I Can Statements for PE by Standard
This guide is for PE specialists and classroom teachers who need I can statements for PE that students can read, say and rate.
How to Build a Homeschool PE Curriculum for the Whole Year
Quick answer
How do you plan PE for a homeschool year?
Four 25-minute sessions a week over 36 weeks add up to 60 hours of PE, enough for half a credit where HSLDA's rule of 60+ hours for a non-academic half credit applies. A workable homeschool PE curriculum has four parts: your state's rules, a yearly plan with three or four skill blocks, a weekly rhythm, and a log with date, minutes and a skill note.
- 36 weeks × 100 minutes a week = 3,600 minutes = 60 hours.
- Half credit: 60+ hours. Full credit: 120+ hours, if your transcript uses that rule.
- Log every session against SHAPE America's four 2024 standards, S1–S4.
1 more point
- State rules vary, so read your state's page before you plan.
Written for parents who teach PE at home to one child or several, from kindergarten through high school. It has a fill-in year plan with a worked example, a weekly schedule for siblings of different ages, backyard and park skills with a scored partner game, and a log you can print or copy into a notebook.
On this page
- Quick answer
- What counts as PE in a homeschool, and is it required?
- How many hours of PE does a homeschool credit take?
- What goes into a homeschool PE year plan?
- How do you run one PE week with siblings of different ages?
- Which skills can you teach in a backyard or park?
- Should you buy a homeschool PE curriculum or build your own?
- How do you track progress and keep records all year?
- Frequently asked questions
What counts as PE in a homeschool, and is it required?
It depends on your state: some states list physical education or health among required homeschool subjects, and others name no subjects at all. HSLDA's state-by-state map links each state's page with its mandatory subjects and testing rules. Read yours and write down the date you checked.
Wherever PE is required or just good practice, count an activity in your log when it is planned, repeats every week and trains a skill you can name. The 2024 National PE Standards from SHAPE America give you four labels for your log:
- S1: motor skills (throwing, catching, kicking, jumping)
- S2: movement and fitness concepts (why you warm up, how hard a pace feels)
- S3: social skills through movement (taking turns, fair play with siblings)
- S4: personal skills and choosing to be active (setting a goal, picking an activity)
Swim lessons, a club team, dance and a hike with a distance goal all fit. For total activity, the federal Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous activity every day for ages 6 through 17, with muscle- and bone-strengthening activity on at least 3 days a week. Planned PE sessions cover part of that hour, and free play, walks and sports fill the rest. Casual yard play is healthy but hard to document. Your state, umbrella school or target college has the last word.
How many hours of PE does a homeschool credit take?
A half credit takes about 60 hours of PE and a full credit about 120 hours when you log PE as a non-academic course under HSLDA's transcript rule (120+ hours for 1 credit, 60+ hours for .5 credit). Credit mostly matters on high school transcripts, grades 9–12. Before that, the log is your own record or whatever your state asks for. Your state, umbrella school or a target college may set a different number, so confirm it before grade 9.
Worked example: 4 sessions × 25 minutes = 100 minutes a week. Over 36 weeks that is 3,600 minutes, or 60 hours.
| Sessions a week | Minutes each | Minutes a week | Hours in 36 weeks | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 30 | 90 | 54 | Under half credit |
| 4 | 25 | 100 | 60 | Half credit |
| 5 | 30 | 150 | 90 | Half credit |
| 5 | 45 | 225 | 135 | 1 credit |
The table assumes 36 school weeks; use your own count. Practices, swim lessons and league games can count toward the total when you log date and minutes and your state or umbrella school accepts them. Leave out drive time and waiting.
What goes into a homeschool PE year plan?
A one-page year plan has nine fields, and the third column shows them filled in for a family with a third grader and a sixth grader. Print this page or copy the table into a document.
| Field | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Students | Initials and grade | A, grade 3; B, grade 6 |
| State check | Page you read, date, hours named | State page read Sept 1; no hours named; keeping a log anyway |
| Weekly target | Sessions × minutes | 4 × 25 minutes = 100 minutes |
| Year length | School weeks and total hours | 36 weeks = 60 hours |
| Blocks | Season, skill theme, standards (S1–S4) | Fall, 12 weeks: throwing, catching, kicking (S1, S3). Winter, 12 weeks: strength and balance circuit (S1, S2). Spring, 12 weeks: running and jump rope (S2, S4) |
| Equipment | What you own | 1 soft playground ball, 2 jump ropes, 6 cones, sidewalk chalk |
| Space and safety | Place, surface, adult | Backyard, flat grass, adult in sight, shade and water in summer heat |
| Evidence | What you keep | Weekly log, 1 short video per block, skill check at the start and end of each block |
| Outside activities | Co-op, league or lessons you count | Fall rec soccer on Wednesdays, logged with dates and minutes |
Three blocks of 12 weeks fill 36 weeks. Change the themes to fit your climate and season. A yearly curriculum map for K–5 schedules multi-week units, standards and skill checks across a school calendar.
How do you run one PE week with siblings of different ages?
Run one activity for everyone and change the job, distance or number of repetitions for each child. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday are 25 minutes each, which adds up to 100 minutes a week.
| Day | Focus | How siblings share it |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Skill practice: throw, catch, kick | Same drill; the older child stands farther back |
| Tuesday | Fitness circuit | Same stations; the older child adds repetitions |
| Wednesday | Co-op, league or lesson, logged on top of the 100 minutes | Each child logs their own minutes |
| Thursday | Game day | The younger child plays while the older one keeps score or referees; then switch |
| Friday | Walk, hike or swim | Each child writes one line in the log |
Use soft balls, throw at body height and never at a head, and keep the youngest child's distance short. Keep an adult in sight, and for swimming an adult watches the water the whole session. Choose games where nobody is eliminated, so the youngest never sits out.
For a child who needs adapted tasks or equipment, the guide on building an adaptive PE curriculum goes further.
Which skills can you teach in a backyard or park?
Throwing, catching, kicking, dribbling, jumping rope, balancing and aiming all fit in a yard or park with one soft ball, two jump ropes, six cones and sidewalk chalk. Set up five spots and rotate in the order shown after the set number of repetitions.
- Partner catch: two children stand 3 steps apart and throw underhand to chest height; 10 throws, count the catches.
- Cone weave: 6 cones in a line, 2 big steps apart; walk, jog or dribble through them.
- Jump rope spot: 20 jumps; count the most in a row without a miss.
- Balance line: walk a chalk line heel to toe, then again carrying a ball.
- Target: 10 throws at a chalk circle from a line; count the hits.
Check the ground for holes, sticks and wet patches, point throws away from windows and the street, and keep an adult in sight. In hot weather use shade and add water breaks.
Catch Ladder: a scored partner game
- Goal: the pair works back to a distance of 9 steps.
- Setup: partners face each other on two chalk lines, starting 3 steps apart; later distances are 5, 7 and 9 steps.
- Play: partners alternate underhand throws at chest height, 10 throws per round.
- Scoring: each clean catch is 1 point for the pair.
- Dropped ball: no point; the player who dropped it fetches it and the throws continue.
- Round end: with 8 or more points the pair moves to the next distance; with fewer they repeat the same one.
- Game end: after a round with 8 or more points at 9 steps, or after 6 rounds. Write the distance reached in the log.
Should you buy a homeschool PE curriculum or build your own?
Build your own if you want to choose the activities, and buy a program if you want daily instructions and a fixed order. The usual routes:
- Free lists and printables cost nothing. Check that they cover motor skills, fitness and teamwork, name the equipment and set safety limits by age. The guide on free PE lesson plans lists what to check first.
- Video-based courses give a child something to follow. Check the age range and the space the lessons assume.
- Packaged programs may bundle PE with health, and some are faith-based. Read a sample before you pay.
- School-style unit plans break a topic into lessons. The guides to elementary PE lesson plans for K–5 and the high school physical education curriculum show what to look for.
Team sports need more players than most households have. Co-ops, parks and recreation leagues, community centers and club teams supply them, and a practice or game goes into your log with date and minutes. When you look for classes near you, ask who supervises, which ages play together and how many sessions the season has.
PhysEdPrep is written for school teachers: PE specialists, classroom teachers and student teachers. To test the fit for your family, open its 3 free units in the app for iOS & Android; no account is needed.
How do you track progress and keep records all year?
Log every session in five columns (date, activity, minutes, standard, note) and test one skill at the start and end of each block. Here are three filled-in rows from the example family.
| Date | Activity | Minutes | Standard | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 14 | Catch Ladder | 25 | S1 | A reached 5 steps, B reached 7 steps, each throwing with a parent |
| Sept 15 | Fitness circuit, 3 rounds | 25 | S2 | B explained why the heart beats faster |
| Sept 16 | Rec soccer practice | 60 | S1, S3 | Team drill, passing in pairs |
Pick skill checks that a child can repeat and beat (the guide to I Can statements for PE by standard turns each one into a goal in kid language):
- Catches out of 10 underhand throws from 3 steps (S1)
- Most jumps in a row without a miss (S1)
- Target hits out of 10 throws (S1)
- Distance reached in Catch Ladder (S1, S3)
- Time for a set walk or run, compared only with the child's own earlier time (S2, S4)
Compare each child with their own first score, not with a sibling, and keep one short video per block. If a child has asthma or another health condition, ask the child's doctor how hard to push; in hot weather move sessions to shade or earlier in the day. File the log with the rest of your state records.
Frequently asked questions
Can sports lessons or a club team replace PE?
Yes, if your state or umbrella school accepts it and you log the date, activity and minutes of each session. Club practice trains skills and teamwork (S1 and S3), so file it in the same log as your own sessions. Ask your umbrella school or state office whether outside instruction counts toward credit hours.
Is there a free homeschool PE curriculum PDF?
Yes, free PE lists and printables are easy to find, and the year-plan template in this guide is one you can copy for free. Before you rely on any free plan, check that it covers motor skills, fitness and teamwork, lists the equipment and gives safety limits for your children's ages.
What should a high schooler do for PE credit?
Log 60 hours for half a credit or 120 hours for a full credit if you use the non-academic rule from HSLDA's transcript help. Mix endurance work, strength work with an adult checking technique, and one activity the teen picks, such as swimming or hiking. Confirm the hours with your state, umbrella school and any college the teen plans to apply to.
How do you teach team sports with only two or three kids?
Shrink the game: play 1 vs 1 or 2 vs 1, or play against your own score, such as the Catch Ladder distance. Use a smaller space, a softer ball and a rule that everyone touches the ball before a team scores. For full-size team play, join a co-op or a local league and log those sessions.
Does a family walk or hike count as PE?
Yes, if you plan it with a goal, log it and your state or umbrella school accepts it. A hike with a set distance or a timed walk builds endurance (S2) and gives you minutes to record, while an unplanned stroll is harder to document. Write the date, distance or time and a one-line note, and leave out long rest stops.
What if my child has asthma or another health condition?
Ask the child's doctor first, then plan around the answer: shorter work intervals, longer rests, shade and water in hot weather, and any prescribed medication within reach. Keep the goal the same and change the distance, pace or equipment. This is general information, not medical advice.
Cool-Down Activities for PE
This list is for PE teachers who have a few minutes left and a gym full of sweaty, loud students.
Fill your first PE block with a ready-made unit
Pick one of the 3 free units for your first block, open it in the app for iOS & Android and see whether the lesson format fits your kids. No account is needed.
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