This curriculum lives up to its name of The Good and The Beautiful. It was designed to connect learning with all things good, including in family, God, high moral character, wholesome literature, and the wonder and beauty found in nature and human life. While learning various topics involved with language arts, it also builds character.
Currently, we are using levels 2, 4, and 6. Each of these levels covers the following subjects:
Level 2
- Phonics
- Reading
- Spelling
- Grammar and Punctuation
- Literature
- Art Appreciation
- Writing
- Geography
Level 4 drops the phonics but has all the other subjects still.
Level 4 focuses on more reading than any other level that we have worked on.
- Reading
- Writing
- Spelling
- Grammar and Punctuation
- Literature
- Art
- Geography
Level 6
Adds in Vocabulary words.
- Reading
- Writing
- Spelling
- Grammar and Punctuation
- Literature
- Art
- Vocabulary
- Geography
Here is an overview of the Good and Beautiful from the website:
- Connects learning to the good and the beautiful: family, God, high moral character, wholesome literature, and the wonders and beauty of nature and human life
- Requires no daily prep time—just open the book and follow the instructions, learning and exploring along with your child.
- Combines multiple subjects, connecting learning, adding meaning, shortening school time, making learning more enjoyable, and eliminating the need for 6 to 7 different courses. Reading, writing, literature, spelling, grammar & punctuation, vocabulary, geography, and art are all in one course!
- Emphasizes literature of the highest literary and moral merit.
- Full phonics reading program creates excellent readers. Phonics instruction is included through Level 3.
- Strong writing program creates excellent writers!
- Thorough and advanced courses leave no gaps! There is no need to supplement.
- Levels 1-5 are available as free PDF downloads!
My Thoughts on The Good and Beautiful:
The Good and The Beautiful was created by homeschool mom Jenny Phillips. I knew of Jenny way before she became a homeschool mom. I knew her as a beautiful, amazing gospel singer. If you haven't heard her songs, look her up on Youtube now. She is amazing and was given such an amazing talent. I was even more amazed by her when I discovered that she was writing homeschool curriculum. For now, her singing has been put on the back burner. What a wonderful example of a mother who loves her children and is willing to put so much time into what they need to become who God wants them to become.
When I heard about The Good and The Beautiful, I had a child struggling with any literature arts curriculum that I found for him. Nothing was engaging for him, nothing I found filled the need for a good program. He hated doing any writing or grammar. The program that he was doing was very repetitive, I'm sure that he could diagram sentences in his sleep, he did so many of them. I found a program for him that went over grammar but not writing. I was lost on what program to use to encourage creative writing. Enter The Good and The Beautiful, I downloaded the free pdf to get an idea of what this program was all about. Seeing how wonderful we both thought it was, I ordered the printed copy and have loved it ever since.
Open and Go
I love that I can just open up the book and begin, there is no prep time. This saves me so much time in my day. Everything I need is there. The lessons are short so they don't overwhelm my children with too much information in one day. While the lessons are short, it does take a little more time to go through the spelling, poetry memorization, geography and grammar cards. Every day something is different...no diagramming sentences for days on end.Level 6 has a check off list for each day that includes poetry memorization, grammar flashcards, geography flashcards, a lesson a day and reading. My level 6 learner can just go through the list and make sure he has accomplished everything on the checklist. If you read my post about geography, you can see how we use the geography cards.
Multiple Subjects Covered
Each book contains more than one subject, which also saves me time in the day and in the long run, saves me money. I don't always take time to add art appreciation to my school schedule, but I realize it is an important subject. I was excited to see that art is included with The Good and The Beautiful, one less subject for me to worry about. The artwork in each level is beautiful and has created uplifting discussions as we talk about each piece. Level 6 has a lot of fun and inspiring art projects. This mom's heart loves seeing my son create beautiful pieces as part of his assignments. It gives him a sense of accomplishment as he sees he can create delightful projects.Uplifting Literature
I am always on the lookout for uplifting literature that teaches values and morals, right away I was impressed with the books and passaged used with The Good and the Beautiful. I love the old classics and books that teach values, on that alone I would have chosen this curriculum.The booklist is such a treasure! Jenny has spent hours compiling a list of books that meet the "good and beautiful" criteria. The books that have made it onto the list have been rated for their educational value, moral and literary merit.
It's Affordable
If you can't afford to buy the printed copy, Jenny offers level as a free pdf download! How amazing is that!
Lastly, It really is beautiful!
Quality literature that encourages goodness and light and quality pictures that inspire uplifting conversations have made this purchase so worth it in my home. My kids really do love it!
*I have not been compensated in any way for this review, I purchased the books and have loved them, for this reason, I have taken the time to share a few of my thoughts with you.
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