5 Things Home Educating Parents can do to feel nourished

It’s quite likely that if you are a home educating parent you spend a great deal of time with your children, and sometimes this can mean that we forget to look after ourselves.

I had years pass in the early days where I was incredibly undernourished. Part of this was to do with extended breastfeeding and sleepless nights which meant that my nutrient intake didn’t meet the demand.

However, I came to realise that the nourishment I need to flourish and thrive goes beyond simply the food that I put into my body. It includes other forms of sustenance like touch, beauty, love, and kindness.

What I’m talking about are the many things we need as humans to feel fully satisfied, capable and ready for whatever the world gifts us.

Here are 5 ways we can nourish ourselves as home educating parents:

1. Rest

Rest comes in different forms which all serve the purpose of restoration. The question is, which form will serve you best in any given moment?

There is a well-known saying, ‘a change is as good as a rest’, and often this is gives us a clue as to what we need to restore. For example, if we’ve been on the go all day, and feel physically tired, we need to sit down, lie down, or go to sleep.

Conversely, if we’ve been sitting at a desk all day staring at a screen, the chances are that a walk will feel much more restorative than lying down.

If the family have been in the house all day, one conflict after another, and compassion fatigue is setting in, getting outdoors and interacting with other people can feel massively restorative.

Our western culture very much favours the energy of focus, and we are indeed heavy in that area which is reflected in the set-up of our systems; think schools and offices.

What if we were to take proper responsibility for our need for rest, and factor it into our days, and weeks. Schedule it in. Sounds radical hey?

One way I found to do this in the past was to play the B&B game. My children would set up the B&B in their bedroom, complete with café and bed. I would come along and purchase a meal which I found so delightful I’d pay to stay the night and enjoy breakfast in the morning as well. This mean my children were very satisfied with the act of me paying them money to climb into their bed, for a pretend night’s sleep, whilst they busily got the breakfast ready, often involving cutting up egg boxes, cardboard and all sorts to create a whole array of delicious breakfast goodies!

2. Connection

When I feel disconnected everything feels disjointed and involves much more effort. Conversely when I feel connected my actions and interactions flow with far greater ease.

I enjoy the feelings that arise through being connected to others; feelings of

mutuality, understanding, empathy and ease.

One thing I’ve learned, however, is that connecting with others is far easier when I am connected to myself. For me, this can look like taking a quick personal check-in to see how I’m doing. Asking myself ‘what’s going on for me right now?’ and really listening to the answer. Often this acknowledgement is all I need to settle into myself.

Sometimes I need something more and one of my most successful strategies is stepping outdoors. When I do this, I instantly find myself noticing the element. The light is brighter, the sun and air touch my face, the birds call and the leaves rustle. After the rain, I can smell the soil.

Isn’t it funny that turning our attention outwards can feel so grounding and lead to more ease with our inward connection?

Essentially we are social animals and in evolutionary terms connection is a clear strategy to increase safety. Think about how you can increase your connection to nature, yourself and to others.

3. Nature

I’ve already mentioned connecting to the elements of nature as a route to self-connection. Now I’d like to expand this as a form of nourishment in itself because it not only deepens our connection to it, ourselves and others, nature also restore us.

Sensing the elements makes a difference to our wellbeing even in short bursts. However, longer nature immersion can do wonders. Florence Williams author of ‘the Nature Fix’, went on a worldwide journey to find out ‘Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative’. She discovered that due to our evolutionary history, our physiology is highly responsive to being immersed in nature, so much so that it has a massive positive impact upon our sense of wellbeing.

Nature is so incredibly restorative. I nourishes our soul with its beauty. It opens our hearts with its rawness. Offers spaciousness when we feel compressed, and with increased time and increased relationship, it can even offer a sense of belonging and become a sanctuary.

Sunsets are a draw for many and never fail to induce awe. I’ve come to love the quiet stillness of the sunrise, the miracle and mystery of a new day dawning. Everything fresh and awakening. So much potential and so much beauty. Even just a short pause as witness touches me deeply, nourishes my being and sets me up for what’s to come.

How can you find nourishment in the elements and rhythms of nature? Today I think I’ll read my book in the garden!

4. Stories

We have evolved learning through stories, especially the spoken word. In fact, this is a massive part of how we continue to learn today.

Stories come in many forms and are often a rich source of nourishment. We tend to think of storybooks and novels whose talent shines through in the written word. However, traditionally, stories were from speaker to listener and told and retold with passion and personalisation.

Tabloids tell stories sold as truth, when in truth, they barely hang onto even a thread of it, ever oblivious to a thing such as respecting privacy.

The film industry has a massive audience, where a whole cast and crew centre around acting out entire stories to feed our imaginations and hearts.

We love to witness the trials and tribulations, celebrations and wins of others. Our primitive brain feels the emotions and it’s only different by degrees to experiencing the feelings that arise in relation to our own stories.

Stories are so powerful they can nourish and heal even old wounds.

One of my favourite ways to receive a story is in confidence within a listening partnership, empathy buddy or friend. These snippets of a person’s lived experience give so much food for thought. It has the power to both consciously and unconsciously help our brain to re-order our understanding of ourselves and the world.

I feel nourished by witnessing another’s story, as well as telling my own story, when it is received with empathy and compassion. Often that sharing can give me a great boost!

5. Appreciation

I’ve heard appreciation as being likened to a tonic. Tonics tone and strengthen. They build up and increase resilience. Nourishment that touches on our sense of worth. It gives us the motivation to keep doing the great thing we’re doing.

For if nobody ever notices, or comments, or shows in any way that it’s enhancing their life and worth the effort, the will to continue wains.

For example, I am well aware that having a partner who does all the cooking is an absolute privilege. I’ve also noticed that he has even more of a spring in his step for doing the thing he loves when it is noticed and appreciated. I can’t help but say, ‘it smells so good’, ‘it looks amazing’, it tastes so delicious’, and enquire into how it came about through a combination of his creativity and access to ingredients.

But let’s face it, it’s not always the case that the children appreciate everything on the table at mealtimes! However, now that my children are almost all teens, I can see that genuine modelling has rubbed off. Their eyes light up, or they take delight in their own meal preparations, even exclaiming their delight.

It is often the case that appreciation from others may not be free flowing, even if it is contributing positively to life. At these times I like to check-in and ask myself what I appreciate about this act which I have taken.

And it does rub off. Feeling those appreciation vibes draws in more of the same!

What can you explicitly appreciate about how something has enriched your life today?

Nourishment comes in many forms often relating to whatever it is we may be lacking. Some basic human needs are rest, connection, belonging, empathy, and appreciation. Consider what you need beyond great nutrition in order to feel fully nourished today.

If you'd like some help with this, I love to work with home-educating parents who need to find more ways to nourish themselves. I offer deep listening with coaching that empowers action, so that you can resource yourself and put more energy and passion into what really matters to you. I also create bespoke herbal medicine prescriptions which nourish and restore physical, mental and emotional capacity.