Tag Archives: Parenting

Homeschooling – The Pros and Cons

March 26, 2019 By in Kids Section Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 23 Comments

After having the twins, I played around with the idea of homeschooling them. I had my reservations about the education system, and I knew some people in real life and online that were happily homeschooling. So I played around with the idea for a bit. Which is why the kiddies didn’t go to any childcare setting until they started Pre School at 3 years old. And before that, I never used any form of childcare and still haven’t except school. I wanted to be hands on with my kids from the start, and that is exactly what I have done for the past 5 plus years.

 

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The best of both worlds

Homeschooling is an amazing opportunity. I wish I could shake the hands of every parent/guardian doing this. It is a lot of work homeschooling a child. The amount of work involved is impossible to comprehend until you actually do it, so I can only imagine. I do teach my kids at home. We do school work almost everyday, except holidays and weekends. The kiddies enjoy reading, so we do a lot of that. We also practice our spelling, writing and numbers. So they get the best of both worlds – Studying at home and at school.

 

Homeschooling – The pros for us

Like I said, I found the whole idea of Homeschooling very appealing, and I considered doing it. The reasons why I found homeschooling appealing are –

 

  1. I liked the flexibility – Being able to set our hours and travel when we want to made me want to homeschool the kids. Homeschooling will enable us work to our own schedule and do what would be convenient for us.

2. Learn at our pace – My kids are very academic, so being able to learn at their pace would be great. Not having to worry about the pace of 28 other children would be great.

3. Set up our own curriculum – This is a big one for me. The idea of learning what I feel is relevant for their age group and ignore things they have no business knowing about. Obviously, they would be learning what their peers are learning in school and more. But no topics I feel they shouldn’t be learning.

 

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Homeschooling – The cons for us

For me, the cons outweigh the pros at the moment, which is why the kiddies are in a lovely primary school a few minutes away. Here are the cons for me –

 

  1. Dealing with isolation – I feel like my kids would be isolated if I homeschool now. I don’t drive, so being out and about isn’t easy. Even if I did drive, we would still feel isolated in a homeschool setting.
  2. The Kiddies love school – They love school so much. They are very happy to go everyday and they look forward to the holidays as well. So homeschooling won’t be the best idea for them as they love to socialise with other kids. The whole school setting works for them.
  3. A lot of work – Homeschooling is a lot of work like I said earlier, and the kids being in school helps me work and stay on top of chores, and so on. As a work from home mummy, I do most of my work while the kids are in school, so homeschooling won’t work for us now.

 

In conclusion

The cons of homeschooling outweighs the pros, which is why we didn’t go down the homeschooling route. What are your thoughts on this? Do you homeschool your children? What are the pros and cons for you? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. Let’s chat.

Thanks for reading. Have a lovely day.

 

 

 

Play-Doh Fun with the Kiddies

February 26, 2019 By in Kids Section Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 18 Comments

Half term is over and the kiddies went back to school yesterday. It was a very busy half term week with us making the most of the lovely sunshine. We spent plenty of time outdoors with the twins riding their bikes and scooters. We also visited a soft play centre and our local playground. The kids enjoy being outside, especially my son. He could spend the whole day outside if I let him. My daughter on the other hand loves the outdoors but would be happy to stay indoors all day if I wanted too.

I enjoyed the time outdoors myself and I am seriously missing them now that they have resumed school. Always good to make the most of the holidays when they come. Are you in the UK? How was your half term week?

 

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The kiddies also spent time playing with their new Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Set. They enjoyed making donuts and all sorts of Play-Doh food. It was fun to watch them in their element, it never gets old.

 

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They made a proper mess of the floor but it was worth it. They played with the set for almost 2 hours. I was amazed at how much attention and determination they put into creating Play-Doh creations. Normally, they play with a new toy for a few minutes (an hour tops if it is a great toy) for the first time, before tossing it away for something else, but this was different. I am not too surprised because I know how much they love playing with Play-Doh, but I think their love for the brand has increased since they started primary school.

They play with Play-Doh a lot at school as it helps with the pencil grip. My 5-year-old son previously had issues with that like many boys his age do, but he has now improved massively. His handwriting is also a lot better now which is amazing.

 

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Are your kids fans of Play-Doh? Have they tried the Kitchen Creations Set?

The Truth about Freelancing as a Parent

October 2, 2018 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , , 13 Comments

Although making the transition from a 9 to 5 to being a freelancer is worth it, the journey can be a tough one. Freelancing requires a lot of hard work, discipline and perseverance. And juggling freelancing with parenthood can be a handful to deal with.

There are, of course, a lot of upsides to being a freelancer. You get to spend more time with your family and never miss out on special events or moments with the people you love and care about.

Be this as it may, this doesn’t mean that you should close your eyes to the realities that freelancing presents especially as a parent.  Here are some truths about freelancing as a parent that you need to know.

 

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  1. You may experience dry spells

Unlike a 9-to-5 where you know what your take home every month is, income from freelancing projects are hardly stable. There will be months when your freelancing income is great while some months may be frighteningly low.

As a parent with a lot of responsibilities, fluctuation in your income may prevent you from making sure that you meet your family’s needs. Your income may go up and down but your responsibilities remain the same.

Depending only on freelancing projects won’t be enough. It will be a wise decision to create multiple sources of income, especially passive income. This will give you something to fall back on when you’re experiencing a shortage of projects for the month.

 

  1. Flexibility of freelancing gives you the opportunity to be there for your children when they need you

Unforeseen situations like accidents or sudden illness can mess with your normal work schedule and it may be difficult to get permission from the office if you work in a 9-to-5. But as a freelancer, you have the flexibility to take care of your children when they’re ill and injured.

The only downside to such sudden unforeseen circumstances is that when the payments from clients don’t come in on time you may be stuck in a tight corner.

 

  1. Clients can pay late and it will disorganize your plans

In order to ensure steady income, freelancers have to make sure that clients keep to their financial commitments. However, sometimes clients may not keep their word and the payment comes in late. Some clients even fail to pay and you may get nothing at all.

This is a frequent occurrence in the freelance industry and this can negatively affect the financial responsibility to your children.

 

  1. You’ll have to contend with shortage of time

It takes a lot of discipline to be a full-time freelancer and you need to be especially phenomenal at managing your time. When you’re a parent your time is divided between your children and your freelance work. This may mean that after taking care of your energetic kids you need to make do with the little time left to dedicate to your work.

However, with a little adjustment and proper arrangement of priorities it is possible to effectively manage your time with your work and with your children.

 

How do you freelance and parent at the same time? Do you deal with any of these issues?

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