Hey Reader

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a little slow when it comes to internet trends 😝

Usually, by the time I hear about something, the hype has fully died down and the trend has passed, only to be replaced by the new and shiny thing ✨

This means that most trends don't get a lot of attention from me.

I'm not learning the new dance routines, trying viral recipes, or posting 2016/2026 comparison photos (though I love seeing them!)

The personal curriculum trend is an exception though, and is one I actually feel is worth getting involved in 👌

Wait, what is this?

If you've not heard about it already, making a "personal curriculum" gained traction on TikTok in late 2025 (which is in part why I'm only just talking about it; I don't use TikTok so I'm not very "in the know" 😅)

This involves creating your own structured learning plan, normally with the reason of combatting "brain rot" from excessive screen time.

From my understanding, it was kicked off by creator Elizabeth Jean (@xparmesanprincessx) and now has a decent following of people making and sharing their own seasonal or monthly plans.

Rather than focus on "traditional" school-based topics, people are tackling topics of personal interest, making the curricula as diverse as the people getting involved 😊

I have some thoughts...

On one hand, I love it.

The idea of people taking their learning into their own hands and committing to the "lifelong learner" lifestyle is excellent!

What a great way to combat endless scrolling and actually dive into our areas of interest.

On the other hand, as a former teacher, I have some concerns 😅

While some people are genuinely planning out what I would consider to be a "curriculum", a lot of others are really just making a reading list...

I don't have anything wrong with a reading list or a TBR! I just don't think it really counts as a curriculum 😝

What also seems to be missing are strategies that will help people actually learn things from their personal curriculum rather than just passively engage with a different type of content.

Do I think everyone needs a degree in teaching and learning before they make a personal curriculum? No.

However, I do think there are some key considerations that can help safeguard your personal curriculum from just being a glorified reading list 😛

Let's have a look 👀

The idea - Making your own personal curriculum

In making your own personal curriculum, I'd recommend aiming to have these key sections:

• Content
• Learning objectives
• Learning plan
• Assessment
• Evaluation

Content
​These are the topics and sub-topics that you want to learn about as part of your curriculum. You can aim to tackle a range of topics, or stick to one larger topic with multiple sub-topics. Just remember to keep in mind what timeframe you're making your curriculum for!

E.g. If the main topic is crochet, sub-topics could include terminology, understanding patterns, project construction, etc.

Learning objectives
​These are the skills and capabilities you want to be able to demonstrate after learning your curriculum content. I like to write these with action words, and have at least one learning objective tied to each sub-topic my curriculum covers. Essentially this is the stuff you want to be able to explain or do after your learning.

E.g. If the sub-topic is crochet materials, a learning objective could be "identify appropriate hooks and yarn types for different projects"

Learning plan
​This is essentially how you'll learn from the curriculum. Rather than just giving yourself a list of things to learn, this is where you plan what you'll use, when you'll use it, and how you'll use it. I like to consider this section in terms of a materials list (what), a rough schedule (when), and the learning strategies that will help (how).

E.g. For crochet, a learning plan might include:
Materials: basic crochet books, YouTube channels,
Schedule: planning out when each week you'll work on learning crochet
Learning strategies: get and follow a starter kit, join a local beginners class, etc.

Assessment
​Don't worry, I'm not going to make you take a test! In a regular curriculum though, this is how we check that students have been picking up what we're putting down. Your assessment tasks should be the same; how will you know you can actually demonstrate your learning objectives? This could be as simple as actually explaining something without referencing your notes, or applying your learning to make or do something.

E.g. A crochet "assessment" might be a beginner-friendly pattern that doesn't come with a full tutorial walkthrough

Evaluation
​In a regular teaching scenario, this is where we'd reflect on the curriculum after having used it. When you're teaching the same units of study repeatedly, you don't really want to have to start from scratch each time 😂 As this is a personal curriculum though, the evaluation step is an opportunity to consider what you would keep the same or change in your next version. It doesn't have to be a continuation of the same topics, or just doing the same curriculum over again, but

E.g. I always aim to apply the WANT analysis to reflection steps like this.
​Wins - What worked in your personal curriculum?
​Aversions - What didn't work in your personal curriculum?
​Need - What do you need to include in the next version?
​Try - What will you try differently next time?

Didn't I see a video about this?

You may have!

In a recent video for our YouTube channel members, I went through my process for making my personal curriculum 💪

Mine is all focused on financial literacy and learning more about financial topics that I have...limited to no understanding of 😂

If you were curious, hit the video link below to jump over to that one!

You have to be a Tier 3 channel member to watch it, but with that you also get access to over 100 other members-only videos and livestreams 😊

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Let's take action

If you're curious about making your own personal curriculum, I fully encourage you to go for it!

What's a topic or subject that you've been eager to learn more about, or a new hobby that you want to try out? Either of those can be great starting places!

Starting from a blank page can be daunting though, so to help you out, I've set up a Notion template that you can use to organise your personal curriculum planning 😄

That one is available over in our free Notion template library; just hit the button below to head over there!

It has sections dedicated to each curriculum part that we talked about in this newsletter 👌

Until next time!

- Jess

Sick of setting goals that don't get achieved? Learn the system everyday goal-getters are using to make EPIC things happen.