by Alyssa Speicher, Public Relations Writer
For more than a decade, the health and physical education (MAPE) program at Cedarville University has hosted a physical education class for homeschool children in the Cedarville area. This year, the class registered a record-breaking 114 homeschool children.
The homeschool physical education class is part of a required course for juniors that is unlike courses at other universities. The juniors meet five days a week at the beginning of the semester, learning how to write lesson plans and preparing for the homeschoolers. After spring break, the students teach homeschool children three days a week and meet to review lesson plans the other two days.
The unique physical education class meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for seven weeks and is open to homeschoolers ages 5 to 12 years old, split into four groups by age. The health and physical education students teach a different group every week to gain experience instructing various ages and skill levels.
“This program is really a win-win-win for the students, children and parents,” said associate professor of kinesiology Teresa Clark.
“The most valuable part of this opportunity is definitely the experience making lesson plans on a consistent basis,” said junior Abby Wolford. “You learn what is good to do with the kids and what should change. You feel like an actual teacher having to make the lesson plans, prepare, teach, and then reflect on the lesson.”
While Cedarville students gain field experience, the homeschool children learn valuable physical education skills. They also participate in a class setting with their peers, and at the end, each child receives a participation certificate that satisfies their physical education requirement for the state.
The Davis family’s four children have enrolled in the PE class over the last five years. Jennifer Davis knows this is a great chance for her kids to be active and social with their peers, and she also enjoys the time talking with other moms.
“I enjoy watching the college students teach the kids because I know they are enjoying it as much as my kids are,” said Davis.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,760 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 100 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.
The homeschool physical education class is part of a required course for juniors that is unlike courses at other universities. The juniors meet five days a week at the beginning of the semester, learning how to write lesson plans and preparing for the homeschoolers. After spring break, the students teach homeschool children three days a week and meet to review lesson plans the other two days.
The unique physical education class meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for seven weeks and is open to homeschoolers ages 5 to 12 years old, split into four groups by age. The health and physical education students teach a different group every week to gain experience instructing various ages and skill levels.
“This program is really a win-win-win for the students, children and parents,” said associate professor of kinesiology Teresa Clark.
“The most valuable part of this opportunity is definitely the experience making lesson plans on a consistent basis,” said junior Abby Wolford. “You learn what is good to do with the kids and what should change. You feel like an actual teacher having to make the lesson plans, prepare, teach, and then reflect on the lesson.”
While Cedarville students gain field experience, the homeschool children learn valuable physical education skills. They also participate in a class setting with their peers, and at the end, each child receives a participation certificate that satisfies their physical education requirement for the state.
The Davis family’s four children have enrolled in the PE class over the last five years. Jennifer Davis knows this is a great chance for her kids to be active and social with their peers, and she also enjoys the time talking with other moms.
“I enjoy watching the college students teach the kids because I know they are enjoying it as much as my kids are,” said Davis.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,760 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 100 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.