Dozens of area homeschooled children are receiving lessons during the pandemic through NDSU’s “Let’s Move In Homeschool” physical education program.
The program is designed to provide enjoyable, age-appropriate physical education experiences for homeschooled children. Normally, children come to campus each Tuesday to participate in physical education lessons in the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse, but now these lessons are being delivered electronically via at-home lessons.
Fourteen NDSU students in the Education 451- Instructional Planning, Methods and Assessments course remain on the job, preparing lessons for about 60 homeschooled children.
“My college students are still creating do-at-home physical education lessons,” said program director Jenny Linker, associate professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences.
According to Linker, the NDSU students meet in small groups online, design weekly plans, and submit them to her for approval. The plans are then emailed to the homeschool families.
"It was challenging at first, but I think doing distance learning is going to be a great learning opportunity for me and my classmates,” said Baylee Gartner, a physical education major from Bismarck, North Dakota.
“Having these do-at-home physical education lessons is a great motivator for me,” said Amanda Anderson, a physical education major from Bethel, Minnesota. “I know that my lesson plans are not only going to professors to be graded, but they are also going to be used by our students. This encourages me to always have high-quality lessons that are fun and engaging.”
The service-learning experience is proving to be beneficial for everyone involved.
“This way the children can stay on track, and parents report back on how the lesson went so our NDSU students get important feedback,” Linker said. “My students are really taking ownership of the program, and the homeschool families are very appreciative.”
Linker’s class also is making the lesson plans available to teachers in the community via a closed Facebook group for area physical and health education teachers, as well as the homeschool program’s open Facebook group, to share the information with the public.
“When you’re put in a situation like this, it emphasizes how important all your relationships are – family, friends, teachers, students – we really are one big community,” Linker said.
