Fun, Brain-Based Activities For Kids

Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family? 

The work and family balance struggle is real!! With our girls being four and six years old, this requires constant attention and to be honest, it could be better. Stage 4 lockdown of Covid-19 made that extremely clear! For us, it’s about making the most of the time that our family of four, has TOGETHER.  

For us, that’s not weekends like it is for many, due to my husband owning a restaurant. For us, it’s skateboarding together at the skatepark on a Monday or Tuesday afternoon, or a bike ride along the local reserve. It might be having breakfast together at a favourite cafe, before school and kindy.  

Much of my Brain Essentials work is done once the kids are in bed but they’re quite helpful in the afternoons when I’m processing orders and getting My Amazing Brain books ready for the courier. I can see that once our youngest has started school, I’ll have the afternoons to work alone on my business but in the meantime, I’m making the most of the afternoons that she and I spend together. 

The drive: What challenges have you overcome? 

At the end of 2018, I decided not to pursue teaching work for 2019 so that I could focus entirely on Brain Essentials. Surprisingly, after doing that for a few months, I realised that I didn’t enjoy working alone and felt less productive than when I was fitting Brain Essentials around relief teaching and family life!  

I also realised that many of my epiphanies and ideas happened WHILE I was teaching, so I started relief teaching again and discovered that was a better balance for me. It meant I got to teach my then 5-year-old on a regular basis, which I loved, and if the ideas were flowing for the book, I would focus on writing it for a week or two instead of accepting teaching work. 

For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business? 

I’m really proud of the way that Brain Essentials is growing and I love promoting products that I have personally created. So the pros of this business are that I’m completely passionate and strongly believe in what I’m creating. I feel that this is my life’s purpose which is a great feeling. 

The cons can also be seen as pros! I am constantly having to learn new things in order to share my product. It was one thing to write a book but now that it’s printed I’ve had to learn marketing skills and better ways to grow my social media. This is not easy, but I love a challenge! The downside is having to wear ‘so many hats’ and trying to be the master of everything! 

I enjoy sourcing and creating visuals for my social media but at the same time, I don’t feel comfortable with the number of hours I’m spending on my computer and phone, which leads me to my hopes and dreams. 

Hopes and dreams: What next? 

I look forward to Brain Essentials expanding to include a marketing and social media expert so that I can spend more time connecting with customers and creating resources. I’m spending more time online than I personally believe is good for me so want to create more space for creativity, movement and nature.  

I am working towards My Amazing Brain becoming a well-known book and brand in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. I have several ideas in the pipeline for different versions which I plan to start writing later in the year, once our youngest has started school.  

In the meantime, I take pleasure in packing and posting every single book order that comes through the website. I still get excited every time another family buys the book and I’m completely focused on helping as many kids as I can, to grow their best brains! 


Visit the Brain Essentials website to learn more and follow My Amazing Brain on Facebook and Instagram. 

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