You know what's dumb? PE homework. Last week, Allison had to log all her physical "activity" for a week and hand it into her PE teacher. The goal was an hour a day or a total of 420 minutes that week.
With childhood inactivity/obesity rising, I can kindof see the value in encouraging kids to be active. Still - I'm opposing this assignment.
1) Did anyone else notice it's FEBRUARY in WISCONSIN?!! The school deemed the weather too crappy for the kids to be outside for 3 days last week. The high one day was -2 degrees. So.... other than having the kids run around the house in circles for an hour.... I don't know what you expect.
2) Oh yeah, you expect me to take them somewhere for an organized activity. Something on the list, perhaps? Maybe this worksheet will be just the kickstart I need to take Allison to the YMCA for some weightlifting. Weightlifting?!
Allison doesn't do sports, and doesn't like being out in the cold. She likes to read, play with her Monster High dolls, do puzzles, and watch SpongeBob Squarepants. I'm totally cool with that. She's not a couch potato. She's not obese (in fact, she needs to gain weight - but frankly if she were obese, I'd still take issue with this assignment). She plays when it's appropriate to play. And her physical activity doesn't fall neatly into these "bins." She watches TV while dancing and hopping. She chases her brother around the house. She jumps up and down while playing air hockey. How do I log those minutes? They aren't soccer, basketball, gymnastics, or weightlifting.
Shouldn't we be encouraging activity and not "sport." Organic movement rather than structured activities which require travel, parent involvement, and a set place and time. Wouldn't kids be more likely to continue activity for life if it wasn't dependent on schedule and payment?
Needless to say - even after my "creative" accounting, Allison didn't make a full 420 minutes. You know what - I'm totally OK with that.
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