riding bikes helps your sons to stay healthy and it's
a great way to give your boys outside fun, as well.
There are many wonderful lessons which can be integrated into a family bike trip:
- Art - Have your son draw pictures of wildlife, flowers, and other interesting sights that you
encounter.
- Character Building - Teach your sons to be courteous to cars and other bikers on your journey.
Your family can also participate in many different biking fund raisers to help the less fortunate.
- Deductive Reasoning - Try out geo-cacheing or letter boxing while on a bike ride. You can find
out more about these activities by doing a google search.
- Geography - Be sure to teach your sons about the area they are travelling through. You can also
put up a large map on the wall and track your various trips on the map. If you often bike the same routes, take a virtual
trip. Pick a faraway destination, log the number of miles you bike, and draw lines between your city and your "destination"
city. Teach lessons about the geography you're "passing through", so that your sons become familiar with the world around
them.
- History - Explore different historic locations throughout your trip - your sons can also research
the history of the specific bike trail you plan to take .
- Mapping Skills - Let your son be the navigator - beforehand, while determining your route, as well
as during the trip.
- Math - Let your son estimate how much time the ride will take, as well as calculate the mileage
and the finances for the trip.
- Photography - Let your son take photos along the way.
- Science - Document wildlife that is encountered along the way. Some adventurous sons will even want
to collect road kill to be dissected later.
- Writing - Have your son write in his journal about the experience.
Take a family bike trip and your sons will enjoy their homeschool gym class - and they will also start down the path to a
lifetime of physical fitness.
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