When the Curriculum Doesn't Work for Your Homeschool
Summary:
Are you struggling with a curriculum that just isn't working for your homeschool? In this episode of Show Me Homeschool, hosts Joe and Erin dive into the topic of when the curriculum doesn't work and how it can negatively impact your homeschool. They discuss the sunk cost fallacy and the pressure parents feel to stick with a curriculum they've invested time and money into. They also explore the importance of prioritizing the needs of your child and fostering a healthy homeschool environment.
Remember, the best curriculum is the one that gets used. Don't let fear or personal struggles hold you back. Trust in God's provision and create a home learning lifestyle that is sustainable for your family. Tune in to discover practical tips and insights on how to navigate the challenges of choosing and adapting curriculum, and learn how Show Me Homeschool can provide support and encouragement for your homeschool journey.
Links and Resources:
Erin and Joe will be teaching the Education 2 track, "Homeschooling 101" (all things homeschooling!) at the Networkers TEC (Teach, Equip, Connect) ministry training conference called "Help for the Local Church - Rescuing the Next Generation," on Saturday, October 28th, 2023 at the First Baptist Church of Belton, Missouri. For more information and to register, visit www.networkerstec.com
Sponsor: Podcast with Faith, www.podcastwithfaith.com
To learn more about booking one-on-one or group homeschool coaching sessions with us, upcoming events, see our speaking schedule, or to get access to more resources, be sure to check out our website, www.showmehomeschool.com and sign up for our weekly newsletter. You can also follow us on Instagram @show.me.homeschool, on Pinterest at @showmehomeschool, or email us at info@showmehomeschool.com.
Transcript:
00:00:00] Erin: And now it's October, and you've started using your curriculum, and you or your children just hate it. It's not going well. There's tears, there's crying, and not just from the kids. Let's talk about that today, Joe. I'm Erin. And I'm Joe. We're the hosts of the Show Me Homeschool podcast, where we guide parents through the wilderness of home education.
[00:00:27] Each weekly episode will focus on supporting and encouraging homeschool moms and dads through conversational interviews with like minded Christian leaders in the homeschool community.
[00:00:37] Joe: In our experience, we've seen the lack of resources and support available for homeschool So we want to address that by covering relevant topics concerning husbands and fathers as they lead their families through this lifestyle of home education.
[00:00:50] We
[00:00:51] Erin: understand the need for creating connections and building authentic relationships to sustain a healthy homeschool environment for yourself and your children.
[00:00:59] Joe: Our goal is not to show you how to replicate our homeschool, but to show you how you can create a home learning lifestyle that is sustainable for your family.
[00:01:07] Erin: Show Me Homeschool is here to come alongside you.
[00:01:16] I don't know about you, but But I start thinking about the new school year probably in February of the year that I'm finishing because that's when all of the conventions, the curriculum fairs, the curriculum sellers host sales and I want to get a good deal. I'm sure you're the same way. You want to get a good deal.
[00:01:36] You want to make sure that you're getting your money's worth. You want to make sure that you have researched enough on all the different subjects that you want to use for your children. And it comes time you get the curriculum in the summer when your box comes, and you're so excited, or maybe you've brought it home from the curriculum fair in May, and you've had a chance to pore over it, you've made your lesson plans, and now it's October, and you've started using your curriculum, and you or your children just hate it.
[00:02:04] It's not going well. There's tears, there's crying, and not just from the kids. Let's talk about that today, Joe. Let's talk about the choices we make in curriculum and how sometimes choosing to stick with a curriculum that's not working actually negatively impacts our homeschool.
[00:02:24] Joe: A sunk cost fallacy that we might fall
[00:02:26] Erin: into.
[00:02:27] Right. So you actually helped me quite a bit understand this concept and this fallacy of the sunk cost. And one definition of the sunk cost fallacy is a tendency for people to continue an endeavor or course of action. Even when abandoning it would be more beneficial because we've invested our time, energy, or other resources.
[00:02:48] We feel that it would be all for nothing if we quit. And I got that from Scribbr. com. Another Wikipedia definition says a sunk cost is a cost that's already been incurred and cannot be recovered. So let's talk a little bit about our personal experience with my sunk cost fallacy belief and how you helped talk me through
[00:03:09] Joe: that.
[00:03:10] Sure. So the irony is, is that I helped you with that, but then you taught me something about that on the other side of it. And we can talk about that a little bit later, but yeah, it was, um, we've kind of touched on this in the past, uh, on other podcasts about. When we first started out, I kind of put a lot of pressure on you guys to use curriculum that we bought, because it was usually hundreds of dollars, a lot of money, a lot of time spent researching, ordering, unpacking, organizing, and then using it.
[00:03:40] So there was pressure for me to use it to its fullest. And when I didn't see that happening. You know, I got on your case, the kid's case, it was just a bad situation. So I think I kind of probably added to your sunk cost
[00:03:55] Erin: fallacy and the pressure of using what we'd spent. But I think
[00:03:59] Joe: you also put the pressure on yourself that you wanted to use it too.
[00:04:02] You didn't want to switch after you again, had done all the research, spent all the time getting it, unpacking everything. I just said, why would you want to abandon it? Um, we were new to homeschooling anyway. So it felt like. A mortal sin that we would get rid of something that we hadn't been so invested in, and especially if it's curriculum, you don't get rid of curriculum.
[00:04:26] So I think that's kind of where we started. I don't know if you agree. Yeah,
[00:04:30] Erin: I definitely agree. I think that especially as someone who likes to research, it feels like I'd failed if something that I thought was going to work doesn't for whatever that reason may be. Or if I see that I think my kids are going to really enjoy this, or I think I'm going to enjoy teaching it.
[00:04:47] And it just flops big time. Then I get kind of down about myself and like, well, maybe I didn't know what I was talking
[00:04:54] Joe: about. Right. So I think, I don't know when I can't, I'm not great with dates and stuff, but eventually as we grew in our homeschool, uh, it came, appeared to me that, Hey, If this curriculum isn't working, let's talk about, do you just need to not use it?
[00:05:13] And that was kind of a, you know, a grand idea or whatever. But the funny part is, is that when I mentioned that there was this. Disconnect or resistance resistance in me that will hold on, though, I spent all this money on this. I can't believe that you would recommend that we would not only get rid of it, but that we would have to buy other curriculum spend just as much or more, maybe less money.
[00:05:41] But again, spending more money to replace that curriculum. I was not pleased with that, but I think. What that showed in me was a, really a lack of trust in God's provision. If he's the perfect father that he says he is, he absolutely knows our needs. And he knows something as small as curriculum is tiny to him.
[00:06:03] It is, it is not a big deal. It is so easy for him to provide. And I was, it showed a lack of trust in me, um, towards his provision that, Hey, it's not the end of the world. You know, make this work. Um, and, and you had other ideas about how to save money that maybe we can get through later.
[00:06:22] Erin: Yeah, I think that what really helped me when you started talking about, and I don't want to say gave permission because I feel like we're a team and we talk through things, but it felt like permission to me to say.
[00:06:36] Okay, this isn't working. We've been at this for eight weeks, and I either hated teaching the curriculum, or the kids were just not engaged at all, and it became a struggle. And the most important thing to remember is relationship is always greater than the curriculum, right? Your child actually, um, I've heard put another way is that your child is your curriculum.
[00:07:01] And so you are learning from them and what their needs are. And the child's actually the curriculum and the things that you buy are actually just the tools to, to use for your children. So that's kind of interesting way to reframe that whole thing is like, we're not looking and the focus shouldn't be the curriculum.
[00:07:19] The focus should be the child and the needs met. So sometimes children actually do much better without a formal curriculum. But when we've spent money on, um, books or workbooks or videos or something that we felt like would be beneficial, and we're struggling with it, one thing I like to remember is that the best curriculum is the curriculum that gets used.
[00:07:44] Yeah. So if. If you've spent the money, but then you find yourself putting that subject off, sometimes it's helpful to introspect a little bit and to think through, like, is it the curriculum that's the problem or is it that this subject is really hard for me personally as the primary teacher that will be teaching this and I struggle through the material because I don't fully understand it.
[00:08:07] And sometimes that could be the issue. It's not even like a sunk cost thing. It's more of just a procrastination or laziness on our part as the primary teacher, whether that's mom or dad to get through the material, because it's not a subject we enjoy. It's not a subject we enjoy teaching, or it's something that we struggle with personally or have had bad memories of our own education.
[00:08:29] Right. There could be some fear there. Yeah. It could be fear based of what if I really screw this up and my kid doesn't learn it like I didn't learn it. So sometimes it really has little to do with the actual curriculum purchase and more to do with the personal things that God's working out in your own heart as a homeschool mom.
[00:08:46] Is it, is it laziness? I mean, that is something that sometimes we don't really want to talk about that side of things. And that could be a whole other episode on our own. Self discipline and those kinds of things. I struggle with that myself. So it's really, really something that I have to work really hard to stay diligent and to stay on a schedule.
[00:09:08] So let's talk about then when we have decided that this is a Curriculum, we're no longer going to use, what are some of the ways that we have found because we don't always have the budget to just replace the curriculum that we've spent the money on because money is not there to do that. What else, what have we done in the past to make up for that?
[00:09:32] Joe: Sure. So I think, I mean, you, you have the curriculum in hand. That's not working, but you still have access to it. So look through the contents, look through what it is touching on. And those might be all great things and excellent topics, but they just don't do it. Well, it's not working for your family. So, like you kind of mentioned earlier, there are so many free resources out there, especially now with the Internet or library card, take a picture or photocopy that table of contents.
[00:10:05] Just run with
[00:10:06] Erin: it. Yeah, go find some books of the library to check out on like chapter one is all about this topic. So maybe you find YouTube videos on that topic. Maybe you go to the library. Maybe you know someone who is in the industry or whatever it pertains to. Um, that would be one way that you wouldn't even need to replace the curriculum.
[00:10:25] You're kind of, um, just. Using the curriculum that you've already purchased in a different way, and I think that's important as homeschool parents is we've got to think outside the box sometimes a lot of times, not just for our Children, but for the things that we're using as tools, because when those tools start to frustrate us or we think that we have to do every single chapter in a book or every single problem on a worksheet, then we're actually being ruled by that, and it's become our master when really the tool is Therefore, our benefit and for our children's benefit.
[00:10:59] So if you've said, you know what, scrap the actual curriculum, we're going to go off the table of contents for the topics that this book covers, because I feel like that subject is still important to learn. That would be 1 thing. Another thing is. Maybe after you've done that, taking your, you know, picture and run with the different topics, maybe you try to resell the curriculum because maybe you haven't used any of the worksheets yet.
[00:11:22] Maybe you haven't. Maybe it wasn't something that was consumable that you could easily resell. It's still in great condition. Um, a lot of times you could get maybe even 50% Of what you've spent on that. So it's not a complete financial loss, right? Yeah. Um, another thing is maybe you just decide that you want to bless someone with the curriculum.
[00:11:40] You've been on the forums or the Facebook pages, or you have a friend who was looking at the thing that you got or the level that you have for that particular curriculum. And you just want to give it away to bless somebody else. Um, and you're going to go a completely different direction. That's also another option,
[00:11:56] Joe: right?
[00:11:56] Just because the curriculum doesn't work for you. Doesn't mean it's not going to work for somebody else. So try to resell it. Uh, if you can't, yeah, give it away and, and just pull the rotten tooth and move on.
[00:12:09] Erin: Um, another thing that you could do is just like other people are maybe looking for free or cheap curriculum on Facebook or wherever marketplace or.
[00:12:18] Whatever groups that you're in locally, um, maybe you've put out there, Hey, I am looking for this new science curriculum. This is what I need. And people are so helpful and want to say, Hey, this worked for me, or we found this free resource. Crowdsourcing is wonderful.
[00:12:33] Joe: Yeah, I'd say that's huge. We've done that not just for curriculum, but almost all of our needs from kids, clothes, shoes.
[00:12:41] Sporting equipment. Yeah. Tickets to places that people are just, I mean, the homeschool community is generous. Yeah. And can just be incredible and don't be afraid to ask for help. That's totally fine.
[00:12:54] Erin: And maybe part of the reason that you aren't using the curriculum is because maybe you bought too much or you over thought that your year and you thought you could be able to fit all Subjects in a year and it's just not working because of your outside of school routine or your schedule, your work schedule, and maybe you just put it on the shelf and it sits there for a year and maybe you pick it up later or maybe you pick it up next semester.
[00:13:20] So it's not actually a loss of anything. Maybe it just doesn't work for that child and you've got a whole slew of kids coming in behind them and maybe it'll work for one of the other kids. There are a lot of different ways to look at. Thanks. Curriculum purchases and using them outside of the intended purpose that was, you know, maybe written out by the author.
[00:13:44] What
[00:13:44] Joe: I'm hearing you say is there's a lot of reservation or a lot of anxiety or panic over curriculum choices, especially like you said, um, you're in the middle of October. Or in the middle of the year, and you're like, Oh, I cannot go on with this. What I'm hearing you say is don't panic, don't, don't be anxious.
[00:14:07] There are so many solutions to this. Come at it from a restful standpoint,
[00:14:13] Erin: right? And always pray about it too, because the last thing that you want to do, and I've done it, I have pushed through thinking I bought the curriculum. I feel really guilty if we don't, you know, get our monies out of it, our money's worth out of it.
[00:14:27] And we get into like February and it's been a really rough year and if we had just or if I had just said, you know what, it's this one thing that's kind of pulling us back or the thing that I struggle through the most or the kids struggle through the most. And it's not even something that. They have to learn, you know, maybe it's an elective class.
[00:14:48] Sometimes that's the case where it's like, Oh, I really want my kid to have this skill. And it's really not about the kid having the skill, but more so the mom being interested in something. Cause I've done that. I have a lot of interests. It's really easy for me to get sucked into all these little side quests during school.
[00:15:04] So yeah, I hope that that's helpful for you. I know in October, it is not uncommon having done this for over a decade. Usually at our local homeschool group, we would do an October curriculum around Robin and maybe that's a suggestion that you could do with some friends around where you are, is bring your favorite curriculum, whatever it may be your books, your workbooks, your manipulatives, your games, whatever it is that you're using that you've purchased and you love and gather a group of women or dads or families together and you bring those things and everyone can kind of share.
[00:15:39] Like we would have different circles. So one would be language arts, one would be math, one would be, you know, social studies, reading, whatever the topic, science, and. You could go sit in each of those circles and pick up and thumb through and look at and maybe your kids are there and maybe they see something too.
[00:15:57] And it's not like a purchasing situation. It's more of just a hands on time where you guys can get together and look at the different options out there. And October is actually in November. Quite honestly, a lot of people are changing curriculum that they 4 to 6, 8 weeks in and You've made some decisions, you've seen how your flow is going, you've gotten into your routine and it is not a bad thing to change curriculum.
[00:16:28] There's nothing to be afraid of. You're not going to ruin your kid if you start with one curriculum on math and then move to another one because what's the purpose of the curriculum anyway? To teach the child something they don't know.
[00:16:38] Joe: Right. Like you said, it's a tool. Don't let the tool be the
[00:16:41] Erin: master over you.
[00:16:42] Right. So I hope this is encouraging to you. I know I was super encouraged when, you know, Joe pointed out to me, Hey, you don't have to finish this. Other friends were saying, Hey, this is causing stress.
[00:16:54] Joe: And then it was helpful for you to help me with my lack of faith in God's provision. Like you have so many other areas.
[00:17:01] So that was an amazingly ironic situation that we found ourselves in.
[00:17:05] Erin: Right. So why don't you, uh, if you found this helpful, share it with a friend who may be struggling with the curriculum choices they've made. And you can email us if you have questions or any other suggestions or ways that you've found to manage the curriculum sunk cost fallacy and your homeschool at info at showmehomeschool.com. Thanks for listening.
[00:17:25] This episode was sponsored by podcast with Faith, our favorite Christian podcast production company. For more information, visit them at www.podcastwithfaith.com. To learn more about booking one-on-one or group homeschool coaching sessions with us upcoming events, see our speaking schedule, or to get access to more resources, be sure to check out our website www.showmehomeschool.com and sign up for our weekly newsletter.