Registration Open for Homeschool PE Class
Parents of local homeschooled children ages 6-12 are invited to register before February 25 by going to cedarville.edu/homeschoolpe and clicking the “Multi-Age PE” tab.
This year, these classes will take place on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons from Wednesday, March 16-Friday, April 29. They will last from 1-1:45 p.m. in Cedarville’s Callan Athletic Center. Parents of local homeschooled children ages 6-12 are invited to register by going to cedarville.edu/homeschoolpe and clicking the “Multi-Age PE” tab before the February 25 registration deadline. Space is limited.
The homeschool classes will be taught by juniors in Cedarville’s Multi-Age Health and Physical Education (MAHPE) program, providing Cedarville students with real-world teaching experience before they get in-school student teaching experience.
Helping out this year are Eli Schmidt of Pace, Florida; Rachel Mollohan of Etna, Ohio; Lucas Beckerink of Clymer, New York; and Garrett Lashuay of Oakwood, Illinois.
Children are subdivided into three groups where they learn age-appropriate lessons. Younger children aged 6-7 learn fundamental motor skills, such as proper technique of jumping, throwing, kicking, and group games. Children aged 8-9 learn specialized motor skills, such as jumping rope, relays, and lead-up games. Older children aged 10-12 learn skills in basketball, hockey, soccer and various cooperative games, and they also complete standardized fitness tests that follow national standards.
The homeschool physical education program was started 18 years ago to give students more practical teaching experience. Students learn how to put lesson plans together, communicate with children and manage equipment. Teresa Clark, assistant to the dean of the school of allied health, oversees the program and offers the student teachers help as needed, though she leaves the teaching to the students.
“It’s a win for our students because they go into the public schools senior year very prepared and very confident,” Clark said. “It’s a win for these children who learn to win and lose graciously and have the opportunity to play and socialize with peers outside the house. It’s a win for parents who can work out in the athletic center, compare teaching plans or chat with other homeschool parents.”
The program also fulfills physical education requirements from the State of Ohio for homeschooling families.
The homeschool physical education course will only be around for two more years, as Cedarville is phasing out the MAHPE program. The school of allied health will continue to offer undergraduate allied health, exercise science, and sport medicine courses. The school’s Master of Athletic Training program will launch in summer 2022, followed by a Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies program that’s planned to begin in summer 2023, pending external approvals.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,715 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio, recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and high student engagement ranking. For more information about the University, visit cedarville.edu.