Merry Christmas!!!! We wish you a wonderful Christmas. This Christmas holiday was a wonderful one, this is the first Christmas where my son was aware and we did a number of activities this year.

We went to

• Landmark Beach 
• Zoo
• Park
• Nike Art Gallery
• Baking

I heard about the mindscape museum from the founder of Key Academy and I was so glad we found the place. We've been there twice since we found the place and I am just here to pay it forward by telling you all about this amazing space in the heart of Lekki phase 1! 

Ambulance

Earlier this year the people at BBC Pidgin came to our home and did an interview. They were talking to stay at home mums and trying to understand making the decision we made. They spoke to 3 people and I was one of them.

I was so grateful and glad that I was able to feature in the video.

Watch the video here https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/tori-49110799 

What are your thoughts?

Hello Everyone,

As you might know I am a stay at home mum and i've been for almost 3 years now. In the video below, I share my experience on how I made the difficult decision to become a stay at home mum.

If you in the phase of making the decision, give yourself some time and know that you are not alone!

https://youtu.be/7oTN2VSWg0g




I hope you enjoy the video.

"Do homeschoolers go on break?"

I have always wondered about this question. In our homeschool we have 2 days in a week for free play (Tuesdays & Thursdays) and that's because I know how vital free play is to a growing child which is why we incorporated into our schedule.

Why are there mid-term breaks? and long holidays? In a traditional school, I think because children spend most of their time in school they have those breaks to ensure that they get to spend more time with their parents or they feel that after the long weeks of academic work and learning children need a break from the stress of homework, preparing for exams, writing exams etc. so they need to do other things asides from academics to relax.

Thinking about this deeply, is there really a time a child is not learning?

In a homeschooling setting, we are the parent, we are the "teacher" so I think the break should be more for the parent right? But since there is no break from parenting, I don't think there is every a break from homeschooling.

Like I read in Wild+free book, "homeschooling is like enhanced parenting."

While we may not be able to take a break, we can only choose to take things slow on some days and take as much me-time as we can to help us rejuvenate.

It was mid-term season this past week and we took the opportunity to take things very slowly by planning 3 fun trips out of our regular routine and while I should be able to say that it was a good break, it wasn't because it was more exhausting for me but I drew energy for how much fun my son had.

Here are some of the things we got up to!

Monday: We went to Upbeat! There wasn't so much to do there as I didn't want to jump so he had to play at the soft play area which he got tired of real quick



Next: We went to Landmark Beach. This was so much more fun for him because he could swim and jump in the bouncing castle and they had another play area for kids! It was indeed fun.





Finally we went to Mindscape museum and this place is the bomb.com and I am coming back to do a proper review post of that place! Can't wait to share!






What are your thoughts on mid-term break? Do you go on breaks in your homeschool?

1. Choose something you are passionate about that also has a workaround; I love photography, I have always loved photography, but the demands of being a photographer is a lot and cannot work with me being a stay at home mum. There are events you have to go for, outdoor shoots etc This is why I decided to choose a niche of photography that offers me the flexibility to be a full-time mum and a part-time photographer. Product photography. In this line of photography, I don’t have to attend meetings, see my clients, they drop their products off and pick up when I am done. I shoot my products at night when my son is in bed and it’s a win-win for everyone.

2. Put in some structure: The structure I put in place is this: I created a website, put my prices on there and on my Instagram- this greatly reduces the amount of back and forth on pricing. I give myself about five working days to deliver a job and I communicate that to the client. The client arranges for drop off,  picks up and anyone that wants a meeting will have to choose between Tuesdays and Thursdays(the days I don’t homeschool) . When you communicate these in writing the client knows that it’s your policy and they will abide by it.

3. Be good at what you do: When you are good or keep improving at what you do when you put all these structures, the client won’t mind having to actually ‘wait’ for you or want you to be their go-to person.                                                                                                   
4. Put yourself out there: The goal of the business at the end of the day is to make money right? You have to also do the work that it requires to put yourself out there. When you are a stay at home mum and you are mostly almost home, you have to leverage on social media. Learn what you need to learn to ensure you make your social media pages appealing, use the time your children are in school or when they go to bed (If you do this once a week, in 4 weeks you would have made some progress), talk to everyone about your business and let them patronise you, bad as e bad, small change will enter.
5. Don’t be desperate: Don’t be in the place of desperation. People can smell it from a mile away. Desperation will come from you being too quick to give a discount because you want to make a sale, overly reminding a client that says “I will get back to you” all these things show. When people sense your desperation they would most likely not want to do business with you. Be confident in yourself, your value and your price and let it ooze out of you!

6. Where you can, give knowledge for free: In the social media world, some people might say content is king but I beg to differ, I would say loyalty is king. Serve people without strings attached and you’d be amazed how these people who now love you will market whatever you decide to sell.                                                                             

Hi People,

We were so excited for the independence day, I was particularly excited because it meant I would get to introduce Nigeria to my toddler and today, you can learn what we did today;

Welcome back to our  52 weeks theme-based toddler homeschooling series! Welcome back to our  52 weeks theme-based toddler homeschooling series! This week we are going to be exploring Nigeria!

Get in some sunshine and read a book in the park

 This "My Nigeria" book talks about the people, culture and places in Nigeria and in this series this was the one that was toddler friendly as it had more relatable images and simpler facts about Nigeria.

Simple facts you can read to them

He was able to identify some of the foods.

• Bottle 
• Green glitters or random items (not food colouring) 
• Cotten wool 
• Water 

Green white Green

 What is needed?

• 2 small bowls 
• Tong
• Waterbeads (or any green loose item) 

Mess is expected

Opportunity to learn to clean up after yourself

• Green coloured rice 
• Flour
• Tray 
• Different items for play 

• White square cardboard
• Craft stick
• Glue 
• Green paint
• pain brush 

 My son can do some of these things himself now, so I let him. I start by showing him and doing a few strokes then he takes over, however he then expresses it is totally acceptable.

Our creations for that morning.

This talks about the making of Nigeria, abit too advanced for toddlers but suitable for like 6-7

• Garri (got the idea from my time @familymeetups) 
• Cornflour 
• Water with drops of green colouring 
• A Tray to Mix 
• Gloves if you don't want your hands stained 
• Love for your child(Ren) because what are you doing mixing garri and cornflour together for?

Method:

• If you use 2 parts of garri use one part corn flour and add water till your desired 'sand' look. You get?
• So, pour the garri on a tray, open it like a doughnut and add the cornflour, mix mix mix till, then open like a doughnut and add water little by little till you get your desired sand look alike

Science experiments with green colour:
What we needed?

• Baking soda 
• Blue & Yellow food colouring 
• 2 small bowls
• Vinegar

Watch them marvel at it. We did this about 3 times!

 Put the 2 colours in the different bowls, and pour them out together on a tray and see how they mix to form green!

The last book in the series is about the early history.

Magnet and pins

Outdoor evening walks