We are still talking about multiple today. And on this occasion we want to show you how the arrival of twins, more than a reason for disorganization, it can become an engine that increases our energy and creativity. Today we will interview meninheira, stage name of Mónica Fragueiro Carrera, an artist dedicated to graphic design specialized in the development of educational materials, in addition, mother of twins who are educated at home with the homeschooling system.
Mónica Fragueiro is one of those people who become a reference in the field to which they dedicate themselves: be it as a blogger with Dálhe um conlinho, be it as a graphic designer with Educational Meninheira, or as a disseminator of home education with her Homeschooling Spain page. And all that, educating twins and running their own business.
You work at home and educate at home ... and on top of twins, are you superhuman?
I am a mother and that is the food that provides more super powers and more forces in the world. Our body provides shelter and food, see how powerful we are and the super powers we have.
What are the things that have brought you in your life to be a mother of twins?
I premiered as a mother with two babies, with many fears, many doubts, but perhaps in my ignorance I believed myself capable of many things, being a mother gave me more strength and certain assurances without theoretical foundations that allowed me to relate from newborns without having any idea of relactation, just following my instinct, that allowed me to question and reject the behavioral methods of sleep that were applied en masse at the time. I also made many mistakes of course, things that now with what I know would have changed. Having to care for two babies without having any idea of anything, accompanied by my husband who was evidently as novice as I taught, taught us, especially to relativize many things, not to drown in limits and no, to flow and let flow already to look for creative solutions to the new challenges that the two of us faced.
And as a mother my creativity grew, flourished and provided me with new forms of expression that I had not used before.
Are your daughters very similar in character or are they different?
When we learned that we were going to be parents twice, one of the things we knew from the beginning was that we were going to encourage each of them to develop their personality as an individual and unique being. None of the same clothes, nothing to address them as "the twins" or "the girls" or any other plural noun, seems like a bullshit, but it cost the family and friends to understand and do it. I do not know if it was because of this attitude of ours or because it simply had to be, they have demonstrated from day one that each one has their own personality very different from that of their twin sister, although it is true that as those have grown differences have been accentuated.
How would you define the relationship they have, is different from that of other brothers?
I think that intrauterine living with other people has to condition these relationships a lot and growing up with someone of your age must be a wonderful and enriching experience. They have stories that they have invented between the two and that the rest of the world does not quite understand but in general I think they do not have a different relationship between them or with the brother.
Do they have different friends and activities or do they do everything together?
They are aimed at the same activities for comfort and economy, but they have different friends and they don't always do everything together, they often have that need to do something alone, without their sister.
Does it make it easier for you to be at home with the same age?
Yes, much, very much! Although later they differ in specific things (like elaborating a lapbook following their interests), our curriculum is the same for both. Then each one has its strengths and you also have to vary the way of explaining some things, but preparing the same material for both of them is a lujazo.
Do you work a resume similar to the official one?
Yes, we always have an eye on the official curriculum so as not to get away from it, simply because family schooling does not have to be eternal and also because if we want to access the standardized tests we must follow the official curriculum. But it is true that we enrich it with other things.
Meninheira Educational designs are wonderful. In Babies and more we have recommended them on many occasions. But we wonder how do you organize to find time to work with everything that involves educating twins and over taking charge of their learning?
I think I can say that I don't organize myself, I'm stealing bits of time here and there and I have the great luck of having a partner that deals with aspects of family life that are more ungrateful and that would consume me more time, such as Kitchen and house shopping. You have to learn to be flexible and seize the moment.
We thank meninheira the time you have dedicated to us with this interview about twins, education and entrepreneurship and tomorrow we will continue talking about the multiples, interviewing another mother and professional who will give us her vision about raising multiples with the context of assisted fertilization.
In Babies and more | "Travel notebook" for children of Educativos Meninheira, Christmas Notebook of Educativos Meninheira, Homeschooler Agenda for Educativos Meninheira
