Introduction to Personal Curriculum

A starter course for anyone who wants to build their own personal curriculum. Learning for the enjoyment of the learner, period. No external justification needed. Any topic is fair game. Study soup, octopuses, Gossip Girl, or whatever sparks curiosity.

By the end you will have your own personal curriculum ready to go.

14tasksAnygrade level

Here's what the path actually looks like

Preview the sequence. Step through the journey.

1Read

Read the Fast Company article on personal curriculum

Read "This TikTok Trend will make you want to learn again—with a catch" to get an overview of the personal curriculum movement and its origins.

2Watch

Watch Elizabeth Jean's viral TikTok

Watch the June 2025 TikTok that started it all. Elizabeth Jean introduces her "little school" concept and explains how she builds a personal curriculum around what she actually wants to learn.

3Watch

Watch Elizabeth Jean on finding your interests

Watch Elizabeth Jean talk about going to the library and tuning into what sparks your curiosity. Let the physical media inspire you.

4Watch

Watch Elizabeth Jean's curriculum advice

Watch Elizabeth Jean share tips on how to build your own personal curriculum. She covers how to pick topics, structure your time, and stay playful with the process.

5Do

Journal your inner child question

Grab a journal or open a blank document. Answer Elizabeth Jean's starter question: "What would my inner child want to be spending time on?" Write freely for 10-15 minutes. Don't filter yourself.

6Do

Journal your burning questions

Write down one to three questions you want answered. Questions about the world, about existence, about whatever. These don't need to be practical or important to anyone else. What do you genuinely want to know?

7Watch

Watch "Join the Curriculum Club"

Watch Elizabeth Jean's September video where she invites followers to join the curriculum club. See how she structures her own monthly curriculum and get inspired to build yours.

8Watch

Watch Elizabeth Jean's September deep dive

Elizabeth Jean walks through her full September curriculum, from manifestation and Degrassi to a Harvard X course and tuberculosis history. She says, "This is a practice in really getting to know yourself."

9Watch

Watch Elizabeth Jean plan for "spooky season"

Watch Elizabeth Jean's October curriculum as an example of timing your interests to the seasons. Spooky season calls for spooky topics. Let the calendar inspire what you study.

10Do

Visit your local library

Go to your local library. Walk the aisles. See what jumps out at you. Physical books and media can spark ideas that algorithms never surface. A cover, a title, a shelf you've never visited. Let the real world inspire your curriculum.

11Do

Browse #curriculumclub on TikTok

Spend 15-20 minutes browsing the #curriculumclub hashtag. See what other people are studying. Get inspired by their topics, their structures, their joy. Notice what makes you curious.

12Watch

Watch Elizabeth Jean's Q1 2026 YouTube video

A 40-minute deep dive into Elizabeth Jean's shift from monthly to quarterly planning. Her reason: "I want to do less but better." She walks through her Q1 units and her 6-day rotating schedule.

13Do

Build your own personal curriculum

This is it. Build your own personal curriculum for a month or a quarter. Follow the linked guide to create a curriculum file with your own activities in the sequence you want to do them. Load it into Lesson Hollow. Have fun!

14Do

Ask an AI to build you a personal curriculum

Not sure where to start? Use the linked prompt guide to have an AI build a curriculum file for you based on your interests. You can always edit it later to make it your own.

1Read

Read the Fast Company article on personal curriculum

Read "This TikTok Trend will make you want to learn again—with a catch" to get an overview of the personal curriculum movement and its origins.

2Watch

Watch Elizabeth Jean's viral TikTok

Watch the June 2025 TikTok that started it all. Elizabeth Jean introduces her "little school" concept and explains how she builds a personal curriculum around what she actually wants to learn.

3Watch

Watch Elizabeth Jean on finding your interests

Watch Elizabeth Jean talk about going to the library and tuning into what sparks your curiosity. Let the physical media inspire you.

4Watch

Watch Elizabeth Jean's curriculum advice

Watch Elizabeth Jean share tips on how to build your own personal curriculum. She covers how to pick topics, structure your time, and stay playful with the process.

1Read

Read the Fast Company article on personal curriculum

Read "This TikTok Trend will make you want to learn again—with a catch" to get an overview of the personal curriculum movement and its origins.

2Watch

Watch Elizabeth Jean's viral TikTok

Watch the June 2025 TikTok that started it all. Elizabeth Jean introduces her "little school" concept and explains how she builds a personal curriculum around what she actually wants to learn.

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Why this works when a blank page does not

See how someone else does it first

Watch Elizabeth Jean build her monthly and quarterly curricula from scratch, including the topics she drops and the ones she keeps. Seeing the process demystifies it.

Find your own interests before you plan

Journaling prompts and a library visit help you discover what you actually want to learn, not what you think you should learn.

Two ways to build your first curriculum

Follow a step-by-step guide to build your own curriculum file, or use an AI prompt to generate one from your interests. Either way, you walk out with something ready to load.

Most people love the idea of a personal curriculum but stall at the starting line. What topics? What order? How much is too much? This course walks you through real examples, gives you journaling prompts to surface your own interests, and hands you the tools to go from curious to enrolled.

Why you'll love this path

Built around the work of Elizabeth Jean, whose viral TikToks launched the #curriculumclub movement
Mixes watching, journaling, and real-world exploration so you discover what actually interests you
Ends with two paths to your first curriculum: build it yourself or let an AI draft one for you

Ready to make this yours?

By the end you will have your own personal curriculum ready to go.

Create account → quick setup → start with task 1

Skip any task that does not fit your style. The course is a guide, not a gate. Take what works and leave the rest.