FAQs, Helps, and Extras

Not necessarily. If a child has completely mastered all the letters and their sounds (including short and long vowel sounds), knows the vowels, can sing the alphabet, and can sound out short, simple two and three letter words, the child is ready to begin the Level K course. Children who use the Kindergarten Prep course will be better prepared for the speed of the Level K course.

Everything you need comes in the course book including 15 punch pages in the Appendix. The course book tells you when to remove the pages and play the games.

All the songs used in this course are available for free. They will be available in the future on the free Good and Beautiful Homeschooling app. They can now be found above or on goodandbeautiful.com/app. Many of the songs and videos can also be viewed on The Good and the Beautiful Kids YouTube channel.

Lesson length will vary greatly between children. Have the child do as much work each day as the child’s attention span will allow. You do not need to complete exactly one lesson a day. You might do less than or more than one lesson. Look for cues of frustration or fatigue to help you know when to end. The child will learn much from you as you display love, patience, and enthusiasm for learning.

While this course reviews and cements letter recognition and the sounds of letters, the child needs to have these items mastered before starting this course. If the preschool course has already been taken but the child doesn’t quite have the letters mastered, use the Preschool Folder Activities that come with the preschool course and accompanying flashcards until the letters are mastered.

It includes 30 open-and-go lessons.

Language Arts New Edition Schedule (Schedule Last Updated April 2022):

Preschool: A new edition of our Preschool Course (which replaced our Pre-K Language Arts course) released on August 30, 2021.
Kindergarten Prep: Kindergarten Prep (which replaced our Level K Primer course) was released on April 19, 2022.
Level K: A new edition will be released in June 2022.
Level 1 and 2: New editions will be released in July 2022.
Level 3: We are currently working on creating a new edition of Level 3 that will be released in early summer 2023.
Level 4: A new edition of Level 4 was released on October 12, 2020.
Level 5: A new edition of Level 5 Language Arts was released on March 8, 2022.
Levels 6 and 7: We plan to release new editions of these levels in 2024.
High School LA Courses: We do not have plans to revise these courses. We will not be releasing any more high school classes in 2022 or 2023.

As we create new editions of language arts, we are aligning the instruction methods and layouts more toward grade level. We are focusing the lower levels more on reading, writing, and spelling.

Many concepts are still considered advanced but they are introduced in lessons that are easier to follow for both the child (in the self-guided levels) and the parent (in levels 3 and under). We now save some of the more complex grammar concepts for higher levels, but grammar is still covered thoroughly. Our courses have increased, rather than decreased, in how thorough and rigorous they are for children as there is more learning woven into each and every lesson. If your child is advanced, they may be able to move through the lessons more quickly. 

You can download our Language Arts Levels 1-5 as FREE PDFs on our website! (Just scroll down to where you see the numbers in orange circles and click the one you are interested in.) By downloading the free course, you will be able to see exactly how concepts are introduced and taught.     

Not necessarily. Most children can start on their corresponding grade level for their age if they do not need extra reading help. We suggest taking the placement test if you are unsure whether or not the child needs extra reading help. 

We are so happy that you chose The Good and the Beautiful to be part of your homeschooling journey!

This is one of the most common questions parents have when they first visit our website. Our Getting Started Guide will help you navigate what products are needed and what is typically used for each age group. Once you’ve received your order, this same guide will walk you through your new courses.

Do not worry about starting an older child at a lower level. He or she will likely go through the courses quickly and catch up to his or her corresponding grade level without missing any important foundational principles.

We highly suggest placing your child based on the placement test suggestion. Please also see the placement test FAQs, found on page 4 of the placement test document, for additional suggestions for advanced readers.

This is not common. However, if this is the case after you followed instructions, completed the entire course book, and feel that the child made progress, move to the course for the next level. If you feel that the child did not make good progress, or if the child does not pass the placement test after finishing the NEXT course (two course books in a row), it is suggested you have the child tested for a reading or learning disability.

Note: Usually you do not need to have your child take the placement test after finishing each course. Simply move to the next course level.

If your child can pass the reading assessment for a course level higher than his or her corresponding age/grade, we do not suggest skipping to the higher level course. There are many spelling, grammar, literature, geography, and reading concepts taught in each level. There is no benefit to the child being ahead of a level and missing all that information. If you want your child to move to a higher level course more quickly, we suggest doing one-and-a-half or two lessons a day and/or doing lessons five days a week to get ahead, and skipping parts of the course the child already has mastered.

Even advanced readers benefit from reviewing and cementing foundational phonics principles, which will help them know how to sound out challenging words when they encounter them. Advanced readers usually go through the courses quickly until their spelling, grammar, and writing ability catches up to their reading. In the meantime, you can help your child continue to develop as a reader by doing the following activities:

1. Supplement with books from The Good and the Beautiful Book List that are on your child’s reading level. The book list has a separate placement test to assess just reading level.
2. With your child, read books that are two to three levels higher than his or her personal reading level, switching off every paragraph or page. When reading on their own, children often skip through challenging words. Reading aloud with a parent or teacher encourages the child to sound out challenging words.
3. Have your child listen to audiobooks (from The Good and the Beautiful Book List) that are two to three levels higher than his or her reading level.

Start your child on the level for which he or she tested and be consistent each day with doing the recommended time for the course (see the “About this Course” section at the beginning of each course book). Then, do not stress! If a child does not have reading disabilities, he or she can start with the first high school course as soon as they reach high school age. It is not necessary to complete Level 7 beforehand. For example, if a child completed Level 5 and just turned 14, he or she can jump to the High School 1 course. This is because our standard high school courses review the principles and rules learned in the lower levels.

Since reading literature of high moral and literary value is one of the best uses of time for children, this course incorporates a good amount of reading. It improves reading fluency and speed, comprehension, spelling, writing, vocabulary, focus, analytical thinking skills, character, and more. If the child is a slower reader, consider reading with the child, alternating each paragraph. You could also read two paragraphs and then have the child read one paragraph.

We recommend that students work for a certain amount of time each day, instead of trying to complete a set number of lessons. Additionally, some lessons contain parts that are meant to be completed on separate days, so it is likely that your child will be working on more than one lesson each day. For example, you may start by reviewing a spelling rule and dictating one set of words to your child, and then move to the next lesson and complete a geography assignment. The following day you would return to the same spelling lesson and dictate another set of words before proceeding to the next lesson you are working on. Our new editions of Levels K-3 are formatted in a daily lesson schedule.

No, you can continue straight into the next level when your child finishes.

Point out obvious errors, such as missing periods, and make sure the child followed instructions, such as using two or more transition words. Other than that, we suggest not having the child rewrite writing assignments. The child will be prompted to edit and revise writings.

Parents often expect spelling lists that contain words with spelling patterns, such as words with EA or OO. Our targeted spelling lists are not designed to practice spelling patterns. Rather, they are lists of rule breakers or commonly confused words. These words are hard or impossible for children to sound out with regular spelling patterns, or they are words that children most commonly misspell. Our spelling lists are not lists of random words. They are carefully chosen words that need to be practiced outside of regular spelling pattern practice and spelling rule practice.

In our courses, the majority of spelling practice is accomplished outside of lists. Learning regular spelling patterns through memorizing words is not as effective as learning through exercises that cause the child to think specifically about the patterns and figure out how to utilize them. In our courses, children practice spelling patterns (such as EA or OO) in effective ways, rather than merely memorizing a group of words with that pattern.

For example, children practice spelling patterns through spelling dictation and through a variety of exercises in their independent practice. We believe the following strategies best help children to become effective spellers:

1. Read a lot of high-quality books.
2. Practice spelling patterns.
3. Practice spelling rules that contain few exceptions.
4. Practice targeted words that are rule breakers or commonly misspelled words, homophones, and prefixes and suffixes.

It is anticipated to be available this summer. Stay tuned for additional information!

The app resources are highly recommended to enhance learning and pilot families, even those who do not use screens in their homes, were raving about the videos, video books, and spelling resources. Most parts of the courses can be completed without the use of our apps, but some parts, especially geography and some highly effective spelling rule videos require the use of the app, but those parts can be skipped if desired. The apps can be accessed and used on the computer if desired so a smart phone is not required.

You can go straight into the new edition. The new edition courses are adjusted to be more on grade level, but we still teach almost all the same concepts and topics just as thoroughly, and in many cases more thoroughly. The difference is that we teach the concepts in a more gentle way that is age appropriate for the child, so that the child does not get overwhelmed.

My First, Second, and Third Nature Readers will be released in late summer 2022. My First, Second, and Third Africa Readers will be released after that. At this point, we have not decided if we will have other My First, Second, and Third Readers series after that.

Please email our customer support team ([email protected]) if you find a typo in the curriculum. If you are using an edition that is older than two years, the typo has most likely been fixed and will not need to be reported .

Our curriculum does not follow Common Core standards, but it does match or exceed most national public school standards. The academic spine of our curriculum was developed by compiling national state standards and then determining which ones match Good and Beautiful moral standards and the abilities of our pilot families. We believe that children who work on The Good and the Beautiful curriculum consistently each day will find that they are far above public school standards.

The Language Arts courses are not based on one specific educational philosophy or method. Rather, the creators of the curriculum intensely studied many different philosophies over a period of years and compiled what they felt were the best elements from several different philosophies, pulling mainly from Charlotte Mason.

No. The goal of The Good and the Beautiful curriculum is not to teach doctrines specific to a particular Christian sect, but to teach general principles of moral character such as honesty and kindness. The King James Version of the Bible is used when quoting Bible verses.