The global scale and speed of the educational disruption from the global challenges is “unparalleled,” the United Nations said.

Overall well-being

Well-being, wellbeing, or wellness is the condition of an individual or group. A high level of well-being means that in some sense the individual's or group's condition is positive. According to Naci and Ioannidis, "Wellness refers to diverse and interconnected dimensions of physical, mental, and social well-being that extend beyond the traditional definition of health. It includes choices and activities aimed at achieving physical vitality, mental alacrity, social satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment, and personal fulfillment".^[1][2][3]

Well-being and the Home Learning Environment

A sense of wellbeing contributes to a good home learning environment. Parents who are able to create a sense of optimism in their family, in spite of what can be major difficulties or setbacks in finances, health or other circumstances, are more likely to create an environment in the home where children learn and flourish. Wellbeing’s Factsheet

Health and wellbeing are important at all times of our lives. Children and young people thrive in situations where they feel safe, secure and respected. Family and friends have a strong influence on health and wellbeing and shape the habits and behaviors which can last a lifetime.

Food and health

​​About food and health

As your child or young person matures and becomes more independent about their food choices they will learn about the many factors that can influence the choices they make.

These include cost, peer pressure, media, advertising, religious beliefs, culture and availability of foods due to the season. Young people will explore current ethical issues such as fairly traded goods and organic produce.

This information will help them to become better-informed consumers.

Primary

• Before putting the shopping away, ask your child if they can identify the foods that are high in fat, sugar or salt. Find out if they know what foods give them energy/build muscle and repair the body/help their bodies to work well and grow.
• When putting foods away, show your child what goes where on fridge shelves and why. Follow hygiene and safety advice.
• Encourage your child to make snacks for themselves and friends. For example, help them to work out how much fruit to prepare and which items to serve. Get them to think which drinks to offer and how to prepare and serve these.
• Look at the labels on fresh foods and see which countries they come from. Find these countries on a map of the world and talk about the journey they have taken to get to your house. Find out with your child what the weather is like in these countries compared to Scotland.
• Ask your child if the food/toy/item advertised looks anything like the real thing they have seen. What are the differences? Which one looks better? How did they feel about the advert when they saw the real item?
• Try working out a menu for the evening meal for a week, with the help of your child. Use the Eatwell plate to come up with a menu that gives variety and a balance of all the food groups.
• Using the menu created, go shopping with your child, enlist their help to only buys items that are on the shopping list. Get them to count how many offers they spot for things that are high in fat, sugar or salt.
• Look at foods sections for baby food/gluten free/vegetarian choices. Find out if your child can find specific foods around the shop that are for babies, gluten free or vegetarian products. Does your child know anyone who would need these foods and why won’t they eat some of the foods you have bought?
• Experiment with the brands you buy. Select a brand below or above your preferred brand. Have some fun and do a blind taste test together with your child. See if you can detect your favourite brand. Talk about the way it is packaged and advertised, does this influence your buying choice?
• Explore and celebrate different customs and festivals with your child. Ask them to think of the foods that they associate with significant festivals/events. Find out if they can think of other times that people have specific types of food as part of an event/celebration/ceremony.
• Read labels, look at packing and watch adverts on television and in magazines/online. What is the purpose of a sell-by date? How much is too much salt/fat/sugar in a product? Where is this information found?

Secondary

Third/Fourth level (S1 to S3)

• Set your child a challenge to produce a balanced meal for a set number of people, within a set budget and shopping for the ingredients themselves.
• Ask your child to do a safety check on the contents of your fridge to ensure foods are stored safely.
• Encourage your child to take notice of the standard of hygiene they can see before consuming food from an unknown source.
• Set your child a challenge of taking responsibility for planning a family meal suitable for vegetarians/food intolerance/specific allergy.
• Discuss the latest report on dietary advice/research findings and how this might/might not influence a change in eating habits.

Senior phase/post-16

• Encourage the consumption of a balanced diet by asking for help in preparing meals.
• Discuss difficulties such as changes in meal times due to studying/work/travel and what your child might do to cope with these and still eat a varied diet. 

Activities to promote well-being during home learning time. 

Considering the amount of screen time required for your children's virtual lessons. I also know that sometimes it can be really hard to find the time and motivation to do physical activities. We're in the process of creating some visual and theoretical materials for the students to help out in this regard. But I also want to encourage you to be a role model for your child and enjoy physical exercises with them.

Here you can find links with short activities that you can do as standalone activities, part of a routine, or even as a challenge for yourself, by repeating the workout and counting how many times you can do each exercise.

My recommendation will be to do a morning routine and repeat between your class time.

Hit like button if you will do them every morning or comment if you are planning to implement them in your daily schedule.

Warm-up basic routine. Good as a morning routine or basic warm-up for every activity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkBXzZVg9Zg
Are you into calisthenics or yoga? How about both? Mr. Stan's eight-stage workout will utilize everything from your core to your joints. It's also great as a warm-up before running laps around your home!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQkihJ8Z_TY
Get a "leg up" on the competition with Ms. Olga's workout! This routine will activate your thighs, core, and glutes, and pump up your strength and balance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SN-0-oiLn8
Namaste, EIS. Ms. Linda is here to take you through a six-minute yoga routine designed for athletes of all experience levels. It's time to stretch, breathe deeply, and find your inner peace!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLEyROUM5pI
Do you have time for a coffee break? Then you have enough time to kick off your morning with this energizing routine from Ms. Elena! She'll walk you through a full-body workout, from basic stretches to lunges, in under four minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQAyDKbfH88
Movement is the name of the game today. Featuring everything from jogging to kicks, Ms. Elena's compact workout routine will make you want to get off the couch and get your blood pumping!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KA22oKL2Wo

6 Apps to Kickstart Your PE and Keep your Child Motivated

Luckily for you, there’s plenty of kid-friendly apps that are sure to invigorate your child and put his energy into overdrive. 

1 – FIT Radio

(available for the iPad and iPhone)

There’s nothing like a fantastic playlist to get your child motivated and ready to play. We love the FIT Radio app that delivers a near-endless supply of lively music that’s designed to get your students moving. But this app offers more than just a spirited playlist

Coaching Tab: This option gives you the high-energy playlist you’re looking for, combined with cardio coaching. Choose from a variety of programs, like a bike, walk, HIIT, or run, and your virtual trainer will suggest a playlist that fits perfectly with the workout of the day.

Music Tab: This tab is like having a DJ on your iPad. FIT Radio supplies you with thousands of DJ mixes that are organized by genre, activity, BPM, etc. And did we mention they keep things fresh by offering up more than 150 new mixes each month?

Running Tab: Get your students motivated to hit the pavement by setting the pace and then choosing the perfect mix that’ll keep them running on pace. Set the pace manually, or let the app find your pace. We love that the running mixes give you the type of music you need to motivate and energize you as you make your way through a run.

This app will cost you in the form of in-app purchases, but you can try it out for free.

2 – Sworkit Kids

(available for the iPad and iPhone and Android devices)

One of the best things you can teach your students is that fitness doesn’t need to be a chore, and Sworkit Kids is a great way to drive that point home. This app allows you to create customizable workouts that target balance, agility, flexibility, and strength for your students age 7-14.

We like that this app uses kids to demonstrate the kid-friendly exercise routines that are super easy to follow, and changes things up enough to keep it interesting by mixing random exercises in with interval training. While the app’s instructions are clear and easy to follow, you’ll need to oversee the exercises to make sure your students are performing them correctly.

3 – YogaKids

(available for the iPad)

YogaKids is a great way to implement kid-friendly yoga into your PE curriculum. The best way to give this app a go is to try out of the different routes with names like beach, countryside, and jungle, or simply choose any of the 39 poses yourself.

We like this app because it comes with fun music and loads of exercises that are equally fun to do.

4 – FitnessKids

(available for the iPad)

Like YogaKids, FitnessKids (both developed by Sanse Boulevard S.L.) delivers exercises that are kid-friendly and easy to follow. Use this app to design a fun workout for your PE class, or let the animated characters show your kids how to perform the app’s 25 exercises.

We like that you can choose exercises that focus on aerobic capacity, coordination, and resistance to create a customized workout for your class.

5 – Iron Kids

(available for the iPad and iPhone)

When an app is created by the American Academy of Pediatrics, you can feel good knowing it meets the latest fitness standards for kids. Designed by a leading sports medicine physician, Iron Kids provides exercises that are designed to safely build strength, balance, and fitness to help kids excel in sports and prevent injury.

The simple, easy-to-follow video exercises target the core, the upper and lower body, and a number of tools help create custom workouts.

We love this app because it allows you to tailor your PE workouts and set goals for your class.

6 – PE Shake

(available for iPhone, iPad)

Sometimes it takes a few bells and whistles to get your students motivated and ready to give you their all, which is why PE Shake should part of every PE teacher’s arsenal. Here’s how it works: Shake your iPad and it brings up one of 100 PE warm-up exercises. Use it for inspiration, or let your students take turns ‘shaking it up’ to find another exercise or game.

They’ll love the surprise feature of the app. One tries and we’re sure it’ll become a staple in your warm-up/cool-down routines.