7 Healthy Habits for Homeschooling Families (Food-Focused)

In today’s world, health advice abounds, and it can become extremely overwhelming to a homeschool family. You already started homeschooling, and now you have to add healthy habits on top of everything else? Good grief! That can scare a homeschool parent and cause serious overwhelm. Well, don’t worry. We, at Nxt Era, strive to give you easy, helpful, and non-stressful solutions to your problems. 

Keep reading for seven easy, healthy habits for your homeschool family: 

1. Do it your way. 
2. Stick to whole foods and fresh foods. 
3. Make it fun. 
4. Delegate to your kids. 
5. Get outside. 
6. Prioritize your health. 
7. Remember that you chose this, so it’s your choice.

Strategize and Prioritize

First of all, this is your homeschooling journey. It can be easy to compare yourself to other families out there, especially with the influence of social media. Although you can use other people’s success stories to navigate your own story, remember to plan what works best for your homeschooling family. Maybe you saw a homeschool mom on Instagram who has a garden. However, you live in an area where you can’t have a garden. Try not to stress about it. Instead, get your veggies at a local market or fresh from the store. This is your journey and your plan! 

Second, eat fresh and whole foods. This can be hard to do, especially on a homeschooling budget. Don’t worry, though, because it’s possible. My family and I focused on eating fresh foods during my entire homeschooling experience. I discovered that I have a gluten allergy at age 10, so we had to eat more salads. My mom utilized our local market, my dad planted a garden, and we used coupons. You can do it too! Get creative and utilize your local area to source your food.

Third, make it fun. Not every child will enjoy eating fresh foods. I struggled with salads for years (blech!). Now, I like them because I adjusted. Therefore, use cookie cutters to create fun shapes in your food, or simply let your children help you cook healthy meals. At the end of the day, it’s okay if they occasionally want a cookie. 

Fourth, delegate to your kids. Ask them to help cook or clean. Take them to the grocery store. If they groan and complain about washing dishes or cleaning the kitchen, set up an audiobook or fun music to listen to while they work. Perhaps you might want to include a reward system as well. 

Fifth, get your kids outside. Although not food-focused, your family needs outside time. Let your kids romp outside and enjoy free play. Let them spend time in the sunshine and breathe in the fresh air. 

Sixth, as the homeschool parent, you need to prioritize your own health. You must fill up your cup. Ask your spouse to watch the kids, so you can read, run, or recharge. Then you can do the same for your spouse when they need to prioritize their health. I want to stress the vitality of this step. In our modern times, it’s easy to become overstimulated by the rat race of life, so please set aside time to work on your health. 

Seventh, keep this message at the forefront of your mind: This is your journey! Although we recommend some grounding principles, feel free to adapt and change them as needed. Maybe you want to create a garden or start canning vegetables. Whatever the case, do what works best for you and your family unit. Some moms recommend meal prep, freezing food, or crockpot meals, which are wonderful things. However, remember to do what works for you!

Conclusion

Now, you can progress in your homeschool journey with some ideas on how to create healthy habits for your family. Give yourself grace and time to explore all the ideas. Let your journey be your journey. Enjoy the experience of chasing down healthy habits and bringing your kids into the activity as well. As always, we want to help you succeed, so please reach out to us at Nxt Era.

To Learn More about Our Health Pillar, Click the Link!

- NxtEra

Written by Bethany (@thebookwormgirl_bethany)