Christian Resources For Toddlers And Why I Love Them.

March 9, 2020

Being a Sunday school teacher has helped me to explore the world of Bible resources for kids and it's absolutely helping me to teach my son about God. Here are a few of my discoveries; ⠀

Disclaimer: All the resources mentioned involves screen time, I don't advocate for so much screen time even if it's the Bible but this is to give you great options for when you do what to allow screen time.

Jelly Telly (They are now called Minno): I don't subscribe to it but I have seen someone use it in their family and they highly recommend it and their kids are 10 & 8. (You can get for as low as $5/month and $50/year)

Superbook: I absolutely love Superbook because you can tell that they did a lot of research and ensured they maintained the accuracy of each story while putting in a futuristic twist to it that way they remain relevant. I also love how they have evolved over the years and put out excellent work! A whole playlist of their free episodes.

Veggie tales is also a classic that has evolved over the years, they continue to bring in fresh graphics, new twists while maintaining sound teaching of God's word. I love the songs, the characters, the lessons very applicable to life for the kids. (They have a youtube channel where they upload their videos)⠀

Saddleback Kids: I love them because as a church they created animated stories of the Bible and just retells the stories but makes it appealing to children. I am a sucker of excellence and they put in the work! Short, sweet and on point videos.

Apps:

Bible app for kids by youversion: Wow! I am constantly amazed by this app honestly. When you say they finish work, that is what it is. I can even explain it, you have to experience it yourself. My son is obsessed and this is the only phone time he is allowed on my phone and he knows.

Songs:

I have a playlist that might help.

Honorable Mentions:

Psalty the singing songbook! I love love love the songs from Psalty and I think they will forever be classics, we should learn and teach our kids, but I don't like that as a company they are not innovative and still living on past glory (maybe I am wrong but I have searched and they don't exactly have anything modern) but for the content, it's SOLID and that's the goal right? Right!

Bible Verses for toddlers: You can check that out here!

I hope this helps!

So you want to become a stay at home mum, here are things to consider || Stay at home mum in Nigeria

March 5, 2020

There are different circumstances that lead to people making the decision to become a stay at home mum and also there are different circumstances that families are in, let's look into that quickly.

Category 1: Some families the husband makes enough income to sustain them and even if the woman doesn't work or earn money as a stay at home mum, it won't make any difference.

Category 2: Some families the husband isn't earning a lot and the wife also isn't earning so much but if they spend on childcare, it won't make any sense. So, it makes sense for them to spend less on childcare if the woman decides to stay home and they would also need whatever extra income.

Category 3: Some families can't afford to lose an income but based on their values, the reality of where they live - it might make sense for one of the parents to stay home to focus on the children and it's really something they want to do.

This post is for every one of these categories, helping to see things you need to consider and questions you need to ask yourself to map out your strategy to become a stay at home mum;

Category 1:

Everyone in this category as much as it may seem like it's going to be easy, I still believe you need to plan. You might not plan as strictly as others but it's necessary.

Ask that your family pays you a salary (however little) You see that money that would've been spent on creche? Ask for a portion.
Make a list of the value you are adding to your family by being at home
Since you don't have to worry about making money, start thinking of things that can help you feel fulfilled as an individual and find ways to get involved without it hurting your family.
Based on your answers above, work on your personal development strategy. What do you need to be that person? what do you need to be good at? What online courses can I take? etc.
Save money and seek investment opportunities as your savings grow, because your family is taking care of everything doesn't mean you shouldn't save. You can build wealth gradually, the little drops will make an ocean.
As your little ones grow older, start asking yourself what you want to do with your life and plan accordingly.

6 truths no one tells you about starting a business as a SAHM

Category 2 & 3:

Before you quit your job, Have a plan!
Ask yourself these questions:
Do I have any savings? How much?
Have I identified what I want to do when I leave my job? - This is because in each of these categories they need extra income but if you don't need extra income right away, I will say give yourself about a year to find yourself or less if you find it early.
What do I need to start what I need to do? - What will my capital be? Do I need training? Do I need to intern? What exactly do I need? Write it down!
How much money do I need to save before I can comfortably leave?
Can I start this side business before I leave my job so I can know if it is viable?
Based on the answers from the questions above what realistic timelines are we looking at?
When you start making money from your business, save! no matter how little use apps like Piggyvest, Cowrywise etc. to save and invest.
Read this article things to consider before starting a business as a sahm

It's important to note a few things regardless of whatever category you fall;

When you become a stay at home mum, know that it's an amazing thing you are doing for your family. Own your journey, don't look over at the other women in envy but draw inspiration.
Don't let anyone put you down. All of the above takes work to even put it together, so know that it is valuable!
You will have to lower your standards abit for a while but know that it's not forever.
Explore new hobbies, start a blog, volunteer for a cause, whatever you decided to do make sure you enjoy the journey, it won't be forever!

I'm rooting for you! Why do you want to be a stay at home mum?

Please, let me know if this is helpful, share with someone!

children activities home schooling Review

Landmark Beach Review in Lagos || Places to take your kids to in Lagos

February 28, 2020

I've been to landmark beach 2 times and I think (not been to all the available beaches in Lagos) it's the most kids friendly in terms of them swimming inside the water more so because it is clean! ⠀
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The first time I went they had a children's day activity and everywhere was clean the children had fun, played and I knew I found somewhere we can be sneaking to on extra hard homeschooling days.. We paid 3k for that event I think, it wasn't a bad price for the value. I was comfortable to let my son, really play in the water. ⠀
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The next time we went it wasn't any special event and that was when I was hit with the real price. Lol. Although that day it wasn't as clean (see 3rd slide) as the first time we went the water was still clear and the place still had my heart. This second time, I went with a friend on a weekday and we were told we had to also pay to rent a seat and the beach was practically empty with plenty of empty seats available. I couldn't cry, dazz, when I knew that what I hoped will be a regular trip, cannot enter our budget. Lol⠀

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They have a lot of side attraction, games to play, swing etc.

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What I love about the place: ⠀
- Clearwater⠀
- Not so heavy tides ⠀
- Clean beach ⠀
- Children's play area ⠀
- Space for the kids to run around. ⠀

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What I didn't like; ⠀
- I had to pay for a seat when there was practically no one else at the beach.⠀
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What we spent; ⠀
2k/person adult ⠀
1k/child 5-12 Years
2k/seat We spent about 6k/7k ⠀

Update: Check out their pricing, some of it has changed since the pandemic

https://www.landmarkbeach.ng/beach-access-membership-pricing
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I would recommend the place absolutely for a fun family-friendly outing. I really wish there was a weekday less-traffic days package for some of us that are just going there for our children. ⠀
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Our verdict: 4.5/5 cuddly loves!⠀

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Homeschool Jan 2020: What were we up to? || Homeschooling in Nigeria

February 12, 2020

Yay!

Welcome to our Homeschooling update. When we started this year, I knew we couldn't give weekly update like last year because I didn't anticipate how much the holiday will affect our routine, It's still February and we have still not recovered but we are getting there slowly but surely.

I made a whole spreadsheet for the year in order to keep me accountable and so far we have followed it, I am actually happy about it, although we have seriously cut back on the number of activities we do during the day and there's been no pressure at all.

At the end of 2019, I walked the people in the homeschooling group on the basics of homeschooling and it got me thinking again about my philosophy on education what path we wanted to choose as a family and I think I finally decided on one. I think. Lol (You'd see it at the end)

I took lessons from choosing a path , 2019 homeschooling journey and used it while I was working on our plan this year and it made me make better decisions, focus on what was important and not fuss over what I thought it should look like in my mind. I shared in an insta live session on how I planned for the year and posted on Youtube

Themes we explored in January:

All about me
Home
Personal Health
Family

We had a great time and also squeezed in about 3 outings (Freedom Park, Nike art Gallery & Laterna Bookstore)

See Our Image gallery for January below (If you want me to share the exact things we did let me know) ;

"How many pom-poms can the hand hold?"

Make a face

Gross motor cards

Stones for painting

Out the face together

Family Sensory bin

Walk the road less travelled

Freedom Park

Laterna

Washing Hands

Making a car

Nike art gallery

Baking with Aunty Cakesbylonpe

Family Tree

Exploring the outdoors

Houses

The Making

Reading

Who is in your house

Catapult

So, I realised I am leaning more towards, unschooling and unit study educational philosophy, Let's see how that plays out.
What does your homeschool look like in 2020?