HOMESCHOOL

I have officially withdrawn Becks from public school. I made the decision to homeschool him this year for 1st grade for of a few reasons: 1) I feel it pertinent for Becks and Amari to grow in their relationship before they are both in public school and what Better year to do it? I also am not happy with some of the experiences and education he got at Mcadory. I feel like his personality and potential wasn't seen by his teacher; she basically told me she checked out (she no longer wanted to be a teacher after teaching for 10 years). I know he loved it! He thrives and does so well in that type of a setting plus he is such a social lite but I just felt this was the right move. 

I'm not going to lie, I know it's going to be hard some days and I'll probably wish I didn't do it.  I'm already a bit stressed just getting organized and trying to figure out a schooling schedule. I'm also worried he won't take to the things I'm teaching him. Beckahm can be somewhat of a "no it all"; he doesn't like getting things wrong and coming across as though he doesn't know the answers which creates a lot of tension and frustration between us. I hope he can be more teachable and that he sees these 2+ hours a day as fun and educational. I'm also enrolling him in soccer, karate and he will have some PE classes at the trampoline park and of course rock climbing at moss rock. I really felt inspired by the Charlotte mason curriculum. It ended up being super expensive so I pieced together my own curriculum using a free website that has so many awesome resources, our public library which is amazing, and I have taken some ideas from the CM curriculum. I am excited to start this educational journey with him. We will be memorizing scriptures, reading poetry and learning about 3 poets a year and memorizing a few poems. We will be learning about 3 composers and 3 artists. For literature we read a chapter a day of a classic and he gets to narrate through speech or drawing what he learned. He will do math online. The bible and history will be taught together and we will make a timeline so he can see how and when everything fits together. Once a week we will have a nature study where we go out in nature and he studies something and adds it to his nature book. We will have silence experiments, learn about 7 habits using 7 habits for happy kids. We will learn some Spanish and then if course work on reading and writing. I love that the curriculum teaches self-learning and how to incorporate learning in our day to day interactions with places and things. School will be M-TH 2-3 hrs. If he does a good job he can have iPad time after school. F is somewhat of a free day with some overview work and our nature study. 

Becks got a learning DVD at the library about historical symbols and landmarks in the US. I told him he could watch it in the morning if he gave me a report on 3 of the things it talked about. He was nervous thinking he wouldn't be able to remember what he learned. I told him to draw pictures to jog his memory, plus that way he'd be doing art + history at the same time. He was excited about this idea. 

The next morning he came to me with this slip of paper. He sat me down and told me all about what he'd learned: he told me so many incredible facts about the White House, that it had a right wing and a left wing, that only one of the wings was damaged during the war, about how George Washington wasn't able to live there because it hadn't been built yet,  about a room inside the White House called "the Oval Office" because it looked like an oval; he told me who the 1st president was, he told me about the Statue of Liberty, he told me about the Bald Eagle...Mike and I were astounded to say the least! 

This, to me, is by far such a better way of educating kids—through self-learning. This experience inspired me as I'm about to start on this incredibly new home schooling journey. 

Trying to plan out a home school schedule...looks like Beckahm's got that covered ✔️😂😂. He gave this to me in the car and said "here's our schedule, all mapped out! I wake up and go sit on the couch for a bit to wake up, you come out and we snuggle, then we make breakfast and listen to our daily affirmation (yes, he said daily affirmation 😻). Then We do homeschool, do some PE, and then get in the car and go see pikachu at the zoo" 😹👏🏻👏🏻 #lovehim

Our first day meeting the local homeschoolers. I was surprised with how many kids there were and the diversity in age. I loved seeing all of the older kids surrounded by the younger kids. I'm excited for all of the events to come! #themoncurshomeschool

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This new exciting journey of homeschooling begins TOMORROW! I'm nervous and excited all at the same time.  I have such a passion for education; I'm so excited to be learning right there alongside Beckahm. 

I've got my month planned out with fun extra curricular activities: splash pad, zoo day, science museum, field trips—farm, children's museum in Tuscaloosa, a play, a trip to the pumpkin patch—library homeschool days, and homeschool meetups with friends. 

Beckahm will be doing soccer, jiu jitsu,  rock climbing, homeschool PE at our local trampoline park and he will be doing two 5K runs this year for his physical education. 

Our curriculum this year is Charlotte Mason based but I weaved in some other curriculum I found online that I am super excited about. 

Our morning schedule will include: 

Prayer 

Scripture reading

Hymn study 

Scripture memory 

3 min positive affirmation video 

Daily weather, days of the week, month, and season chart 

Get ready for the day 

School will then be from 7-10

Beckahm and Mike will do piano (MWF) while I do speech therapy with Amari. 

Then Mike and Amari will do Pre-K (I LOVE the weekly mapped out curriculum I found for Amari—it makes learning so fun and it takes the guesswork out for me). 

This year Beckahm and I will be studying the Bible, History and Science (and how historical events and science are interconnected with the Bible so he can learn how everything works together). We will make a "timeline of centuries"—cut up pictures, events, biographies, etc—that we can hang on the wall so again, he can see how everything works together. We will also be doing history projects using file folders. 

We will be reading the classics. I LOVE the CM approach to everything: the student narrates what they have learned either through art, speech, acting, writing, etc. This helps them retain so much more information as it is more of a self-taught learning approach. 

He will be reading for 20 min a day on his own with a book of his choice. 

We will be enjoying 3 Shakespeare plays this year. At the end of each play we will either try and see it at a theater or I will rent a copy at the library. He will also have the opportunity to narrate the plays we read by acting them out. 

He will have copy work--passages from our literature, a stanza from one of our Shakespeare poems, etc. 

His math will be online with some math work sheets here and there. 

He will be learning Spanish using this awesome app I found online. 

For Geography I found these awesome books at the library along with puzzles, atlas', etc. At the end of the month we will have a themed dinner with decorations, food, music from the country we have been studying, and he can share what he learned about that country. 

We will be studying 3 artists this year and we will go on field trips to the Art Museum to see some of their work. He will have an art book designated for each artist we study and he will be able to use their methods to create his own works of art. 

He will also have open art time where he can draw/paint whatever he wishes. 

We will be studying 3 poets this year. I am so, so excited about the books I found at the library on Stevenson! He will pick one of his favorite poems to memorize and recite it at the end of each term. 

We will study 3 composers this year--listen to their works and become acquainted with their music. 

He will have computer time--learning the basics of how to navigate a computer. 

For character building we will be reading and doing a lot of activities from "The 7 habits of happy kids." This is probably the part of his curriculum I am most excited about! This is the kind of stuff he will take with him into adulthood—things that will shape him, define him, make him who he is! 

Every Friday is Nature study. We will be exploring new state parks and he has a nature journal where he can keep his findings, write about his observations, etc.

Last but not least each month we will be doing a service project as a family 

If at the end of the week he has done a good job with his school, has had a good attitude, and does well with his personal reading he either can pick something out of the treasure box or pick a fun activity to do as a family on the weekend. 

Let the school year begin! 

FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE + PRESCHOOL

It really went amazing! I love the signs Mike posted for the kids to always remember these things is something that is so important to us both.  At the end of the day Amari did so well and so did Beckahm.  He told me on our 10 minute walk around the neighborhood, that he LOVED homeschool.  and he wanted to do it all day.  

I feel so blessed and so inspired for taking this direction with his schooling.  I am grateful I get to sit next to him and give him one on one attention; that I can encourage him and reinforce positive words when he is struggling with a subject.  And I am in love with the curriculum we are learning this year and how he is learning it. 

I am so proud of Amari; he is doing so well (its been two weeks of school now).  We have seen such growth in him in this short amount of time.  I am grateful Mike can help me in the mornings with his schooling. 

Picnic lunch, park, + donuts to celebrate 1st day of school!

For science today we learned that every living thing is an organism and the difference between biotic and abiotic. Becks had to stick his hand in a basket,  feel for an item, describe it, guess what it was and tell me if it was abiotic or biotic. The rest of the day he was going around classifying things as abiotic or biotic ☺️

We are learning about Egypt for our history and geography in conjunction with the Bible. We made a 3D pyramid in our lapbook which he drew hieroglyphics on. Then after learning some interesting facts about the pharaoh Khufu, Egyptian civilizations and the importance of the Nile River, for his geography, I had him draw Africa.  He then sectioned off where Egypt would be, named the Capitol of Egypt, drew the Nile River, the Red Sea, and added some art work (pyramids and trees, "because Egypt has trees"). I love how he narrates most of his subjects through art 😍. 

While everyone else is at school, we are like: 

For art today we toured Lascaux

and he found all of the hieroglyphics on the walls of the cave. His task the next few days is to find a rock, a twig, flowers, mud, berries—things in nature to paint on his rock with—going old school for this one. 

 "Be really still" We are learning about anatomy :)

Park day with local HS Kids.  I met such a sweet girl who is so much like me, it is ridiculous.  Her two boys (she has four) are exactly like Beckahm and Amari and they are the same age! The Lord answered my prayers to find good friends!

We did have a pretty scary moment.  This park is HUGE and towards the end of the day I lost Amari.  Becks and I went looking for him for 20 minutes and couldn't find him.  Becks started to cry, scared something happened to his brother, and I was panicking.  I told Beckahm we needed to say a prayer as it was getting dark soon.  We went over to another area and a long ways a way Becks spotted him.  He had seem some young boys running for track and he decided to up and follow them.  They were, THANKFULLY, trying to help him find his mom.  I am grateful I had that experience, despite it terrifying me.  Beckahm was able to learn, once again, of the power of prayer. And it made him realize just how much he loved his brother. 

Every Friday is our "Nature Study" day. We are trying to visit as many new parks/nature preserves as possible. Beckahm has a nature book to keep his findings/recordings. We found this adorable park last Friday nestled back in a neighborhood in homewood. After playing we went on a nature walk. Becks found a beehive, some robins that correlated with our literature we are reading, a birds nest, squirrels, and so much more. He found the "first leaf of fall" and put it in his book 😊😊#themoncurshomeschool #naturestudy

Back to school Night

One thing I was worried about HS was that he would miss out on all of the f un things they did in public school. I want to recreate as many of those events as possible.  So I had a back to school night.  I made a yummy, special dinner (stuffed French Toast), decorated the table, had a time capsule and some getting to know you sheets for them to both fill out.  Something we can open at the end of the year to see how much they have grown.  Then I had a theme I wanted them to focus on for the year and we talked about what it meant: "I can do hard things"; "I can do all things through the Lord which strengtheneth me".  Then I had 5 things that I wanted them to try and work on this year during school attached to pencils.  They got to pick out a pencil and we talked about what each thing meant. It was a fun evening.  I love doing this stuff with my kids. 

For art today we took the elements—rocks, sticks for paintbrushes, flowers and berries for color, mud— we found in nature last week and made paintings on our rocks. 🎨 🎨 They loved using things early civilizations would have used to create art. Afterwards we did some "modern painting"; I love how they turned out! #themoncurshomeschool #art #nature

For today's Nature study we explored a new preserve that I never knew about: Turkey Creek Nature Preserve. It was gorgeous! Beckahm had his camera out, taking pics of all the things he found beautiful. I can't wait to go here and tube the river! I love this water slide we found leading down to the falls—such a fun day!  #themoncurshomeschool #turkeycreek#naturepreserve #naturestudy

For art today, he had to look at three pictures (all hieroglyphics), describe to me (I was "blind") what they were about and then come up with his own interpretation of one of the drawings. He chose the hand art and he titled his interpretation "my hands" ❤️❤️ #themoncurshomeschool

Our science experiment today: the purpose of hollow bones

I love that he loves drawing for all of his narration

Running for our lives as we were out exploring mother nature. Drenched but all smiles. Thankfully we brought our book to pass the time ☔️ ☔️#funadventures #naturestudy#themoncurshomeschool

Homeschool day at the Zoo. We had such a great time going on a tour that included story time at the zoo; riding the carousel and the train over and over; seeing all of the animals and learning about them, and making new friends! The snakes were also quite smitten with Amari 

 By far one of the best things I did was include this in my homeschool curriculum! If you haven't read this book to your kids, I highly recommend it! There is also a really cool activity book that acts as a companion to this book (drawings, ideas that kids can come up with on how to adopt these habits into their daily routines). I can't tell you how many times, as we have just finished habit #1, Beckahm has mentioned the stories in this book and how they relate to every day life—he brings them up constantly. He now walks around the house saying "whose responsibility is it to pick up these toys, put your dishes in the sink, make your bed, etc." He now understands what it means to take initiative, ownership, responsibility, and be proactive. 

We read the story and posted Habit #2 today: Begin with the end in mind. He came up with 5 goals he wanted to achieve relatively soon and in the near future (becoming a Zoo Keeper and being a bird watcher are high on his list. Oh and he also gave himself an A+ and a 100% in his work 😂—love him) #7habits #themoncurshomeschool

Amaris Nature Art Work 🍃 

Prepping for our end of the month International dinner theme. We are doing a surprise dinner for Mike and Amari.  So exciting! 

Leaving Egypt 🇪🇬 and onto Mesopotamia. He got to play the coolest game today: dig for Mesopotamian artifacts, log information about each piece and how it was pertinent to their sciences and inventions, writings, or agriculture (he had to figure out what year it was made, the materials it was made with and the region he found it in). When he was all done digging he became the curator and made labels for each artifact—detailing what he knew about each piece, and arranged them to be displayed in his own museum. He thought this was the coolest thing ever! When he was finished curating he was able to print out his display. I love games like this; it reminded me of playing The Oregon Trail when I was younger ❤️❤️#themoncurshomeschool #historyclass #mesopotamia

Becks narrating, via drawing, the parable of the farmer sowing the seeds on different ground and what it meant in the Bible :)

Just finished reading our first Shakespeare play, "A Midsummer Nights Dream". We reenacted the whole play using our stuffed animals ❤️❤️. I was curious to see if Beckahm would take to Shakespeare at his age and was surprised to see how badly he wanted to keep reading it #takesafterhismama #literarylover

Science @ the Science Museum #handsonlearning#themoncurshomeschool #mcwainesciencecenter

It's really so crazy to me thinking that this is all they really know when it comes to "home". They have grown up in the South the majority of their lives (Amari all of his life). I never—in a thousand years—would have guessed we would be here this long #sweethomealabama#southernboyswithnosouthernmanners #westernbloodsouthernhome

Homeschool day at the splash pad with friends

Every time we study a new country we have an "international night" at the end of the month. We wrapped up Egypt so we decided to have an Egyptian night. Beckahm was involved with everything from start to finish! He printed off pictures and colored them; he laminated the placemats; he spray painted the pyramid, picked out prizes for our treasure and actually came up with the idea of having a treasure hunt; he worked so hard planning and preparing his "All about Egypt" presentation. Needless to say he had a blast. I'm so proud of him for working so hard and so glad he loved every minute of it #ancientegypt #history #culture #international#party #egypt #preparations #themoncurshomeschool

We had so much fun putting together our internal dinner to celebrate all we learned about Egypt. As mentioned previously, Beckahm helped plan and prepare everything. We sent Amari + Dad off to pick up some Middle Eastern cuisine. 

We made Egyptian art placemats, and wrote everyone's name in hieroglyphics. Beckahm also hung up some of his Egyptian art work. We listened to "Walk like an Egyptian" (he also has to know his pop culture 😄) while we put Egyptian tattoos on everyone. We ate our tasty dinner, played some Egyptian games, and then Beckahm did his presention on Egypt and got to show his dad his lap book of all the things he had learned over the course of a month. 

I love that he gets to practice speaking and presenting in front of others. It is something that takes practice and a lot of courage—the more he does it now, the more comfortable he will be doing it in the future. He got a little upset with himself for forgetting one part that he had practiced, so towards the end he got a bit frustrated, but he finished—I was beyond proud of him. 

We finished the night off with a treasure hunt (his idea ❤️❤️). 

I hope these kind of things stick with him and that he grows a deep love and respect for cultures other than his own.

Morning Pre-K with Amari today...we let big brother join us before his own schooling. We are on the letter E. We read "Rechenkas Eggs," traced the letter E with glitter pens, rolled boiled eggs on the ground for our motor skills activity, counted beans in an egg carton for our math, and colored our eggs with markers, paint and glitter ✨ #themoncurshomeschool#sensoryplay #motorskills #math #art #literature #homeschool

We took our art class outside today—the fall weather was just way too enticing! Proud of Amari for drawing his first person 😂, and for Beckahm recreating his own Egyptian art. 

For Geography he had to put together a puzzle of the USA, locate where we have lived, where his grandparents live and some of his family, where the hurricanes hit and where we will be taking supplies, and he had to name some states that were N, S, E and W. 

We also explored a beautiful new park today. I loved the old school playground. ❤️

Building with marshmallows and finishing the week with the letter E today #preschool #augustamari

Part of Becks science today was building and naming bones using cotton swabs. Love how long he made the arms 😂 #themoncurshomeschool

Our science experiment today: learning how the body dissolves food 🔨 🍭 #themoncurshomeschool #handsonscience

Studying 🇨🇳; making Chinese coins and making a Chinese book on bamboo like they used to do back in the old days 😊😊#themoncurshomeschool #china #historylessons

Love that my parents got to help Beckahm with his studies!! Can’t get any better than Grandma reading to you, Grandpa teaching history, and both of them helping you make Terra-cotta Soldiers from scratch to go along with your studies on China 🇨🇳😍😍😍 #themoncurshomeschool#grandmaandgrandpavisit #china #terracottawarriors

Fun with friends at the science center

Finishing our study of China and getting ready for our International dinner/report. We made fortune cookies, Chinese lanterns, Terra-cotta Soldiers, Chinese coins, and the Great Wall of 🇨🇳#themoncurshomeschool #china #history #art #internationalstudies

Decorating for our Chinese dinner and getting ready for Beckahm’s report on China 🇨🇳😍😍 #lovethesemoments #themoncurshomeschool #china #history #art #geography

Beckahm’s report. I’m so so proud of this kid! Every time we end our studies on a country he preps for his country presentation. I love being apart of his learning! He continues to amaze me with his love for learning, his ability to retain information and his creativity. This international study was especially memorable because his Grandma and Grandpa got to be here for part of it and help him on some of his projects. Plus his Grandpa was able to share his pictures and memories of visiting China—doing business with the Chinese, eating scorpions, and walking the Chinese wall. Egypt + China ✔️, moving on to Maya history. #themoncurshomeschool #china #history #geography

Science Experiment: using the sun to melt our amores :)

We put Stevenson aside and Becks made up his own Halloween poem during school yesterday. 🎃🎃🎃 #halloweennight #bybeckahmmoncur

We just finished learning + studying about the Maya. Beckahm’s 3rd presentation this year. Proud of him for being more relaxed and showing more of his cute/silly personality #lovethiskid #maya #worldhistory#themoncurshomeschool

One of the coolest subscriptions ever! We are totally obsessed with Top Secret Mission especially after Becks finished the Jack Stalwart series. Beckahm got his first official Top Secret assignment, passport, large map of the world, criminal cards, key ring (he gets different key rings for every case he solves in each country). He has to solve mysteries via puzzles and different activities in his activity book which also coordinate with a guidebook specific to that country (teaching them all about the history of each country). When he’s done he gets a passport stamp in his passport and on to the next mission 🧐✈️ 🌎 #themoncurshomeschool #history#culture #topsecretmission

Studying the brain :)

He is truly my child! We just finished reading our second Shakespeare play, Twelfth Night. Both plays he asked if we could bump up our weekly Shakespearean readings to at least bi-weekly ☺️. After finishing our play I got the movie, thinking he’d probably get bored 10 Min in, but he was glued! I was so impressed that he didn’t only understand what was going on but that he was able to interpret the deeper subtleties Shakespeare tried to portray through his various characters, love triangles, plots, and themes. He astounds me! Love him! Love that my love for literary works is something he finds value in and is intrigued by. What boy—much less a 1st grade boy—loves Shakespeare? 😂❤️❤️📚📚#themoncurshomeschool#shakespeareforkids #twelfthnight

Making a spinal cord for science

Making his Indus Seal 

The boys loved their "Dig for Dino Bones kit" and yes I made them wear their swim goggles bahaha

I decided to incorporate business into our curriculum this semester.  I thought it would be so much fun, and so practical for him to create a business model every year and execute it in the summer.  He initially wanted to make a you tube channel because he saw this kid who made one and he was getting free toys from it and making a lot of money. After trying it out for a few weeks he decided he wanted to create a popsicle company called "nice cream" or "nicies" where he would put healthy ingredients in the popsicles and go sell them at parks during the summer. 

His first video for his you tube channel

Home school day at Let's Play (I think the girls had more fun than the kids singing and dancing to Karaoke music.  We got a comment from the other moms "so many of us moms were just staring at you guys wishing we had the guts to get up and sing and dance, we admire you!" To which I said "life is too short to not dance!")

Moving onto Greece

Making Greek Columns out of playdough





Anatomy done



I love his artwork.  He had to depict a work of monet



He picked the nature and then the moon for his theme; he had to come up with three descriptive words and make a poem about it.  He struggled a bit with it but we worked together on it.

Finishing Greece; dinner at a Greek restaurant (one of his favs) and his report on Greece

His report on Greece! I love this type of accumulative study on our history.  He is still getting used to feeling confident presenting infront of others.  I can't wait to see how this will help shape and mold him in the future!

We have decided to study eras of music now to make music more fun! We just finished the 50's and we decided to celebrate by going to Johnny Rockets and having a 50's dance! Beck's loved learning this dance! 

Videos (I think Mike and I equally had as much fun hahaha)

Part of his study was learning how to dance 50's; HE LOVED IT! He wanted to practice it every day. I love that my kids both love dancing. 

His little report on the 50's (music)

We ended the night watching "back to the future"! CLASSIC! So funny

Park Day; exploring Nature 

Train park and slurpies before school 

Zoo day with friends 

Science experiment: volcano

Making his own roman mosaic picture 

Pledge of Allegiance every MWF

Such a nice day to spend "recess" in the park with friends 

Making comic books; he loved doing this (he had to read one first and then make his own)

Ni is ready for school :)

Nostalgia! This was mine when I was a kid; he loved it! 

Beckahm memorized Young Night Thought in commemoration of our first poet we studied: Robert Stevenson

planting our seeds

 Science experiment: purpose of stems

science experiment: cover a piece of a leaf with dark construction paper, see what changes occur after a few days: benefits of the sun

Finished our study of the body, on to our study of plants! 

Becks report on his science unit on plants:

Making props for Beckham’s Roman play 🎭 #themoncurshomeschool#romantheatre #gladiator #history #art #literature

Teaching about the effects of oil spills for our science today 🔬. He got to do this hands on experiment and then I showed him the video of Dawn making a difference in the Marine life after animals have tragically been affected from pollution in our waters and oil spills. #teachthemyoung#takecareofourplanet #themoncurshomeschool #science#scienceexperiment

Music comp vide

Music composition 🎼🎷🎺🎻#orchestra #themoncurshomeschool

Gorgeous day to spend school at the botanical gardens. Beckahm took his nature study book and did some journaling and even some yoga/meditation while Amari explored his little heart out #namaste#calmthemindcalmtgesoul #beonewithnature #themoncurshomeschool

Becks had to write a Roman play after we finished our study on the Romans, and then he had to perform the play.  It was so much fun! So proud of him! When I put it all together and put the sound effects in, him and Amari just died! They loved it! 

Wrapped up our study of the Romans. Becks chose to eat out at Olive Garden verses putting together a meal and decorations at home; I mean where else would the Romans eat?? 😂😂 (hey they ate salad and bread—that counts). He loved learning about how Rome “supposedly” got its name; their battle strategies; the history of Gladiators, their role during the life of Christ, and the fall of Rome. He especially LOVED writing and directing his own Roman play. I Love how much this little man loves history 

Moving on to the Vikings! #themoncurshomeschool #rome #art #history#theater #romans

We braved the chilly spring weather and took our science/nature study outdoors to study different types of trees....AND observe a fisherman....AND roll down hills.....AND draw pictures of the 🦆.....AND pick some gorgeous spring 🌺 .....AND get in some PE  🌲🏃🏽‍♂️🔬 💐🌂#themoncurshomeschool #science #art #naturestudy #PE

Childrens Hands on Museum Tuscaloosa

Field trip to Tuscaloosa with friends to let the kiddos have a very hands on school day at The Children’s Museum. So so cool! They loved learning about the mythology behind the constellations in the Planetarium and spent hours playing and learning at all of the other incredible exhibits. #themoncurshomeschool #handsonlearning

Recess has never been so much fun! PE and Easter celebrations at Sky Zone today 🐣🐣 #themoncurshomeschool #PE #trampolinepark#rockclimbing

 

100 days of school celebrations going on today: 

100 ways to move your body 

100 days of school hats/glasses 

100 fruitloop necklaces 

100 days of school questionnaire 

Build something with 100 cups 

100 days of school certificate and 🍩 🎉

 

Just finished up our Viking Unit! The boys made masks, shields, and dad helped Becks make a longboat. We celebrated with a “Viking Feast” and Becks presentation. I’m so proud of all that he’s learning this year! #themoncurshomeschool #history #art #homeschool #vikings

 

 

His report on the Vikings

So proud of Becks learning how to play piano; his dad has been the best at teaching him the basics 

Art at the library; they read a fantastic book about a magical tree and then got to draw and watercolor their own magical tree. I love how his turned out 💕💕 #themoncurshomeschool #art #literature #library #homeschool

Love his spelling :)

Finished school and now it’s time to play all day #howitshouldbe#wildandfree #explore #beadventurous #letthembelittle#themoncurshomeschool #mossrock #nontraditionalPE #nature#theoutdoors #fitness

Midevial Unit: 

Becker’s finished his unit on the Medieval times! He put together a great lap book and he and Amari got to build this really cool castle (that was a little harder than it looked 😜). He decorated and prepared for his dinner and presentation on the Medieval Times. 

The boys were then dubbed knights by their dad 👑 👑😍. 

All year long I’ve been in his presentations, holding his book for him. I’ve been a comfort zone for him. This time I challenged him to do it all on his own. I think he pretty much aced it! He’s got his Grandpas charismatic genes—his facial expressions and little add ons are priceless. Love this little munchkin so so much! #themoncurshomeschool #history #presentation

The boys got to put together this awesome castle and Becks helped with the dinner and decorations :)

So so proud of him, he did this one all on his own! 

The boys were knighted by their dad :)

Art day: sidewalk chalk

Exploring a new park for our nature walk today

Look who got into our house

Park Day with Friends :)

School ✅; time for combat #lasertagstyle #themoncurshomeschool#nontraditionalPE

Amaris preschool called for a Tea Party today. I rummaged through my old things and found my little tea set I used to play with all the time when I was little. I had intended to keep it around for my little girl to use one day but packed it away when I knew that wasn’t in the cards for us. It sure was special pulling it out and seeing how much the boys loved it—I’m glad they allowed me to relish in nostalgia for a moment 😊😊 #teatime #littlemen#themoncurshomeschool

Spelling Words






*B reading

Really though 😍😍 he’s just so dang cute. I love listening to him read 📚. This was something he struggled with so much at the beginning of the year. He hated reading because he didn’t believe he could do it. Now look at him. “I love reading! Thank you so much for sticking with it and teaching me how mama,” he told me ❤️❤️. So so proud of him. #defeatingourgoliaths#themoncurshomeschool









2 weeks out from finishing my first year of homeschool. Seeing him like this today made me realize that I’m really going to miss having him home with me like this. It’s been an incredible year—filled with a few trials but mostly triumphs. I’m so very grateful to have had this experience—one I wouldn’t trade for anything! I have loved being his teacher #mrbeckahm #allgrownup#themoncurshomeschool

An extension of our science unit on plants: Becks got to attend story lab at the library where they learned about photosynthesis. They also designed the library’s garden, made rock markers, and planted a flower that they got to take home to take care of. They were also invited to come back and participate in planting the garden 🌿🌷#greenthumb#takingcareofourplanet #themoncurshomeschool #science #botany #art#homeschool #library

Making cupcakes just because 

Probably the best thing I did this year homeschooling. He’ll learn to read and write; he’ll learn his history, sciences, and math but this stuff is the stuff that will stick with him throughout his life. This is the stuff that shapes character! We loved the 7 habits for kids story book and the activity book we found to go along with it. We also found the cute moves that represent each habits online. I can’t tell you how many times he’d reference these habits as he was going about his day 💕




Working on his end of year project





Best thing we did this year! ❤️❤️#selflove #selfesteem #positivity#gratitude #character #attitude #thegoodstuff #themoncurshomeschool

Graduating Pre-school + 1st grade, so so proud of these boys 🎓#themoncurshomeschool #celebration

Otter Pops for sale! So for Beckahms homeschool curriculum he had to come up with a business idea he could implement this summer. He decided to sell popsicles. He had to buy the otter pops, the ice, make a sign with his dad, figure out how much he needed to sell to break even and then make a profit, take his own money into the bank and get change, and then sell, sell, sell. I’m so beyond proud of this little dude! He walked up to everyone in the park—peers his age, peers much older than him, adults...he shrugged off the “no’s”, and sealed the deal on a lot of sales. Proud mommy moment. Such a stud ❤️#mrbeckahm #mrentrepreneur

On our way home from
The museum we got an email informing us that Beckahms art work that he submitted a month ago was chosen to be framed and displayed among a select few in the Hoover Library! They also highlighted his art piece on the library’s main homepage 👏🏻👏🏻

We had to swing by the library to take a sneak peek. We were invited to a special reception to honor him next Sunday. So so proud of him. Our little artist (takes after his dad) ❤️❤️🎨🎨

Oh, his work was entitled “my hands” and it was filled with all the I AM reminders he tells himself daily.

Proud parent moment. Beckahm was invited to a special reception/award recognition at the Hoover Library for his art piece he submitted a few months ago. It was so fun seeing the art that was chosen; Becks was so proud to be among those selections and to see his art framed for all to see in the library’s main hall. We also got to revisit the garden that he helped plant in the early spring. My how it’s grown! It warms my heart to know he will forever leave his mark on Alabama—he truly has grown up as a “southern gentleman” 😊. We love this library and all they do for the community! I love what Mrs. Alyssa said about art and how beneficial it is for the brain on all cylinders ❤️❤️; it is so true! For “the world without art is just Ehh!” We are an art loving family! #mrbeckahm #theartist