Feature Story: What if the curriculum you chose isn't working?
We tried something new in our homeschool this year.
And it did NOT go as planned. 😂
My 11-year-old, Ezekiel, loves coding. He's actually designing a playable game as we speak.
He has been doing great with block-based coding, where you drag and connect blocks of instructions to build programs. But he wanted to learn Python—a programming language where you write the actual code.
I had some reservations about making that big of a jump.
But he was excited, so we gave it a try.
And guess what?
It was too much.
Now, we could have called the whole thing a FAILURE.
We could have pushed through because we'd already committed...Or we could have decided coding just wasn't for him...But instead, we took what we'd learned and adjusted the plan.
And I got to tell him something along the lines of:
Buddy, I love that you wanted to try something hard. I'm glad we tried it! But next time, let's listen to Mom's guidance a little sooner. 😂
Because my job isn't JUST to let my kids explore their interests...it's to help guide them through the learning process.
And sometimes that means letting them try something I'm not entirely sure they're ready for.
Sometimes it means slowing down.
Sometimes it means changing direction entirely.
We're doing that with other subjects, too. He's capable of advanced science, but we're choosing to strengthen his writing skills before moving ahead.
Because here's something I've learned:
Sometimes the best thing we can do for our kids is NOT to keep moving them forward.
It's to figure out which skills will help them move forward with CONFIDENCE later.
So if you're a few weeks into your homeschool year and something isn't working...DON'T PANIC.
Don't assume you made a terrible choice.
And don't feel obligated to keep doing something simply because you already started it.
Get CURIOUS about what's not working.
Is the material too advanced? Is a foundational skill missing? Does your child need more support than you expected?
Sometimes a curriculum that doesn't work out gives us exactly the information we need to make a better decision.
Please read that sentence again because that's a key to making homeschool work. ❤️
🛠️ FEATURED TOOL: My 11-Year-Old's Homeschool Routine + Curriculum
Want to see what we actually changed?
I'm taking you through Ezekiel's current homeschool routine, the curriculum we're using, why we paused high-school science, and how we're approaching coding after our Python experiment.
You'll see how I'm building his routine around the child in front of me—not simply what his grade level says he should be doing.
My hope is that you'll walk away with ideas you can adapt to your own homeschool.
TOMORROW - September 30th — We're Going to the Oregon Zoo!
Hey, we're meeting at the Oregon Zoo tomorrow at 10:00 AM! 🎉
We'll start making our way through the zoo at 10:20 AM, beginning in the Pacific Northwest area.
Pack a lunch, bring water, wear good walking shoes, and come hang out with us!
Each family is responsible for their own admission and parking, or you can use your zoo membership.
Want to join us? Text me at 503-730-7202 so I know who we're waiting for! ❤️
And if you're a zoo member with extra guest passes you won't use, let me know. I'd love to connect you with another homeschool family who could use them.
Heart Smart — Enrollment Now Open ❤️
A year of coaching and support for homeschool moms who are ready to stop second-guessing themselves and build a homeschool that actually works for their family.
We’ll work on vision, routines, learning, emotional regulation, and relationships—with coaching to help you actually put it all into practice.
BOOK CORNER: Tuttle Twins Favorites (that are NOT scary)
This week, we're pulling out three Tuttle Twins books that tackle big ideas without the frightening historical events or intense situations found in some of their other titles.
If you have a sensitive reader but still want to introduce critical thinking, personal responsibility, and decision-making, these are three to look at!
Next week we will have the scary list for you, curated by my oldest, Judah.
What happens when fairness gets flipped on its head?
Ethan and Emily participate in a track meet where effort and ability aren't the only things determining who wins. The story presents an argument for rewarding merit and gets kids thinking about how different systems of rewards affect people.
I like that it gives us a concrete situation to discuss: What does fairness actually mean? Should effort matter? What about circumstances outside someone's control?
This one tackles a potentially complicated topic through a familiar childhood experience — a competition — rather than a frightening story.
Content note: The conflict centers on a track meet and competing ideas about fairness, not physical danger.
This is one of those skills I really want my boys to develop.
When someone makes an argument, can they recognize whether it actually makes sense? Can they spot faulty reasoning instead of simply accepting something because it sounds convincing?
This guide introduces logical fallacies — mistakes in reasoning that can make an argument sound stronger than it really is.
I want my kids to learn to recognize these in conversations, advertisements, and even their own arguments. Because critical thinking isn't just about picking apart what someone else says. It's also about learning to examine our own thinking!
This is a guidebook rather than a frightening historical narrative, although I'd preview individual examples for a particularly sensitive reader.
The publisher places this title in its guidebook collection for preteens and teenagers.
This one comes from the Choose Your Consequence series, where readers make decisions that change how the story unfolds.
Emily hits a baseball through a window. Oops.
Now the twins have to figure out what to do about it, and your reader gets to help make those decisions.
I love the opportunity to talk about taking responsibility, telling the truth, and recognizing that our choices can have consequences we didn't intend.
It also introduces an economic idea: just because fixing something creates work doesn't mean breaking it was beneficial in the first place.
The broken window is the starting point, but I do want to clarify something for sensitive readers: the story can also involve scheming salesmen, bulldozers, police, and people potentially losing their homes, depending on the path chosen.
So while the premise is much less frightening than some of the series' darker adventures, I'd still preview this one before handing it to a particularly sensitive child.
The publisher recommends ages 13+ and lists nine possible endings.
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