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A few years ago, my children were involved in a summer soccer program taught by a man who used to coach a high school soccer team. As the summer came to a close, one of the moms thought we should get the coach to start a homeschool PE class. Our city’s YMCA offered classes, but they were thirty minutes away – could we convince the coach to start up something nearby?

We did! Three years later, he’s still a salesman by day and a homeschool PE coach two afternoons a week. For one hour on Mondays and Thursdays, children ages 5 through high school get to participate in dodgeball, kickball, softball, flag football, soccer, and more.

The coach divides the students into two groups, ages 5 – 9 and 10 and up. This year it’s been a little harder, though, as he hasn’t had as many parents volunteer to help out, even though he offers a discount in the fees. When enough parents are there, however, the program runs smoothly. We meet at a local park or in a church gym. The coach leads the older kids in sports activities and provides plans and equipment for the moms who work with the younger ones. Every once in a while, he switches off, working with the younger children while a mom referees the games of the older students.

One of the biggest benefits of this PE program, however, has been the time of fellowship the students have with each other. We meet with the same friends on a regular basis, and almost everyone stays about a half hour after the class is over. Moms have time to visit with and encourage each other, teens start up their own game of basketball, middle school girls huddle around talking with each other, and younger children play on the playground.  There’s usually 30-40 students there each time, providing lots of opportunities for friendships.

One day a week, I teach art lessons to homeschoolers at my kitchen table. In one of the classes, I have several little ones ages 5-6 working on projects at the same time. Even when copying a simple picture, these younger ones often get stuck, not knowing where to begin or how to continue. I’m usually bouncing back and forth between them, pointing out shapes and where they fit in.

For example, if a child was drawing a puppy, I might say, “Look, see this eye? It’s a circle, isn’t it? How many eyes does this puppy have? Let’s put two circles where the eyes would go.”

Sometimes, though, a young child might still be at a loss of what to do next. They want to draw, but they don’t know how to get the pencil going in the right direction. When that happens, I just have them connect the dots.  I outline the rest of the child’s picture in dots, placing them close to each other and without any letters or numbers beside them. If the dots are close enough together, even children as young as three can follow them with a pencil. It’s easy enough for them to do, helps improve their fine motor skills, and gives them a great sense of accomplishment for having “drawn” the picture.

While dot pictures have helped my art students in class, they’re great for preschoolers anytime!  You can create your own, even if you don’t feel comfortable drawing. Simply place a coloring page under a sheet of copy paper and “trace” the outline in dots. Children love to guess what the pictures are before they begin, and they can even color them in with crayons when they’re finished. And at some point along the way, these young students will become confident enough to move ahead with their drawings on their own.

This past weekend, we headed to the University of Tennessee Conference Center in Knoxville to watch three of my nephews participate in events with Destination Imagination. My sister first told me about this organization last year, so this year we went to see what was involved and how it all worked.

At this regional level, there were quite a few different events students could participate in, and the top performers move on to the state contest. My nephews were in a drama contest in which each group had to come up with a mystery skit and props.

Before the competition, the students were given a list of famous detectives to research. Armed with only this information and miscellaneous craft items to make props, they waited for their turn to perform. They were then given the name of one of the detectives they had studied, three different movie genres, and a superstition to investigate; all of these had to be included in the skits. They worked for the next thirty minutes to put it all together into a six-minute play. Then, right before they performed, they were given a surprise element they needed to include as well. The students had one minute to figure out how to include it, and then the play began.

I was impressed with what the kids came up with! Each group had about five to six people who had to work as a team to pull it all together quickly. All of the team members performed a part in the play. And they had to present their skits before an audience and three judges.

There were other challenges as well, and groups from any type of school, whether public, private, or homeschool, could participate. I came home from the trip and searched the website for the Destination Imagination events in our area – I think we’ll get together a group for next year!  (Destination Imagination — www.idodi.org.)