FAQs, Helps, and Extras

You will need chalk pastels. Suggestions from Amazon.com: NuPastel 36 (high-quality recommendation) or B441R078-7003A (less expensive recommendation)

Listen to the child read the challenging words and text at the beginning of most lessons and help sound out words the child cannot read. Rather than telling the word, help the child sound out the word. 2) Check the child’s work using the answer key. No matter what level the child is on, parents should check the child’s work on a daily basis, giving feedback. When needed, adjust the level of parental involvement. Parents should also occasionally quiz the child on grammar and geography flashcards to assess progress.

For Level 4, five full-length books are contained right in the course book. For this reason, there is no  separate reader for Level 4. The following books are included in the course: Down Tumbledown Mountain by Elizabeth Coatsworth, Carlotta by Ella Maie Seyfert, The Belgian Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins, Exploring the Jungle by JoBesse Waldeck, and The Pewter Plate by Florence Parker Simister. You will also need to purchase the books Twenty and Ten and The Big Wave, which are incorporated into the lessons.

Daily spelling drills are included in every lesson and help the child practice specific targeted words (rule breakers and commonly misspelled words). A list of these words can be found on page 7 of the course book. The course book also helps children practice basic spelling rules and advanced spelling patterns.

Yes, the Creative Companion is required.The child will complete the lesson in the coursebook and then turn to the Creative Companion to complete the rest of the lesson. The Creative Companion contains a large amount of beautiful artwork. It also contains geography, writing, and art assignments.

We like to vary the components of different levels to change things up for children to prevent boredom and to make it more engaging. The format works very well for this particular course and has allowed us to incorporate five full-length books into the course books!

Although the course book is black-and-white, the Creative Companion includes so much color that this level actually has more total color than any other course level.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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

Please email our customer support team (support@goodandbeautiful.com) 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.

Upper Elementary A is an earlier version of our curriculum. If your child completed that level, he or she is now ready for Level 6.

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.

We have no plans to create new editions for Pre-K, Level K Primer, Levels 4-7, or High School 1.

Level K: A new edition of Level K released on June 14, 2019.

Level 1: A new edition of Level 1 released on June 27, 2019.

Level 2: A new edition of Level 2 released on January 6, 2020.

Level 3: A new edition of Level 3 will release in April or May 2020.