The Good and the Beautiful Homeschool Curriculum Review
IN THIS POST YOU’LL FIND THE GOOD AND THE BEAUTIFUL HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM REVIEW.
WHAT WE WILL BE USING GOING FORWARD:
A BRIEF NOTE REGARDING THIS POST
This blog post was an honest review written two years ago (you can see the post I wrote last year here). You can see my The Good and the Beautiful Homeschool Curriculum Review below. We used The Good and the Beautiful curriculum this past year, but plan on branching off and trying something new with this next school year. The thing I love most about homeschooling is that you’re never chained to any one type of curriculum. Homeschooling is about learning to be flexible and taking time to reevaluate each year. A curriculum that was a good fit for your family last year, might not be the best fit the following year. The season of life that you’re in will change, you’ll discover that certain children learn best with other curriculum and you might even find that you’re ready for a new change of scenery. All of that to say- we have had a lovely experience with The Good and the Beautiful curriculum, but I feel that it’s time for our family to try something new this next year (I’ll share in a later post).
If you are a homeschooling mama who is looking for some fun educational seasonal bundles, I highly recommend checking out Home and Haven Homeschool Community. They offer seasonal PDF guides that are filled with themed educational activity sheets, craft tutorials, book lists, games and more! They release a new one every quarter and have been a bright spot in our educational journey. Make sure to follow them on Instagram to stay updated on their sale. The first five days of their seasonal bundle launch, they’ll offer it for 50% off.
I also love Home and Haven Homeschool Community’s shop (it’s called The Homeschool Market) where they occasionally offer free pdf downloads, sight word flash cards, Bible memorization flash cards , Chore Chart, Weekly Student Schedule and a gorgeous homeschool planner. They also offer an online community that isn’t connected to Facebook or Instagram. You can talk all things homeschooling (the perfect place to ask any questions you have) in their private forum. It’s called The Homeschool Network and a beautiful community for homeschool mamas. You can click HERE to check it out.
Home and Haven Homeschool Community will also be releasing a preschool curriculum this summer. You can click here to get on their email list to be the first to know when it will launch. They are a beautiful company that I think you will be encouraged by in your homeschooling journey!
OUR STORY
Below you will find my The Good and the Beautiful Homeschool Curriculum review. There are several The Good and the Beautiful reviews out there, I hope you find this one beneficial.
This past year we started our sixth year homeschooling! If you haven’t read our homeschooling journey you can read more here.
One of the questions that I am asked the most when it comes to homeschooling is what curriculum we are using. In years past I have primarily used the Horizon curriculum. You can see a little review of curriculum from a few years ago here. One of the reasons that I have always been drawn to Horizon curriculum is because of how straight forward the lessons were, the workbook style of the curriculum and also how nicely the lessons built on each other. Because the lessons were so structured, it freed up our time to do additional unit studies.
So why the decision to change?
The older my big kids got, the more I felt like we were just needing something more when it came to language arts and writing. Because while the Horizon workbooks were wonderful for teaching Math and Phonics, we were lacking in additional language arts, writing skills and creative writing. So, I began the hunt for new curriculum. Everything I was finding looked wonderful, but the amount of planning overwhelmed me. This year I have a 5th, 3rd, 2nd and Kinder. I know my limits and planning something extensive for each grade would just be setting myself up for failure. The search continued and I began to think that the curriculum I was dreaming about wasn’t even out there. UNTIL… I stumbled upon The Good and the Beautiful.
I remember gasping when I started scrolling through The Good and the Beautiful site. It was an absolute answer to prayer. It is a faith-based (more on this below), high academic literature that has a strong emphasis on building character. I thought I would type out a few questions that I have received below to help simplify this post.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING THE GOOD AND THE BEAUTIFUL CURRICULUM
The thing that intrigued me the most with The Good and the Beautiful was that they combined and condensed several subjects into each child’s curriculum. Instead of finding curriculum for each individual subject, they combined reading, writing, spelling, grammar, punctuation, literature, geography and art. It basically covers all of the important subjects (minus math) right into one curriculum. The lessons are absolutely beautiful and I have been blown away by what my children are learning! Each grade has their own language arts course book that you can purchase as a digital download or a high quality printed version. It is a beautiful language arts curriculum that is well thought out. We tried their math program for a month and quickly realized it was a little more hands on than I prefer as a homeschool mom teaching multiple grades. We also tried TGTB history and I found it to be a little bit on the drier side for my young kids. It is designed to be family style , but I had a hard time keeping everyone engaged.
No! This is an incredibly affordable curriculum and quite a bit cheaper than most homeschooling curriculum. The Good and the Beautiful’s goal is to strengthen children and families, which is why they keep their profit-margin low. You can purchase the PDF for a small cost or purchase the curriculum printed and bound. Because the curriculum is very affordable, I have unfortunately found that the spiral binding on the books isn’t the best quality. Almost every one of our course books this past year has lost quite a few pages because of weak spiral binding. My suggestion would be that you open to the daily lesson for each child so that you can ensure that the book stays bound.
It is written by Jenny Phillips who is a Mormon and no it is not Mormon influenced. I am a Bible Believing Christian (Southern Baptist for reference) and DO use and love this curriculum. We are NOT Mormon, member of the church of Jesus Christ or latter-day saints.
I thought I would give a little back story about finding this curriculum and why I chose to use it. Like I mentioned above, when I discovered The Good and the Beautiful curriculum I was overjoyed. It was exactly what I had been looking for and it felt like such an answer to prayer in our homeschooling journey. After ordering the curriculum I hopped on the internet and starting googling reviews on The Good and the Beautiful because I couldn’t wait to find other mamas who were loving and using it. I of course found mamas who raved about The Good and the Beautiful. But I also found several reviews from Christian mamas who said they were no longer using The Good and the Beautiful because the author was Mormon. Their concern was that the author might have put Mormon influences throughout the curriculum. After watching the videos I gathered their decisions were based purely off of personal choices and not because of something they found in the curriculum. You can read what I believe as a Bible Believing Christian here. After receiving the curriculum, looking through it thoroughly and praying about it… I knew that The Good and the Beautiful would be a wonderful fit for us. I have been vigilant about reading through every lesson to make sure it aligns with what we believe. And I can honestly say that after having used the curriculum for half a year (5th, 3rd, 2nd and Kinder) I have yet to find anything that contradicts with what we believe as Christians. The Good and the Beautiful does a wonderful job of emphasizing high moral character and basic Biblical principles.
I have found that the curriculum teaches UP in grade. I would highly suggest taking their placement test that they offer on their website. The language arts level definitely does not match up to a traditional grade level. I’m not entirely sure why they have set it up this way. It definitely makes things a little confusing for first time homeschoolers when purchasing the curriculum. Again, take the time to do the placement test if you’re unsure what grade levels match up to the course book you’ll need.
It is no more difficult than teaching multiple grades with any other curriculum. It took us a few weeks to get into a good rhythm and for me to figure out how long each child needed for certain things. My older kids are in 5th and 3rd grade. The majority of the TGTB curriculum they can do on their own. I will help them with spelling tests, dictation and also working through things that are a bit trickier. First thing in the morning they will cover everything that they can work on independently. During this time I am able to work more one on one with my Kindergartener and 2nd grader. I’ll be doing a separate blog post and Youtube video later on with what a normal homeschool day/schedule looks like for us. I do love that the daily prep time is minimal for their language arts programs. The math box did take a bit more time to prep and also to work through with the child. I found that their Language Arts books worked super well when trying hard to juggle multiple grades. The math program felt a lot trickier to work with multiple grades at the same time. It was very hands on for the teacher which might work better when it is just one student at a time.
Absolutely not! It’s designed to just open and go! However, I prefer to have written weekly schedules for each child so that they know what needs to be accomplished each day. Going through each grade and typing everything out would be a bit of a hassle. I was thrilled when I found Homeschool Planet! It’s an amazing online homeschool planner that you can use for the majority of homeschool curriculum out there (not just TGTB!). I will do a separate blog post and Youtube video specifically on Homeschool Planet and how to use it. . If you’re wanting to simplify your homeschool year, you’ll definitely want to look into it.
*Unfortunately Homeschool Planet no longer works with The Good and the Beautiful. This feature on Homeschool Planet no longer exists. I have since started using the planning pages from the Home and Haven Homeschool Planner. It is INCREDIBLE and worth every penny! They have created a homeschool planner that has space for up to 6 children per family. I have included photos of it below for you to see a few of their sample pages. They offer the Homeschool Planner as a digital print that can be brought to your local printer. They also have limited amounts of physical Homeschool Planners that they ship right to you. Make sure to get on their email list to be notified when the Homeschool Planners will be back in stock.
WATCH A VIDEO REVIEW
PIN IT FOR LATER
I am so grateful for The Good and the Beautiful’s printed materials over the past several years. They were a perfect fit for our family for the past few years. While I will be using other curriculum and different courses this next year, we have nothing but wonderful things to say about The Good and the Beautiful.
Do you find that TGTB is more mastery based or spiral when it comes to grammar? Does it have enough review? I’v ordered level 1 to look through it and to see if I am going to like their spelling.
Hello! Do you recommend Horizons or TGTB for preschool and kindergarten?
Thank you!
I just came across your lovely page. I am a first time home schooling mom to a 3rd grader. I wanted to ask you, would you still use TGTB for a 3rd graders math or should I purchase the Horizons math (that one subject only) and stick with TGTB on everything else?
PS. Im really scared to do this. I’ve never home schooled. I want to build my lkittle man up, not send him to a public school where they are all acting like weirdos and wearing masks and playing by themselves! HELP!
I’m looking for a comparison of TGATB language 1 with All About Reading 1. I like that AAR has thorough word lists, games, making flip books etc.. I’m teaching my grand kids K and 1 language arts this year have k. I purchased Master Books Language Lesdond for a living – it’s not going to work, although I like the Biblical Christian in Master Books.
I really appreciate your input
Thanks for this review. I’m a first time homeschooler for a kindergartner and a second grader.
I hope those reading these comments can also know that “Mormon’s” are Bible believing christians as well.
the Mormon church is actually the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Excited to try this homeschooling method this year.
Super helpful review, I really appreciate it because I found the same sentiments but I couldn’t find issues with the curriculum that I’ve read so far, either, in regards to non-denom vs. mormon faith. It’s all Bible-based, no BOM references.
Hi, I am new to your blog and we will be homeschooling for the first time this fall. I found this review incredibly helpful and encouraging. Thank you very much. I am wondering if you ever did the Homeschool Planet video?
This will be our first year homeschooling. We are using The Good and Beautiful curriculum. After watching your video and seeing what all is included in the language art curriculum I am wondering do I need the handwriting book since handwriting is include in the language arts? And what about cursive? I also have orders the cursive handwriting book.
Do you know if The Good and Beautiful an accredited curriculum?
How would you compare this to the peaceful press/pioneer?!
What about science?
I downloaded 3rd grade when it first came out and it was free. Are you using the paid versions? And if so, any idea if its different than the free version? Also, the 3rd grade level says that we are supposed to read certain parts to them. Do you just let them do that part alone?
Your back story is identical to mine!!!! I was so excited when I discovered it! I ordered it and saw that Jenny Phillips is Mormon. At the same time, it was a huge answer to prayer!! My daughter is soaring in school and enjoying learning! This is solid curriculum with no influences that deviate from the Bible. Thank you for writing this!
Loved your review! But I just wanted to tell you that Mormons are Christians and they do believe in the Bible. 🙂
Pretty! This has been an extremely wonderful post. Thank you for supplying this information.
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you penning this article
and also the rest of the website is very good.
Help! I can’t find a post on how you schedule your TGTB day. I’m so glad I found your site though because it’s lovely!
hi jennifer, Im preparing to enroll in this TGTB for kindergarten child for all subjects, math, language arts, elective creative arts, handwriting. The concern for me is My family lives abroad in China and I was wondering How grades and homemade transcript records can traslate to an accredited program if My child chooses later to change to a public school program.
I’m trying to find your post on your typical day and schedule for your home school day using TGATB. I am homeschooling 7 kids this next year using all Good and Beautiful except for my older kids Math. I’d love to see how you do it. Thanks
Thank you so much for your review! I am just so encouraged by your homeschool life! Thank you!
Hello! Thanks for your review. What level of language arts do each of your kids use? I know it is more advanced, but both of my kids are advanced readers/spellers and “average” in grammar use, so I’m hesitant to say put my 4th grader in Level 3 because he didn’t know what an independent clause vs a dependent clause right off but then have him bored with the lack of challenge in spelling or reading. Thanks!
We have used TGTB and homeschool planet for two years, and love both!
I am anxious to watch your other videos that are to come. I am really considering homeschooling my 5th grader starting at the next school year. I am feeling a tug and am going to pray about it. I have watched your journey with homeschooling, so I can’t wait to see your other blog posts about it. Thank you for blogging about this curriculum!
We are going to begin our first year of homeschool this fall. I will two in third grade. Would I have to buy double of everything or are only certain things workbooks? I also will have one in second grade. This sounds like an amazing curriculum! Especially since it’s my first year I am looking for something simple. Thank you for sharing! 🤗
Thanks for the review. Is there actual scripture quoted in the curriculum and if yes what bible version is used? Thanks so much
Yes and it is said on the website that they reference the king james bible.
I would also lile to know the answer to this
This is exactly what I was hoping to find out as well. I am very interested in using the curriculum but I would not want to if there were passages from the Book of Mormon. Thank you for your insight Ashley.
They use the King James Version of the bible. This is stated on their website.
KJV
Did you purchase the pdf and print? If so, where did you have them bound? I’m pretty frugal and curious if I’d save much in the end if that much in the end. I’ve looked into TGTB in the past and think this is just what we need for next year. Thank you for doing a review!
Thanks for such a great and honest review Ash! I’ve been wanting to get their language arts curriculum to supplement our Ambleside Online schedule and think it will be perfect. Thanks!
I love your blog and Instagram! Thanks so much for sharing your life! My question is did you decide to buy the bound version from TGTB or did you have it printed and bound somewhere local? I am highly debating homeschooling my soon to be kinder and second grader and I’m a tad bit nervous about this whole adventure. Thanks in advance for your reply!
I purchased the bound version! I did the math and by the time I went and had it printed/bound somewhere the price wasn’t that much different.
We’ve been using The Good and the Beautiful for preschool and love it! I’m planning on using it for next year too, but am struggling with what to choose for math. Is there a reason you stuck with Horizons instead of moving to TGTB? Thank you so much for this post and YouTube video!!
At the time TGTB didn’t go up high enough level wise in Math for my whole crew. Plus before I changed up everything all together I thought it would be easier to slowly introduce new curriculum. If that makes sense?! 🙂 . I LOVE Horizon math so we will more than likely continue on with it.