4 Ways That Health and Physical Education Help Your High Schoolers Thrive

When it comes to homeschooling high schoolers, P.E. can be one of the most difficult credits to fulfill. A lot of teens aren’t into sports, and getting them active is like pulling teeth. Even if your teen loves sports and athletics, they may not have a healthy relationship with exercise or the discipline to grow their skills and strength. You might even be on the verge of throwing up your hands and giving up! However, students need to learn how to exercise and nourish their bodies in a way that promotes strength and overall health, which is what physical education is meant to accomplish.

You may imagine that P.E. is nothing but late nights and early mornings, endless practices, and Saturdays filled with travel and tournaments. The truth is that P.E. doesn’t even have to be organized sports at all! In fact, learning how to exercise and care for their bodies apart from sports will benefit your kids long after they’ve graduated. Most kids don’t go on to pursue a career in sports, but they still have bodies that need caring for. All teens need to know the importance of physical activity!

4 Reasons Your Kids Need Physical Education

We know that our bodies are complex and wonderfully made by God. Our spiritual health affects our physical, and our physical health affects our mental. It’s all wrapped up in a beautiful package that’s more than sweat and kale. But teens don’t always know that. In a world that bombards them with protein bars, muscle shirts, and fad diets, they need guidance to untangle the good from the bad.

Still not sold on physical education? Let me give you some reasons why it’s so important. Let’s begin by getting this out of the way. When I say P.E. is important, I don’t mean teaching your teen how to do 100 sit-ups and 75 pushups and then a lap around the track. I mean that they need to know healthy eating habits and how to exercise independently. Physical education is more than just exercise. It’s lifestyle, it’s discipline, and it’s an understanding of how bodies are meant to function. The benefits make it worth the effort of teaching your teens.

1. Physical Education Builds Endurance

Fitness is just as much a mental exercise as it is a physical one. It takes grit to push to do harder things and the ability to listen to your body as you work hard to gain strength. Only intentionality and discipline will build habits that lead to health; your teens won’t just wake up one day and decide to exercise and eat healthy consistently. Physical education shows students how to build those habits and learn the importance of discipline now, rather than regretting it later in life.

I saw this with my elementary-aged daughter. She noticed other kids on the playground able to run faster than her, and she made the decision completely on her own that she wanted to be the fastest. She started taking time to run around our yard and practiced her speed and agility. In her spare time, she would run up and down the sidewalk and do jumping jacks to help her cardio. Her efforts paid off, and it was easy to see that she was faster, but I also noticed something else. She was taking her schoolwork more seriously too! She studied harder, made flashcards, and prioritized assignments. All the hard work and discipline she had put into being fast on the playground was now being put into her studies.

2. Physical Education Develops Confidence and Strength

Have you ever noticed that you stand taller after a workout? Sometimes, you just feel better after eating a plate full of vegetables. Maybe someone asked you to move a piece of furniture, and you felt great that you were able to help. We know those feelings arise because we’ve just done something good for our bodies, and they feel good! You’re proud of the work you put in. Physical education gives your teens the foundation for that understanding. Work now produces fruit later.

Of course, we don’t want to nurture vanity or unhealthy body image in our teens. The goal is health, not a ripped six-pack and huge biceps! P.E. isn’t meant to teach students how to look like a shrink-wrapped bodybuilder. That’s not where the confidence comes from. Confidence comes from being able to use your body how God intended and fill it with good things.

By getting their bodies moving, teens can see the effects it has on their daily lives. It builds confidence in themselves and strength that can continue to develop into adulthood. When they learn about health and fitness in high school, teens are confident they can continue these healthy habits outside of physical education studies and into the rest of their lives.

3. Physical Education Helps Teens Assess Needs and Reach Personal Goals

P.E. isn’t just about teaching teens to exercise. It’s about helping them understand how to listen to their body. Every choice they make, from the snack they pick to whether or not they get moving that day, affects them. By learning how choices affect them physically, they also learn that all choices have consequences and results.

So many teens today don’t realize that the choices they make have long-term consequences. From terrible eating habits because their teenage bodies can process it to laziness their faster metabolisms can keep up with, it can feel like their lifestyles are harmless. However, teens need to know that these habits aren’t just bad. They’re severely detrimental to their health. A well-rounded physical education gives teens the knowledge and understanding to take a good look at their lifestyles and make healthy changes!

In addition, P.E. gives teens the ability to find what works for them. Not everyone is going to enjoy jogging, but some people love it. Some teens really like ultimate frisbee, and others may play a great game of soccer. By taking a physical education course, teens get to try different exercises and sports and see what works for their physical needs and desires.

4. Physical Education Teaches Teens How to Set Goals, Track Progress, and Evaluate Results

Physical fitness is one of the best ways to teach goal-setting. Results are visible and tangible, and there are so many resources to help track progress along the way. Students are able to make changes based on their results and adjust as they work towards their objectives. By understanding how to meet their fitness and health goals, teens develop the skills they need to meet goals in all other parts of their lives.

P.E. is all about taking knowledge and practicing it in the real world. It’s learning what is good for your health, and living it out. This is similar to our spiritual lives! We read in the Bible what is good for our soul’s health, and then we practice it in our lives. Our faith isn’t legalism, just like fitness isn’t about being perfect, but it’s about taking truth and making it a part of our everyday habits.

As your teens take a physical education course, they’re learning how to make changes in their lives that are better for their health. They’re learning that there’s so much more to fitness than being muscly. It’s pretty easy to see how that translates into their faith too. Being a Christian isn’t about hitting ‘Godly Gains”. Your teens can see that goals are about growth, not about perfection, both spiritually and in regards to P.E.

Whatever your high schooler’s motivation level (or lack thereof), it’s important to find the tools to help them excel when it comes to physical education. Helping your kids thrive no matter where they are physically doesn’t have to be difficult. All you have to do is give them the resources they need and your support for the journey.

How to Help Your High Schoolers THRIVE

Thrive is our physical education curriculum for high school. This course focuses on equipping your students to explore exercise safely and evaluate the choices they are making about what they put in their bodies. It introduces activities that are possible for both non-athletic kids and peak-conditioned athletes. By addressing tough issues like overexercising and unhealthy relationships with food, Thrive gives a well-rounded picture of what health and fitness look like.

Most importantly, Thrive helps students have a Biblical worldview of physical health. Each chapter includes a Bible lesson and emphasizes that God cares about our bodies and the physical choices we make. Knowing how to live a healthy lifestyle means nothing if your student’s heart isn’t in the right place!

The structured journal style of Thrive helps your student track their goals and progress, while also allowing personal reflection and review. At the end of the curriculum, they’ll have grown both physically and spiritually, understanding that they are loved by God and that He cares how they treat themselves.

It may feel like it’s not worth the effort, but giving your high schooler a full physical education is so beneficial. P.E. equips them with tools they will use throughout their lives, develops strength and confidence, and prepares them to enter adulthood. Your teen will be so much healthier, happier, and more confident in themselves, and you’ll be thankful for the work you both put in!