[Tea] The Curriculum Creep

Welcome to "Tea with Julie," a weekly missive by me, Julie Bogart. My wish is to give you food for thought over a cup of tea to enhance your life as an educator, parent, and awesome adult. Glad you're here. Pinkies up!
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Cincinnati, August 10, 2024

Hi Friend,

Let's look at another common homeschool mistake: Curriculum Creep! That's where you keep acquiring more and more curriculum to shore up that feeling of not doing enough.

To combat Curriculum Creep, keep the following thoughts in mind.

The best curriculum is the one you USE.

If a program stays in your inbox, and you don’t download it to the computer, you have no hope of using it.

If the curriculum sits on the dining room table, spine un-cracked, it will not magically transmit the content to your learners.

If you feel confused or overwhelmed, instead of quickly purchasing another homeschool program, make a pot of coffee and sit with the program you already have. Read it until you understand its aims and how to use it.

There’s no shame in:

taking it one product at a time,
slowly digesting the teacher’s notes or user's guide,
and getting familiar.

There’s no auto-fill program—you buy it, your kid gets educated from it.

Any successful experience with curriculum comes from your choice to learn it and use it.

You’re an educator, not a curriculum implementer.

Also, the next time you itch to buy more curriculum you might not need, remember that learning ultimately comes through relationship not textbooks.

Relationships may be improved through what you learn from manuals. BUT the manual or workbook alone doesn’t get the job done.

So find and use select tools that are “open and grow”—that help you be a better parent-educator, that show you how to be the best version of yourself in that subject area for your child.

And for added inspiration, listen to the Brave Writer podcast: Tools to Buy Instead of Curriculum.

You can do it!

Warmly,

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