New History Versions

The Good and the Beautiful is in the process of creating new versions of the History Years 1–4 course sets. This is an intensive, multi-year process including development and piloting. The first of these new editions is anticipated to release in spring 2024 with additional courses to follow.

Development of these new editions is in progress and we do have some details below which are subject to change and we will also add more as they become available.

So that families may continue to utilize the current edition, resources such as Student Explorers and Audio Dramatizations will be available into the foreseeable future.

• Our price for the courses are expected to be reduced!
• The course books will be printed in full color.
• The history timeline will be in a different, more user-friendly and beautiful format with different stickers.
• The games will be optional.
• The lessons will be updated and improved.
• The Student Explorer activities will be updated and improved.
• The current Audio Dramatizations will be replaced.
• The new versions will likely have a similar scope but the sequence within the courses and within all of the years will be changing quite significantly.
• The courses will now be for K–8 family style (instead of K–12 family style). However, we will make our Student Explorers 9–12 extensions available on our history FAQ pages for families who still want to complete the courses together. We plan to work on high school history courses; however, it will be years before they are published.
• The courses will continue to support Christopher Columbus and the Founding Fathers as men led by God, with emphasis on facts. Also, we will be including educational sections (optional) for parents and/or students that teach about the importance of looking to primary sources for information. The sections will include information on evaluating sources for truth and the pitfalls of looking for facts from secondary sources, such as YouTube videos, books, and online forums. Many secondary sources present information in ways that twist truths, give mistruths, and take things out of context. These sections will be eye-opening and help our users understand why, after years of research, we present these historical figures in a positive light and feel it is important to defend them against much false information that has been shared. Learning to evaluate the validity of sources and to be careful about historical bias is an important aspect of research that students of history should understand. 
• Additionally, we will have new, optional sidebars on historical figures, historical events, and cultures, titled “Hard True Facts.” These sidebars will teach that even good people, events, and cultures may have some negative facts about them that were realities. Parents should read these sidebars ahead of time to choose if it is information they want to share with their children, and if so, at what ages, as some parents may not feel all children will be ready for the information.
• Last but not least, we will be adding in much more diversity! This is something we are very excited about. We have found amazing historical figures whose stories need to be shared, and we are delighted to do so. Our diversity panelists are helping to develop the new history program. It will be wonderful!