Gabourey Sidibe is planning to lie to her children by telling them she's a teacher instead of a movie star

Gabourey, 41, told PEOPLE: "There's a very strange thing where I'm a mom and I'm a mama bear, I'm protective of my kids, but because of what I do for a living, I kind of expose them to this bigger world that I hope that they never find out ...

" I really would like to hide ... the world from my children, and I will for as long as I can ...

"Everyone was like: 'Oh, do you let them watch you on TV?' And I'm like: 'First of all, my babies don't have screen time. Secondly, I'm just simply going to lie to them as long as I can about what I do for a living.

"I'm going to tell them I'm a teacher, and also, our household is very normal."

The actress admits it feels "scary" to share pictures of the twins on social media, but she does it so friends and family who live far away can keep up with how the family is getting on.

She added: "It is kind of scary to share them online, but also they're just so cute and we have family and friends in other states, and sometimes it's just easier to put things on [Instagram]."

Gabourey previously opened up about how the couple chose their children's names, telling Shutterstock: "Brandon always wanted to name a son Cooper, so we can call him 'Coop,' and Maya was named shortly before our baby moon to the Mayan Riviera in Mexico.

"Both twins have traditional West African middle names after members of my family ... We're excited for outfits and getting them dressed up, for sing-alongs, trips and to explore, and raising them to be good people."

She added of the twins: "Cooper will sometimes speak for Maya and alert us that she's about to spit up. Maya loves her name being sung to her and is the queen of comedic timing, and Cooper loves his sleep and has the funniest facial expressions.

"They both love cuddling with Mom and Dad... Also, it was a surprise to see how little they've acknowledged each other outside the womb when they seemed to interact so much inside."