Schoolhouse Review Crew: Family Time Fitness

I admit that I never really thought too much about adding a P.E. program to our homeschool.  We spend a  lot of time outside playing and the children ride bicycles and play soccer.  I really thought that was enough.  But, as my oldest got a little older and playing outside was not something she did anymore and after I never got back in the habit of regular exercise after I was pregnant with our 7th child, I started thinking we needed to be a bit more deliberate in our exercise.

Family Time Fitness has developed a Fitness For Homeschool Curriculum that allows parents to teach Physical Education without any previous knowledge.  Their program has been designed to fit every age and ability level in a budget friendly manner.  It was written with grades K-8th grade in mind.  They created their program to " maximize the benefits of spatial awareness, body awareness, environmental awareness, enhanced neurological development, mind-body coordination, stress reduction, social engagement, poise and confidence."  Some solutions this curriculum can help with include:

• Improvement of gross motor skills
• Childhood obesity prevention
• Diabetes prevention
• Weight management
• Develops self-confidence
• Increases energy and focus for academic studies 


 The curriculum is customizable, easy to follow, needs only minimal preparation time, and does not require a large investment in equipment.  The program includes 260 lessons and is designed to take approximately 30-45 minutes a day for at least 3 days per week (although 5 days is recommended.)  One curriculum can be used for all of your children. The curriculum includes:

Start Up/ Training Guide- Full of information for parents including an introduction to physical education, information on what to expect from the program, safety information, tips for adding it to your curriculum, and equipment information.

Lesson Plans- In PDF Format, each of the 260 lesson plans includes a list of supplies, warm up, activity, cool down, and outdoor activity.

1 page summaries- Each lesson is summarized in one page for printing and portability ease.

Video Demonstrations- Each exercise has a video demonstration showing real children doing the exercises.

Assessment Tools-tools to track basic fundamental movements plus downloadable food logs and meal planners.

Encouragement Emails-reminder emails every week for the first year to keep you motivated including nutritional and fitness tips.

Online Webinars-access to online webinars for further in depth instruction.

You can view the scope and sequence by clicking here.

The Entire Fitness for Homeschool Curriculum costs $57.  They also offer a Platinum Package   which includes: Core 1 and 2, Basketball Module, workbooks for K-5th grade, and a one year subscription to Home Educating Family Magazine for $137.

We have been having a blast with Family Time Fitness!  Everyday for about 30 minutes after morning chores it is the first thing that we do.  Exercise has really been a great way to start our school day.  I love that it is a program we all can do together as a family.  It is very easy to use.  A quick check before starting to see what supplies we need for the day is the only advance preparation I need to do.  If there are new exercises that we haven't done then we view the video that is linked in the lesson plans.  There is a large variety of  activities with some being easier to complete indoors and special activities listed for outdoors.  The children enjoy the exercises because they are fun and have great names.  What little boy doesn't enjoy exercises like superman, monster walk, or light saber?  I will admit that I was pretty sore the first week using muscles that haven't been used in awhile, but it didn't bother the children at all.  I think it is really sweet when they show each other (or me) how to do the exercises.  I have never hula hooped before Family Time Fitness, and Christian showed me how and told me to keep practicing and soon I will get it!

Family Time Fitness does not require a lot of expensive equipment.  We needed  jump ropes (I got on clearance for .50 each), hula hoops ($3 although I hear Dollar Tree has them for $1), playground balls (we had a few but got a great deal for several more at a yard sale!), bean bags (we used beanie stuffed animals instead of buying them), carpet squares (I used felt squares we had), cones (we used rocks.)  We have also needed something to measure distance and a stop watch or stop watch feature on a phone or electronic device.

An exercise mat might be helpful depending on what type of floors you have.  We have foam mats over our tile floors that makes a soft place to exercise.

Family Time Fitness is a great way for us all to exercise together and get our blood flowing before starting our school day!

To see what other crew mates had to say click here.

Disclaimer: We received a complimentary PDF download of the Fitness for Homeschool Core 1 Curriculum for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation.