Help Your Homeschooler Build Healthy Habits

You’ve probably heard it said that healthy habits start at home. If that’s true, where do not-so-healthy habits come from? Whether we want to admit it or not, it’s likely they begin at home too.

How then, as a homeschool parent, can you instill healthy habits in your children? Check out four tips from AOP designed to help you teach your homeschooler to build a healthy lifestyle.

Eat right. An obvious answer, finding the time to prepare nutritious, kid-friendly meals while hammering out homeschool lessons is easier said than done. To save time, cook a double batch during dinner and freeze the leftovers for a quick and easy homeschool lunch. For ideas, check out 17 healthy recipes for kids and families from the Food Network. If you’re really pressed for time, try AOP’s ten-minute homeschool meal recipes.

Keep it clean. Teach independence and responsibility alongside cleanliness by assigning your child a set of chores that help keep your homeschool neat and clean. A little disinfectant goes a long way and can help prevent nasty bugs like the flu from circulating through your homeschool.

Move it! We all know physical activity is important to a healthy lifestyle. Lead by example and participate in physical activities with your child. Instead of sitting inside on a snowy afternoon, hold your own family Olympics in the back yard. If you live in town, bike to the store as a family when you run errands and haul items home in a basket or wagon. When possible, mix up physical activities to increase endurance, strength, and flexibility.

Teach a health course. Incorporating health lessons into your homeschool day is a great way to have direct discussions with your homeschooler about topics ranging from nutrition, exercise, first aid, and home safety to body growth and spiritual, social, and emotional health.

What tips do you have for passing healthy habits on to children?