FAQs, Helps, and Extras

All items have been completely updated. The Level 3 Course Set now includes the updated Course Book, a brand-new I Sat by the Sea Poetry Collection, and the Level 3 Reader, all of which are required to complete the course.

There is no longer a course companion and the Challenging Words Flashcards have been replaced by the Challenging Word Climb which is located within the new Level 3 Course Book. The previously optional readers have been replaced by one reader which is now integrated with the course.

With a completely new daily lesson format and an extensive revision of how and when concepts are introduced, the new edition is very different and does not match the old version lesson by lesson. The scope of the course has changed very little; but due to the large changes made, the sequence has changed.

The new edition of Level 3 is available as a free PDF download, so you can view the full course, including the table of contents, to find the best spot to start this course with your child.

The previous edition of Level 3 integrated A Penny’s Worth of Character. The third edition of Level 3 does not use this book or any others. The third edition of the course integrates different books and readings, and they are all included in the Reader and I Sat by the Sea Poetry Collection, which are included with the course set.  A Penny’s Worth of Character is a wonderful reading book for this level. We suggest using it for your child’s personal reading if you already own it.

Spelling and grammar rules are reviewed in our upper-level lessons as well. The Level 4 grammar and geography cards also cover grammar rules.

Each child will need their own Course Book. The Reader and the I Sat by the Sea Poetry Collection are non-consumable and can be shared.

Our grade comparison chart is as follows:

Level K: Advanced Kindergarten/Regular 1st Grade

Level 1: Advanced 1st Grade/Regular 2nd Grade

Level 2: Advanced 2nd Grade/Regular 3rd Grade

Level 3: 3rd Grade/4th Grade

Level 4: 4th Grade/5th Grade

Level 5: 5th Grade/6th Grade

Level 6: 7th Grade/8th Grade

Level 7: Advanced 8th Grade/9th Grade

The homeschool experience usually allows children to progress at a faster rate. The Good and the Beautiful curriculum is carefully designed to pack a lot of learning into a short period of time while keeping difficult subjects understandable. Thus, our curriculum tends to progress at a faster rate than public school curriculum. Children going from public school to The Good and the Beautiful tend to start at a lower level than they would expect, but they also tend to progress very quickly.

The assessment is highly recommended in order to determine the appropriate level for your child. You may also download Levels 1-5 for free, and the other levels have samples which include all the benchmarks and many sample pages. You can look through these samples and use your own judgment to decide the course level with which to start your child, but the assessment is very helpful in determining the appropriate place to start.

This is one of the most common questions parents have when they first visit our website. Our Shopping List/Age-Level Guide will help you navigate what products are needed and what is typically used for each age group. We understand that not every child will use the suggested level for their age. We advise parents to administer our Language Arts Assessment and Math Assessment before purchasing items, as these tests will give you a more detailed look at your child’s needs.

This is extremely common for children just starting The Good and the Beautiful curriculum. Our curriculum fills gaps and holes that either your child didn’t retain or were not taught in their prior curriculum.

Do not worry about starting an older child in 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. Also, when the child reaches high school age, he or she can jump right to the high school course, which reviews all grammar principles, regardless of what levels he or she has completed.

Levels 1, 2, and 3 review all the grammar and spelling principles taught in the previous courses. Thus, advanced readers can usually start one or two levels higher than they place if they only place in a lower level because of grammar and spelling. Levels 4 and above are mainly self-directed. If the child does not have a good foundation in spelling and grammar, consider starting with Level 3. Advanced readers will naturally go through the courses quickly. Also, your child can continue to improve reading skills by reading higher-level books on our book list.

Even advanced readers usually benefit by reviewing and cementing foundational phonic principles, which will help them know how to sound out challenging words when they encounter them. Advanced readers usually take less time to go through the courses and quickly reach higher levels. In the meantime, you can help your child continue to gain reading progress by completing the following:

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

You will have to use your best judgment, especially taking into consideration the child’s handwriting and writing abilities. The biggest struggle for younger children in higher levels is usually the writing assignments. In addition to this, our assessments are limited and cannot test all grammar principles; consequently, there may be gaps in learning if younger children start at a high level. It is recommended that you do not start any child more than one level above his or her corresponding grade level (allowing the child to move through the levels as quickly as he or she is able).

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

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 assessment 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 assessment after finishing each course. Simply move to the next course 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 fourteen years old. 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.

The Language Arts courses do not follow Common Core standards. Each course strives to teach everything moral and sound that is being taught in public schools while going above and beyond many public school standards, but not necessarily in the same order.

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.

The Language Arts courses are not based on one specific educational philosophy or method. Rather, the creators of this 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.

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.

Only small changes will be made in scope. The child will still learn the same things in each level, except for some small changes. We are mainly simplifying and improving how concepts are presented and organized and how the courses look.

Levels K, 1, and 2 have received raving reviews, but we continually strive to improve and update our products, and this year we are focusing on these levels. Changes in Levels K, 1, and 2 are major and are as follows:
— In current editions, some lessons take half a day and some take several days. In the new editions, lessons will be organized into daily lessons. Parents should not feel they have to complete exactly one lesson a day. Take time to explore, discuss, and really dig into learning, even if that means you do only half a lesson some days. Some may find they can do two lessons some or all days. However, organizing the content into daily lessons gives a general guide to the parent. If you complete one lesson a day, four days a week, you will finish the course in a year. Also, this new organization will prevent you from needing to jump around in the book.
–Poetry memorization and spelling are incorporated right into the lessons, giving the courses less moving parts to complete each day (yes, this means you will no longer practice the spelling charts at the beginning of the courses. However, those charts will be in the appendix for those who would still like to practice the charts.)
–The same spelling rules will be taught, but they will be taught differently with less dictation and more varied activities.
–Mini books are read twice rather than three times. Mini books will no longer be used for Level 1; they will be incorporated into the Level 1 Reader
–The courses will include much more independent work, making it easier for parents to work with multiple children on different levels.
–The lessons will include more literature and reading without increasing lesson times, as reading a lot of high-quality material is one of the best ways to create strong writers, spellers, and editors.
–New illustrations will be added to the courses, and the inside of the courses are being improved visually (the covers will remain the same).
–Each new edition will be divided into 5 sections with an assessment at the end of each section. If children do not pass the assessment, they are encouraged to do work for the corresponding unit in a supplement (purchased separately) that will be available for each level. Many children will not need the supplement. For others, the supplement offers engaging, self-directed practice of concepts that should be mastered for a solid reading foundation.
–An answer key will be included for Levels 1, 2, and 3 (not Level K).
–There will be other changes, such as more review of concepts and more practice with homophones, all without increasing lesson times.

Phonics cards, mini books, and readers are the same for the new edition of Level K. All of the content in each section of the reader has remained the same. The only adjustment is the lesson numbers that indicate when to begin each section of the reader. This will be updated for future printings. Section one will be started after completing Lesson 54, Section 2 will be started after completing Lesson 78, and Section 3 will be started after Lesson 107. All readers purchased after the new Level K Course Book release will have a sticker included on the back of the front cover with these directions. The new course book will prompt you when to begin each section as well.

In the new Level 1 Edition, to reduce the number of moving parts the mini books are no longer used (they are still used in Level K with no changes). Many, but not all, of the Level 1 mini books are now incorporated into the Level 1 Reader, which is now an integrated part of the course. The books in the Level 1 reader have been modified (shortened, many words changed, etc.) and moved around (and some deleted) to better match the progression of the course. The old edition of the Level 1 reader will not work with the new edition of the course book. We understand how nice it would be for those who previously bought the reader for one child to be able to use it with the next child, so this is not a change we took lightly. In the end, we felt the course needed to function as effectively as possible for the tens of thousands of future students who would complete the course, and that resulted in these major changes. Please remember, the PDF of Level 1 is FREE! If you do not want to buy the new edition of the reader for your next child, you can just use the PDF. We appreciate your understanding of this change.

For Level 2, the readers have changed. This level still includes the phonics cards which have not changed. Previously, the reader for Level 2 was an optional resource. There are now two readers integrated with the lessons: the Personal Reader and Shared Reader. Each reader is perfect bound rather than spiral bound. The new Personal Reader contains the same stories as the original Level 2 Reader, but it has updated illustrations. The old edition of the reader may be used to complete the course, although the page numbers will vary, which will make it difficult for the child to know what section to read for each lesson.

The new Level 3 course is composed of a newly designed course book; a hard-bound book of children’s poetry with beautiful, original illustrations; a personal reader; and a PDF answer key. The challenging word flashcards are replaced with a “Challenging Word Climb” right in the course book where children “climb” fun illustrated mountains and draw a flag on top of each mountain after mastering its words.

Yes, levels 1-5 will remain free.

That is not likely to happen. The new editions are going through reviewers who have used the old editions so they can compare, and the reviewers are ecstatic about the new editions. Once the new editions release, the old editions will no longer be made available as PDF or physical product. It is illegal to post or share PDFs of the old versions.