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Remote Job Opportunities For Stay-At-Home Mums
Remote Job Opportunities For Stay-At-Home Mums
Mothers who quit their jobs or businesses to care for their children full time, often wonder how best to keep themselves busy and distracted beyond chores and motherhood and equally have some financial safety net. The good news is, the 21st century has come with continuously evolving modernity and many perks that make life easier. Remote jobs are one of such perks. So many organizations are incorporating remote work options into their structure. Working remote jobs can be a huge breath of fresh air for SAHMs. It can add a little zag to their linear way of life and financial security.
Stay-at-home mums who want to develop a financial safety net can consider any of these 10 remote job opportunities that offer decent to high pay:
Transcription: This involves transforming audio or voice information to written format. This can be audio recordings, or podcasts You can start working with your phone if you don't have a laptop yet. A good listening skill is a huge requirement to be successful in transcription, as verbatim writing is mostly the goal here. Some skills needed for transcription are speed typing, accuracy, good spelling, grammar and punctuation, computer proficiency, strong concentration, and time management skills. Some companies that hire transcriptionists include: Go transcript, Transcription for Everyone, 3Play Media VoxTab, Scribie
The pay is average and you can earn as high as $20 per hour.
Data entry: Data entry is the process of automating data by inputting them into the computer. This could be financial reports or research data. Data entry is one of the most high in-demand remote skills. You would need to have some skills like meticulousness, research and data collection, time management etc. Understanding softwares like Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc is equally important. You can find data entry jobs on Freelancer Jooble Upwork
Virtual assistance: A virtual assistant does the same job as an administrative assistant but through virtual media. Tons of people seek out virtual assistants every day to help them with mundane and even complex tasks. This could be replying emails, schedule management, file organization etc. Skills required are organization, time management, communication, critical thinking, writing, technical skills etc. Virtual assistant jobs can be found on Fiverr, Freelancer, Jooble, Flex jobs Upwork
Online Teacher/Tutor: Online tutoring is another lucrative venture. So many people now resort to online learning because of the flexibility and comfort it offers. You can teach virtually anything online, from educational courses, life hacks, do-it-yourself guides, and so forth. You can sign up on platforms like Chegg Study Skooli Tutor Point, Mathnasium, or start a YouTube channel. Either way, choose the method that suits you better.
Online Marketing: Marketing has long expanded from the typical brick-and-mortar style to various online formats. Having the passion to sell is not enough for marketing. You would need to take some courses to sharpen your skills. There are tons of platforms like Udemy, and Coursera that offer marketing courses. There are so many forms of marketing to choose from like digital marketing, content, social media marketing, and so forth.
Freelance writing: You can also make money from writing cool pieces for people. A good command of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and creativity are some of the things needed to start writing professionally. You can also improve your skills by taking professional courses. Platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, Jooble offer a plethora of opportunities for freelancers and potential clients. Start by signing up, setting up your profile (with your rates included), and then pitch to clients.
Customer Support: This job involves processing complaints and issues related to products and services. A customer support specialist also provides clarity on the usage of products. You would need to have a good of customer service management and softwares like Trello,, Zendesk, Zoho Desk etc. Some soft skills required for the job are communication, problem solving, customer focus, time management, analytical skills, conflict resolution and empathy.
Content creation: Your creative abilities can earn you tons of money through content creation. Social media is the rave of the moment and various platforms reward ingenious creators by ad revenue sharing. You can choose to focus on one platform or create content across all the social media platforms, if you get the hang of all of it. You can start with mom content on TikTok or anything else you feel passionate about. It is important to study the any social media platform you want to work with and know the ropes of the metrics. It will be frustrating to create content people don't engage with.
Graphics Design: A graphics designer is a person who uses a computer software or hand to create designs, images or pictures for personal or commercial consumption.
Graphics designers create ad bills, magazine covers, brochures and other design requirements. If you decide to venture into graphics designing, you'd have to acquire the skills required for it and have a strong portfolio that will covince potential clients. You can find graphics design jobs on Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr
Web development: If you're on the techy side, you can consider web development. This is basically developing a website for the internet. A lot of technical skills are needed for web development. Aspiring web developers need to have skills like HTML/CSS, JavaScript, SEO and so forth. Check out courses for web developers like Coursera, Udemy, Hubspot etc.
The opportunities in the world are endless and you only have to be creative and go after what you want however it is important to note that if you are being realistic being a SAHM and combining work is just like moonlighting. Therefore, you should aim to make the most out of what you want to do. A friendly advice would be to pick niches in high demand, develop the skills needed, and search for jobs. You should also keep in mind that the job market is super competitive and jobs won't fall on a platter. Hence, go easy on yourself when your job search efforts are futile. Also, build an online presence. You never can tell, your dream job might come knocking on your door.
Get a FREE chapter of my book Free to fly: How to thrive as a stay-at-home mum here. You can also place your order Here

Time Management Tips For Stay-At-Home Mums
SAHMs spend a great deal of time mentally, physically and emotionally running the household. This leaves very little time for personal affairs. A repetitive cycle of household chores with no personal breaks may inadvertently lead to mental exhaustion or depression. Most SAHMs complain that they are almost always neck deep in home management, that they can't seem to find time for anything else. The solution lies in artfully balancing everything on your plate. How to find this balance is often where the problem lies.
Most people struggle with time management. It is a different kind of struggle for SAHMs, as it is easy to unintentionally get engrossed doing household chores. Time management involves a lot of commitment and discipline to enforce.
SAHMs can implement these tips to manage their time better.
Set a goal: To achieve anything, it is pertinent to have a goal to work with. Becoming a better time manager won't out rightly be easy. Achieving the set goal is easier, when broken down into milestones. You can start with milestones for three days or a week and gradually up it to a month.
Create and stick to a daily schedule: Schedules would help to keep you in check. Without them, you can end up being all over the place with nothing impactful happening. Start your day by outlining what you have to do, whether it's cooking or cleaning. List recurring tasks and add one-off tasks as they come. You can break them down in stick notes and place them where you can see them often, so acting haphazardly reduces to the barest minimum and you get to achieve so much.
Create a scale of preference: Most mothers tend to have a superhero complex, so they end up juggling a lot of things together. Putting activities or chores on a scale of preference would help you finish them faster and even achieve more than what you planned to do. Prioritize activities that have more importance. You can scale them by value, resources involved to carry them out or urgency.
Set logical time limits: Without restraints, spending too much time doing one thing becomes imminent. Logical time limits help to curtail impulsiveness, overperformance or underperformance. Use alarms, reminders or stick notes to help keep you on track. Here's a good hack to increase your speed: estimate the time it takes you to normally finish your chores, take 10 or 15 minutes away from the time and try to work with the remaining time. The end result s an increase in speed, which is a win for you.
Avoid multitasking: It can be tempting to do too many things at a time. Taking on too many tasks can cause extreme fatigue in the long run. Perform tasks that can be handled without tiring your body. Finish one task before moving on to the next. Even when you don't finish your tasks on time, don't beat yourself up. You are still human after all, not Robocop.
Deal with difficult tasks first: Difficult tasks can seem exhausting and scary at first. The best way to tackle them is to start with them first. Duties like this should be tackled first, in order to eliminate procrastination. Difficult tasks should top your scale of preference as they are often more important.
Work on similar tasks together: To avoid unnecessary repetition, work on similar tasks together. For instance: you have chores to do in the kitchen, finish up everything kitchen related before moving to the next task. This is another hack to finishing your chores faster.
Learn to shelve certain tasks: Certain tasks are unimportant in the grand scheme of your daily schedule. Learn to shelve them till the next day or when it's really important to do. If such tasks don't top your scale of preference, leave them till then when they are really important.
Create a break time: Being a stay-at-home mom, means the bulk of domestic work falls on you. Daily activities for mothers in this category tend to have a rinse and repeat pattern. They also tend to complain of fatigue quite often. Achieving a lot with your time will be a mirage if you're physically in bad shape. That is why taking intermittent breaks is really important. Periodic rests will make you rejuvenated and more efficient.
Have an accountability partner: Sometimes, self-will is not enough. So many people struggle with procrastination and often cannot get anything done. This is where getting someone who has your interest at heart, to hold you responsible comes in. Have someone you can report your daily progress and even relapses to.
Closing Thoughts
Becoming better at time management will not happen in one swoop. Like the good ol' saying, "practice makes perfect". Apply these tips over and again till the change you want to see starts happening. As a stay-at-home mom, always have it in mind that you deserve a life beyond chores and childcare. Build friendships, develop hobbies and have as much fun as you can.

How to Homeschool in Nigeria || Step-by-step guide to Homeschool in Nigeria
Introduction:
Homeschooling is a form of education that involves parents taking an active role in educating their children at home. This could be done by the parent, a tutor, or any other person who has the capacity to give quality education to the child or children to be homeschooled. Nigeria is a developing country by development standards and the state of education in the country falls short of the optimum global standards.
Primary education is free in Nigeria, but a large number of children remain out of school. According to UNICEF, 10.5 million children aged 5-14 years are not in school and 61 percent of 6-11 year olds regularly attend schools. Despite the many challenges that education in Nigeria faces, citizens still staunchly believe in getting an education the traditional way. The concept of homeschooling remains alien to the average Nigerian. Although it gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a lot of people still don’t understand how to really Homeschool.
A handful of Nigerians are becoming open to the idea of homeschooling and advocates for the movement have sprung up in recent times. Nigerian parents who seek to try out homeschooling for whatever reason can follow these steps:
Prepare psychologically with your child: If you are going to personally homeschool your children, you'd need to adequately prep yourself mentally and emotionally. It can be draining and breakdowns are inevitable. For a child who has been accustomed to a traditional school setting, homeschooling will be a new ball game. This can be mentally disruptive for the child involved. It's best the change comes slow and steady, to avoid disorientation and cognitive dissonance. This is called Deschooling. It is important to take it one step at a time.
Understand the laws: Homeschooling is neither legal nor illegal in Nigeria. It hasn't gained traction among the Nigerian populace yet. There are no rules governing it. However, it is still important to know how the law around education in Nigeria works.
Choose a homeschooling method: While homeschooling, some families might choose to implement the curriculum-free type of education. Some families can also choose to adopt different teaching methods or philosophies including classical education, Montessori method, Charlotte Mason education, thematic approach, or school at home. It's best practice to pick a method that will effectively enhance your child's learning experience.
Create a Budget: Schooling at home has its own costs. It can be cheaper than sending your child to a traditional school and it can also be more expensive depending on the method of homeschooling you use. What will be different is that you don’t have to bring a bulk of the money at once, you can space what you purchase per time. You will make an initial investment which would go into getting resources for the learning of the child involved. Books, visual aids, technology, subscriptions, etc. are some of the other things you will spend on. Find a list of what you might need for your homeschooled child. Make estimations and come up with a final budget.
Set up a conducive learning area: Effective learning requires a conducive environment. From the dining area in your home to a dedicated homeschool room, you can create a learning area. Ensure the space has good ventilation and maximum lighting. You would want to create a space that feels like their own with better access to their learning resources.
Plan the homeschool calendar: A typical Nigerian school calendar has 3 terms or semesters. Since homeschooling focuses on individualized learning, a calendar that accommodates the child's needs should be created. You can make each term long enough to be on par with your child's learning speed or run with the status quo.
Develop a curriculum: Curriculums help to plan your child's learning experience and progress. Nigeria runs the 6-3-3-4 education system— 6 years for primary education, 3 years for junior secondary education, 3 years for senior secondary education, and 4 years in university. The National Education Research and Development Council (NERDC), is in charge of curriculums for primary and secondary education. They stipulate subjects that should be taken by the pupils or students during the course of their schooling. You can get a copy of the latest curriculum from them or develop yours. If you choose to go with yours, ensure it caters effectively to everything your child should know. One of the beauties of homeschooling is the flexibility it offers and you have the freedom to choose the curriculum you use for your child(ren's) education.
Observation & Evaluation: Observation and evaluation are important in your homeschooling journey, especially from preschool years to high school. You can start by observing what your child is learning and measuring progress as they grow older. An evaluation can be done by you or an external party. This provides feedback on how well your child is progressing.
Extracurricular activities: Extracurricular activities afford the child the opportunity to have additional learning experiences that go beyond the walls of organized learning. Developing a hobby, sports, a road trip, an excursion, games day, sightseeing, and fairs are all activities that offer extracurricular experience. You can always choose activities that align with your budget and create convenient timelines to execute them.
Take breaks: It is very natural to feel exhausted after a long stretch of activities. The comfort homeschooling offers doesn't diminish the need for learning breaks. You or your child's tutor can take breaks when the child feels worn out. Alternatively, break timelines could be set.
The prompt to take the homeschooling path could be from a variety of reasons. You should always consider why you have to do it for your child in the first place and always ensure that you go back to your "why" when things are not going as you expect them to go because while Homeschooling might be the road less traveled it doesn't mean it's the easier way out.
We offer free 30-minute consultations if you are new to homeschooling and you need clarity but if you need more than clarity and more hand holding we have more consultation offers for you here.
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How to effectively Homeschool in Africa
Homeschooling in Africa is still in its early stages when compared to somewhere like the USA that has over 50 years under her belt, while there are thriving Homeschooling communities in countries like Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, etc. we still have a dearth of information about Homeschooling in Africa. In this article I would be exploring, our strengths and our unique challenges in Africa with regard to Homeschooling, and how we can still thrive regardless of those challenges.
Introduction:
Let's start with defining what Homeschooling is; I always define Home education as parenting pro max because your child is in your face 90% of the time but that's just my own definition, a more acceptable one is creating an individualized education for your child. It is an alternative form of education where parents take on the primary responsibility for their children's learning. I believe Africans need to embrace Home education as a viable alternative to education and not just for individuals but as a way to curb the current out-of-school children or children from low-income families, but that is a conversation for another day.
Understand The Benefits of Homeschooling in Africa:
Understanding The Challenges of Homeschooling in Africa:
Understanding the legal and regulatory concerns:
Understanding how to map out your child's education in Africa:
For you to make Homeschooling effective in Africa, you have to understand the trajectory your child's education will take so you can know what you would like to do. In the USA for example, there are different ways you can use to record your child's education transcript and everything they get up to so it makes transitioning to traditional school/college seamless, however, in most African countries there are no set guidelines or regulations to follow so you have to be proactive as a parent.
In whatever African country you are, you have to understand where your child will transition back into the traditional schooling or the exams needed to write to get into the university and prepare for that. I know in Nigeria, we write an exam after Primary 6, After Jss3 and SS3 (Jamb & Waec) to enter the university. You have to make a plan ahead to know where you will transition them and prepare them for those exams if you want to.
Understanding the need for assessment and record keeping:
Understanding the need for advocacy & recognition:
What are your thoughts on how Homeschooling in Africa can be effective?

Review Update: Mindscape Museum (2023) || There has been an update
It's 2023 and it's been a couple of years since we visited Mindscape museum last.
I've been going to Mindscape on and off since 2019 and I've seen different forms of them since then and one thing that is a constant is IT'S AN ABSOLUTELY LOVELY PLACE.
One of the spaces I've given 5 cuddly loves, not because they don't have their shortcomings but because the value outweighs the shortcomings.
They have upgraded since the last time I went there, here are some of the things that changed.
1. They upgraded some of the exhibits. Removed some (bank, law court) and replaced with Town Hall, imaginative play area (the blue blocks space) they also added the Nigeria map section. Those knobs when pressed tell you a bit about the state pressed. How cool is that?
2. They have minders that are present but not intrusive. I think part of what they stand for is independent play so they are around watching the kids but not interfering with their play.
3. There's someone to take you around if it's your first time in the space. They will show you around (I saw them do for 2 people while we were there)

What I didn't like
What I didn't like was that the prices have gone up slightly. But I mean, it's understandable because Nigeria is Nigeriaing at the moment.
The other thing I didn't like or should I say they can do better is refreshing the spaces or having their staff be a bit more hands-on with the utilization of each space (not necessarily with the kids) e.g in the restaurant there is a staff giving the kids money before they have to pretend play or something like that. That way the goal of each space will be achieved with the kids.
Price
Children 3 and above 4,500
Children 12 months to 35 months 2,500
Parents Free
Nanny 3000
They want to encourage you as the parents to be involved so you pay extra if your nanny is the one in charge of your kids.
I love what they are about and I'm definitely going back. If you are looking for midterm Waka. You're welcome and like I said, it's worth a trip from the mainland.
Location: Lekki Phase 1. Map is correct!.
Watch the video here

10 Theme-based activities to keep your kids engaged
Theme-based activities that will keep your kids busy and engaged.
10 simple activities that keep your kids engaged.
Bookmark for days when you need ideas.
Picked these 10 activities from different themes, now imagine you have 40+ themes and each theme has 12 activities. Will you run out of ideas?
Now, walk to the link here to order your themes so you don't have to run out of ideas again! (See what I did there?)
How do you keep your kids engaged?

Essential Homeschool Resource List || Educational resources you need in your home if you have kids
General List
Paper Clips
Cloth Pegs
Rubber Bands
Playdough
Stickers
Syring
Kitchen tongs
Toothpick (Can be coloured)
Paper tapes
Wooden Blocks
Marker
Dice
Shaving Foam
Cotton Buds
Ice Tray
Cupcake Pans
Whisk
Chalk
Popsicle Sticks
Perforator
Straws
Tweezers