How to balance homeschooling and working from home??

Ok, so we’re back here again… but before a sense of dread or overwhelm sets in let’s run through a few easy adjustments that we can make to help us keep our sanity during this lockdown

Firstly, meal planning is our friend

Simply this is planning your weekly/monthly meals in advance which will make grocery shopping a once a week job and ensure the daily preparation and cooking is as mindless as possible! As you know we at Framar Health are pretty obsessed with nutrition, so let's take this as an opportunity to spend time each week ensuring that you and the kids are eating as nutritiously as possible. Including Linwoods milled flaxseeds in your shop will ensure breakfast time is as nutritionally dense, whilst also making smoothies that extra bit nutritious. A good multi vitamin is always a great addition to any nutrition plan, providing essential nutrients on a daily basis.

Keep your energy levels topped up

Homeschooling whilst working requires being creative and channeling a new set of skills. This is going to stretch us, so keeping energy levels high whilst avoiding the dreaded sugar spike and crash is crucial. Eating slow release carbs will sustain you and the kids for longer, for example porridge for breakfast with oat milk and fresh fruit, whilst walnuts are a great source of protein and healthy fat and will help aid concentration. As a nut butter fan, our 8 year old son really enjoys his nut snacks! Supplements such as omega 3 fish oils can also help the whole family’s brain function, supporting concentration and memory.

Stay hydrated

Because the brain is 80% water, optimal brain function requires lots of it. Water is what keeps the brain signals going and as the brain has no way to store water, dehydration comes if all the water lost in a day is not replaced. So start the day with a lovely glass of water, and keep the kids on water instead of juice for the entirety of the day. This will again help aid concentration whilst also avoiding sugar spikes and crashes, and empty calories. As easy as it is for us to reach for the tea and coffee to keep us going, ‘hydration before caffeination’ is a good motto!

Remain flexible

Whilst some schools now seem to be giving a homeschool timetable to their pupils and parents and offering a little more guidance than they did in the first lockdown, it’s important to keep a level of flexibility to ensure we keep our sanity! Today my kids and I had an extended lunch break, because oh my gosh we needed it! Equally with maintaining working from home, our ‘working’ hours will probably need adjusted and may be better suited to first thing in the morning before the house has woken, and/or the evening when the kids have gone to bed. Splitting tasks into two groups - ones that require more concentration and creativity, and the ones that don’t, is also helpful, meaning that whilst supervising written work there are still items we can get ticked off our 'do-to' list.

My main takeaway for parents juggling work life and school life in the home is preparation and flexibility. Open mind & open heart, whilst remembering this won’t last forever ... good luck!