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0:02
Hello, you're listening to Call to Homeschool episode #276 Your curriculum Doesn't matter.
Hello, how are you doing today?
I'm excited to talk about this, especially with a lot of you about to start homeschool.
0:17
Maybe some of you have already started for the new year.
And so I want to talk about curriculum and why it probably just doesn't matter.
So the reason I was inspired by this episode is I was doing school with my youngest and one of the works book workbooks he was doing is Explode the Code.
0:36
I love Explode the Code.
I have used it for all seven of my kids for all the years that I've been doing school.
I think it's really a great book.
It teaches a lot of awesome stuff.
All my kids have really liked it.
So I have really liked Explode the Code.
0:53
George is no exception.
He loves it so he was.
He happily does it every day that we do school saves it for last because it's his favorite thing.
My 13 year old Walks by who also did all the explode the code books and loved it.
Might I add Walks by looks at the workbook and says what's this?
1:13
I said I told him I said do you not remember what Explode the code is?
And he goes, no, I have no idea.
He had no memory of doing any of the workbooks.
He did their younger collection, the ABC books, and then all of their eight older books.
1:29
So one through 8.
And there is even half books and he may have done some of those.
I don't remember if he did any of the half ones, but you can remember any of them.
And I sat there and I found it so fascinating.
And it always makes me wonder when something like that happens of should I just, should I even keep doing this?
1:46
My kid doesn't even remember doing it.
Should I hold on to this?
But my 13 year old knows his phonics.
He knows how to read and he knows all the concepts that we practiced in that book.
I then tried to remember, how did I learn to read?
2:04
What methods were used, what I was in government school, right?
And so like, what did the teacher teach me?
Did my mom practice with me at home?
I have no idea.
I don't remember any reader books.
I don't remember anything.
I have one memory of a kindergarten teacher.
2:21
She was super cute and she'd have us all sit there and we'd seen the alphabets.
And that is basically my only memory with learning how to read.
And yet I know how to read.
The same thing goes with math.
I don't remember when I learned math or how the teacher taught math.
2:38
All I know is I remember liking math, I remember being good at it, and I have no memory of how I learned it.
The point of the podcast is it doesn't matter what curriculum you use as long as you are teaching your kids.
2:57
So I'm not trying to say don't use any curriculum that your curriculum doesn't matter, but it doesn't matter which curriculum you use.
I have found what curriculum I like even if my kids don't remember it because I have been willing to try a bunch of different ones.
3:13
So I found ones I did not like as well.
But it was never the curriculum that made or broke our homeschool.
So if your homeschool is feeling off and you're like, well, we probably just should buy a new curriculum book.
Highly doubt that that would solve all the problems.
3:29
A lot of times with the curriculum that you're using, it may not match your personalities, but even just going slow or having fun with it, you can make any curriculum work.
So being consistent at teaching my kids is what has made our home school amazing.
3:46
And there are so many ways you can do that.
When a kid is little, play games.
You don't even need to do curriculum.
When they're really little, games are probably the funnest and easiest way to teach kids.
Even older kids love it as well.
But especially with little kids, some people like to use workbooks, some people don't.
4:07
Some people like stuff online and some people don't.
All of these details and worrying about all these little things with curriculum just don't matter.
Now with that being said, I know that curriculum is what a lot of people stress about and which is why I created my Lesson plan and I even offer suggestions of some of my favorite ones.
4:27
That's just to give you a place to start.
Not you should do this way, but just what I like for my family.
But at the end of the day, just do something, do it consistently and connect with your babies while doing it.
I am going to keep using Exploit the Code and if my kids choose to when they have kids and they choose to home school, I would highly recommend it for them as well.
4:55
I love it.
It's a great tool to teach kids phonics and help help help them practice their handwriting.
I will focus on building relationships first, right, so a child stays teachable and willing to learn new things.
5:12
And I will continue to teach.
And remember that there is no perfect or magical curriculum or lesson plans out there that will magically change your home school.
The right curriculum or lesson plans or style of home school even, is the one that works best for your family and for your kids.
5:36
You may have some that work for one kid and doesn't work for another.
So being willing to adapt.
This is just a short and sweet episode today and just reminding you that your curriculum is not what is going to make or break your homeschool, but being consistent.
5:53
And I want to add in one more thing as I've been talking with a lot of clients lately about their homeschooling and wondering how in the world do I stay consistent?
And consistency is a hard thing.
And one of the things I've been telling them is my homeschool is not sexy.
6:11
Meaning all of the beautiful Pinterest, the very beautiful stuff on Instagram that people are like, here's this amazing project you could do.
All this amazing craft you could do is so easy to get burned out.
6:27
My school may be boring at times and not sexy and that is what allows me to stay consistent because I don't have to stress and worry about all the extra fluff.
We have a really good floor of doing our basics.
6:44
We play a lot, we connect a lot, and then if we're so in the mood and, and things feel right, then we will add in some of that extra fluff and extra stuff that might be a little bit sexy.
But overall, the really cutesy stuff you see on social media is not what makes an amazing homeschool.
7:01
And it's interesting, as I was thinking about people who I know that have had quote UN quote sexy homeschools, the, the Pinterest worthy, the Instagram beautiful pictures, A lot of them got burned out and don't homeschool anymore because it's really hard to keep up with that.
7:18
So as you're heading into this new year and things are feeling off or not working, come back to the basics, build the connection with your kid, maybe mix things up and play with games and realize that consistency, although may be boring and not sexy, is what will give you the best results.
7:39
All right friends, best of luck to you and your new school year.
As always, reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.
I love you lots and I'll talk to you next week.
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