22/12/2025
You see ehn, I was just trying to cook dinner. That’s all. Ordinary fish stew. But somehow, I ended up in an impromptu biology class — led by my 5-year-old son, with Grandma providing moral support and side commentary.
Now, a bit of background: every time we buy fresh fish, I let my son “inspect” it. It started as a way to keep him busy while I cook, but it’s become our little science ritual. He checks the scales, opens the mouth, peers into the gills like a mini professor with invisible lab goggles.
We also live in an area that's part of a bird migration route — so birdwatching has become our evening hobby. Daily, birds of all shapes and sizes land in our compound to drink water or build nests. So yes, nature is our backyard teacher.
Anyway, back to the fish.
I just brought out this fine fresh tilapia when my son, after examining its teeth, pointed to the fins and said confidently in Yoruba,
“Mummy, ẹsẹ ẹja ni wọ̀nyí”
(“Mummy, these are the fish’s legs.”)
I looked at him and started rethinking what I'd been taught in school, Grandma — who’d been paying attention — exclaimed, “Ah! That’s true o! Why didn’t I ever think of it?”
Then she launched into a full explanation based on our Planet Earth documentaries on YouTube: “They always show the fish standing on the seabed! It’s true now — those fins must be their legs!”
At that point, the kitchen became a classroom.
We talked about how every living thing needs a structure — bones, spine, water, balance — the whole thing. I showed him the fish’s backbone and compared it to his spinal cord.
Then I told him something that made him pause:
“When you were in my tummy, you looked like a tadpole too. You even lived in water for nine months.”
He looked completely amazed. “So I used to swim inside you?”
I said, “Exactly! Maybe that’s why you love showering with water all over your face — eyes open like you’re still under the sea!”
Grandma just burst out laughing. “Ah, science can sweet like this? When we were small, they didn’t teach us like this o!”
And she was right. Growing up, science was all about memorizing notes, not discovering wonder. But standing there, fish in one hand and curious child in front of me, I realized — this is what learning should feel like.
Real. Funny. Messy. Smelling faintly of tilapia.
So yes, dinner took a little longer, and my kitchen still smells like Lagos Island fish market. But my son learned about anatomy, balance, and evolution — in Yoruba, no less.
02/10/2025
There we were seated at the dining table and watching a documentary on the recent infrastructural development in Nairobi, Kenya.
It was an overview of what some sections looked like prior to what it is now.
Along the line, my son asked a question. I wasn't sure if I heard him correctly and asked him to repeat his question. He said 'why are people sleeping on the floor in the market?' Don't they have houses to sleep in? Besides they should be sleeping on a bed.
At that moment I was filled with pride he had finally come into his own. I knew he was making an observation while asking a question at the same time. It was a good time to answer his question.
I began by praising him for observing and asking telling him it's a key quality trait for developing solutions to a social problem. I explained that life does not travel in a straight line. While an unfavorable situation might not be pleasant, it can be overcome from the mind coupled with doing what is right to overcome a challenging state.
If this is the only thing I have achieved through homeschooling, I am glad but I know there are still many more surprises in store.
19/09/2025
Is there a technique for teaching young kids to read? None that I know from experience as an unschooling mom. Just pick up a book and read to your child.
The only thing stopping you is if you never cultivated a love for reading. It'll be difficult to replicate this culture in your child as kids learn through observation.
Keep it simple.
Buy short stories to begin with. Start small and gradually scale as the months go by.
I have seen books on 'teaching kids how to read'. There's nothing technical or difficult about reading. Pick up a book and read.
Start small,
Start slow,
Start from somewhere.
You'll eventually fall into a routine that works for you and your child.
No need in reinventing the wheel.
Your child will take it up from there.
15/08/2025
We've been busy for the past few weeks. It's a bull run on the Nigerian stock exchange and the situation presented the learning experience he requires.
I have focused on giving him room to learn as much as he can about the market. This includes listening to a live webinar while playing.
It's gratifying to know how much he learns during his daily nighttime conversation over the phone with my younger sister who lives in another country. He gives her a lowdown of what we bought while alerting her on stocks that are at a current high.
There are discussions on what stocks were recommended for the week. I recently opened up a minor account for him. We bought a stock for him that's appreciated by 150% within four weeks.
Tracing has been pushed to the back burner as he has commenced freehand writing on plain paper.
Let's see where we go from here.
31/07/2025
Waiting
No one tells you the role of waiting or how important it is
The beauty of waiting and how it can test your patience
At the start your urge is to cajole or bribe
You pull out all the tricks in your hat but your child does not budge
Try hurrying them along and you'll hit a brick wall
Your child knows when he or she is ready for the next step
Not you
But the beauty of waiting for each milestone to occur naturally cannot be quantified
Because once you learn how to wait
You can be sure of the oncoming quantum leap that'll occur
So you're homeschooling and not familiar with waiting?
It's nature's best gift for a child
Don't hurry them along, just let them be
Children are limitless
I could wax an album on this
But waiting rewards your patience
Be still and wait.
15/08/2025
31/07/2025