I’m sure you’ve noticed that I hold the term “personal curriculum” very loosely these days because of my schedule and life stage. 😁
I’m a mid-life mom busy homeschooling my teens and finding ways to love and support my young adults. My schedule contains homemaking, teaching, parenting, volunteer work with teens, and writing.
My days are often full of invisible and unnoticed work.
And that is why my monthly personal curriculum plans matter so much to me. I need a To-Do List that doesn’t accomplish anything related to my caretaking tasks, but brings me immense joy.
I have gotten some questions from readers about how I structure my learning and also this lovely pointed comment:
[[ “What’s with the list of seasonal activities? That’s not very academic..” ]]
First, let me say that I love how a personal curriculum is first personal (meaning unique to each person).
Second, a personal curriculum can be structured in so many ways.
And I love making my monthly post because sharing my reading basket contents and intentional seasonal plans here feels like the gentle accountability of a library book due.
I want to avoid hypocrisy.
Practical application is at the core of my writing. I am inspired to do what I write about, to live out the words I share, and give you kind permission to do the same.
I hope my lists and notes inspire you to make a plan that is unique to your life and current needs. 💙
So, let’s jump into it!!
First > > my October inspo collage
Here’s what I’m making room for this month:
🍲 Fall-themed meals — I want to adjust our fall dinner menu to include more stews, casseroles and I want to make chili with homemade cornbread.
🍪🥧Baking projects — I think it would be fun to perfect my own homemade muffin mix and find a go-to chocolate chip cookie bar recipe.
🧩🎧 Jigsaw puzzles and audiobooks — need I say more?
📻Fall Playlists — I just got a Bluetooth speaker that I put in the kitchen window to encourage me to play music when I’m baking, making dinner, or just hanging out in the kitchen. (I love finding new fall vibes playlists! Please share in the comments if you have one you enjoy.)
🎃 Halloween Pumpkins — I get pumpkins every year and set them around the house but this year I want to carve them with my teens.
📚Sorting My Bookshelves — the declutter bug has hit me and I want to revamp the children’s books and YA bookshelves in our living room. My process looks like this.
For this part of my reading life, I try to lean into enjoyment and stories that give me healthy escapism. The immersive experience of getting lost in a book (or time period) provides mental space and something different to think about.
Especially on audio while cleaning the house, folding the ever-loving mountain of laundry, and just resting in the evenings with knitting or a jigsaw puzzle.
🎥📖 Jane Austen Fall:
my big goal = enjoying Austen movies & books
I am so excited that the new Sense and Sensibility Movie is in theaters mid-October! I need to make some plans with friends to go see it! 😁
Since I love including themes in my reading life, I plan to settle into the Regency Era and Late Victorian Era for this fall.
🎥Becoming Jane (2007) — stars Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen and James McAvoy as Tom Lefroy. I love the dialog and the Regency clothing and setting.
🎥Sense and Sensibility (1995) – written by and starring Emma Thompson, alongside Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, and Alan Rickman. Umm yes!! I realized that I haven’t seen this one yet and I’m excited.
🎥Emma – The 1996 movie with Gwyneth Paltrow is my favorite but I also liked the 2020 movie with Anya Taylor-Joy.
🎥Mansfield Park (1999)— I enjoy this movie adaptation going beyond the original book by adding in elements of Austen’s actual life and personal journals.
🎥Persuasion (1995 & 2007) — The 2007 version is absolutely wonderful! I love that Dakota Johnson breaks the 4th wall and speaks directly to the camera.
🎥Pride & Prejudice (2005) — Mr. Darcy in the fog. That is all I need to say. .
📖📚 TheBooks by Jane Austen — I have read a few but maybe this fall I will read another. I got a beautiful hardcover set for my birthday a few years ago and it sits on my shelf waiting for me. 😁
📚The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower — This series takes place during the Late Victorian era and people on BookTok cannot stop talking about it. So I’m gonna dive in and I’ll let you know in my recap post if it is worth the hype.
photo from Pinterest
Non-fiction:
I honestly love holding a hardcover non-fiction in my hands, underlining, writing notes in the margins, and adding tabs. Annotating helps me deepen my reading. If the book grabs my attention then I will Commonplace my notes and underlines.
My goal is to read a wide variety. I pick at least one book that will stretch me (either in application or intellectually) and then others that go along with current interests.
📖The Happiness Crisis: How Adversity Can Build a Resilient and Joyful Next Generation by Jon (Jonathan) Eckert — I am so excited to share more about this book and do a collab with this author. This book tackles the problems created with a society focused on instant gratification, temporary pleasures, and avoiding discomfort. Eckert defines joy vs. circumstantial happiness. And shares how joy is the fuel that enables young people to navigate adversity successfully.
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📖Make Your Art No Matter What: Moving Beyond Creative Hurdles by Beth Pickens — I picked this book because she guides through common messy realities of the creative life with chapter titles like: Fear, Grief, Isolation, and the dread of Other People. I’ve heard from others that Pickens completely busts the myth that you will one day reach a magical, stress-free paradise where your art will just flow. And this feels like just the book I need to read for my creative life right now.
After all the hosting that happened in my home this spring and summer, I need to reset my home for fall. This book is a kind companion for that process.
I’m working on redefining some spots in the kitchen and living room. I got these soft lights to hang above the front window so we can enjoy soft lighting on winter evenings. And I added a few new pieces to the big wall in our kitchen/dining area:
Jordan Page is back on YouTube and I am excited to have fun with her cookbook and meal plan inspiration. I like the “Choose Your Own Adventure” system and her back-to-basics cooking approach. Her “Shelf-Tember” challenge, block scheduling, and spending freezes made a huge difference in my life and our family budget when I was climbing out of burnout.
Jordan’sShelf-Tember challenge: The goal is to drastically cut your grocery budget by “shopping your shelves”—forcing you to eat through the food you already have in your fridge, freezer, and pantry for the month of September. (But you can do it whenever!)
So why do I include a list of seasonal specific activities or personal goals in my personal curriculum?
They are not often very “academic” and seem silly to some, but I have found after hitting burnout that I need these plans to create a more well-rounded schedule.
I have a quote in my office that grabs my attention when my eyes glaze over and I end up staring mindlessly at my bookshelves. It inspires me to be more creative and do more outside of my writing work.
“Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing.” – Benjamin Franklin1
I am also inspired by the ideas from Charlotte Mason about living a life permeated by being in nature, discussing good ideas, reading well-written words, and examining beautiful art.
Life is so much more than a list of adulting tasks, a cleaning To Do List, or even a stack of books we brag about reading.
“Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.” — Charlotte Mason, A Philosophy of Education, Volume 62
It is key to live a vibrant life full of ideas and experiences that give us material to have great conversations and healthy relationships.
I want to be the best version of myself. At this current age, in this life stage, and in this busy fall season.
So, here’s another list of plans to learn at a sustainable pace and lean into the season.
May you find joy in the process, grace for yourself when your plans change, and delight in the unexpected rabbit trails.
🤓book nerd moment : Apparently a version of this quote appears in Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack from 1738 as: “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.” I guess the full quote was to upsetting to put on a pretty wood frame. 😜
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