Our Homeschooling Journey: Kiddie Boxing

Almost every quarter, I always have a a hard time with PE. When my daughter was younger, simple stretching exercises will do. We also added my childhood street games in our PE. Yes, we play chinese garter, luksong tinik, 10-20, and more street games as part of our PE. Biking could also be a form of Physical Education. Anything that would make her get off the couch, let go of whatever book she's holding, and get her moving.

Last year, I did not have this much trouble because she was doing ballet. There is so much to be learned in that field. We even had written works, exams, and the recitals as her quarterly exam. But then we needed to do a bargain with her this year.

Tatay was a bit concerned because she's only been exposed to just one physical activity. Given that ballet seem like a fundamental field for all other physical activity, but I agree with him that Aya also needs to explore and discover other sports and discipline.

We made her choose between swimming, boxing or karate. Since she's been doing boxing with her tatay even while she was doing ballet, she chose to enroll in a boxing class with a coach.

So far, she's had 2 sessions and it looks like she's having fun. She especially loves her gold and black kiddie boxing gloves. Somehow her choices takes the people around us aback. They say boxing isn't really a girl sport. It's either my circle is just too boxed up in the olden days or maybe they just don't know that girls also do boxing nowadays. Or maybe they are just too negative about the way I educate my child. Meh. I just shrug it off.

Even when she was younger, she has always questioned why there are genders for different things. She wasn't a hige fannof Barbie in her toddler years but she adores Cars even up to now. She bought a Lightning McQueen backpack that she still uses to this day. We were at a tiy store one time when she was about 3 or 4 years old. The salesman was trying to entice Aya with a toy doll. Maybe he was expecting that the little person would throw a fit if I say no. I was confident though that she's not even going to look at it. Now, had he shown her a toy truck, toy train, or toy soldiers, that when we're gonna have a problem. Lol. Dirty tactic, but I gotta respect the man for trying.

When she looks through books at bookstores and find labels saying "For Boys or for girls, she feels it's unfair that the books for boys have the rockets and sciency stuff while the girl books just have pink all over. (her words, not mine)

I always tell her that she can choose whichever she wants, no matter if the society says it's for boys. Yes, she's a girl but that does not mean she should be limited to pink and sparkly. She can choose to play with toy cars, read books that are supposed to be for boys, or choose a sport that other people say are not for girls. I mean it's not like she's going to get in a ring for a boxing match. And even of she does, I will still support her 100%.

If she changes her mind and wants to try another sport next quarter, all the better. We are going for a whollistic kind of education. The world is so wide, the possibilities are endless. And as parents, the only duty ee have to her is to guide her into a grown up that knows to speak her truth, see the good, and find the beauty in everything.