I am so fascinated by this curriculum. Please tell me all your thoughts on it. Good, bad, levels, and which programs you used. It looks amazing but I am hesitant to do a 180 on some of the subjects we have found that seem to be working. Thanks!
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I have in hand, levels K and level 1. I have handwriting level 2, the first history set and the science units: water, space, and arthropods. I’m about 1/3 of the way through level K and I really like it.
One of my main reasons for switching is just how incredibly burnt out I’m feeling! I have so many different products to make up language arts and I felt like The Good and the Beautiful would be a great way to simplify without sacrificing quality and academics. I feel like it’s working and I love what I see in the next level and the other subjects.
I do think that The Good and the Beautiful is advanced. My first grader and kindergartener both tested into level k. Both kids are kind of flying through it but it’s showing me gaps and really solidifying some concepts so I don’t mind going back. Next year they will both do level 1 which I personally think is on par with more like an average child s second grade.
To give you an idea of what my 2 kids did this year and still tested into level K:
AAR level 1and
First Language Lessons 1
WWE 1
Spelling You See
Explode the code 1, 1 1/2, & 2
Lots of readers and read alouds.
What I like is that everything you need for language arts is all there. (And you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on it!) It’s easy to teach and understand while still being challenging. I’m The younger levels its mercifully scripted if you need that help! The phonics portion moves quickly so you might need to pace yourself if you have a struggling reader. It also has beautiful pictures and art and lovely poetry. (Level 2 and up also includes geography.) Honestly, it has all the things that I always wanted to add to my curriculum but never had time to incorporate! I have art books and childrens poetry books that we’ve just never read but this curriculum adds those little things in. I’m usually big on supplementing, and I have zero plans to add anything to this because it really is enough. (My kids will still use explode The code next year just because they requested it and love it.)
The science units look fantastic. One thing that I always worry about with curriculums for a wide age range is will it be over or under the heads of my older or younger kids? This is just great for all ages- really. Some units involve a lot of material gathering and others don’t. All the sample pages show a supply list so you can pick accordingly.
The history comes with a book of history stories that is heavy and awesome! I don’t have to buy or go to the library for fifty books because this comes with so many stories! The history also uses a lot of audio stories that are very engaging. I was bored to tears this year listening to The Story Hour cds that came with our Beautiful Feet history. (They aren’t that bad but for my first grader it was boring.) The Good and the Beautiful History recordings are awesome. There are at least two lessons that The history book says you should skip if you have a child under grade 4 just because that particular lesson could be over the child’s head essentially. Even with those few exceptions there is still a good age range that will enjoy this. I don’t think I’d use it if I had just first graders and below because I think you can find something more age appropriate for littles! You can also repeat The history sequence over and over because it comes with worksheets/activities that are specific to your child s grade and The activities and sheets change so you’ll still do something different The next time through the same level.
The handwriting is nothing spevial. It’s ball and stick and pretty basic. For many levels the bottom half of the page has coloring activities or directs your child to draw something specific. I have one child who loves to color and one who doesnt. I got the handwriting anyways and surprisingly my son is excited to use it because it has pictures he likes. I think he said there was an airplane and a ship and he thought that was cool.
Sorry abt my grammer /spelling I’m on my tablet and rushing! If you have any questions let me know!
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I also wanted to add that you can download the language arts for levels 1-5 for free if you want to give it a good look over! That way you’ll see how it works before you consider switching. If what you have is working that’s okay too! What we were doing just was too much and felt fragmented and wasn’t flowing well.
If you want to use it I’d recommend buying the physical books. I printed the level K and it used so much ink I paid more to print it! I bought the physical level 1s and it was worth it.
I really hope this will be a keeper for us. So far I really like it. My kids like it better than what we were doing. (Although I do like AAR, it’s a lot to pay for a single portion of language arts.) But having every subject all over was too much for this season!
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Thank you! This is exactly what I was hoping for. I feel like we are using too many different pieces for language arts and are still lacking in literature. And I too have good intentions for to do extras but just don’t make it to it sometimes. The last 3 years me and my husband pretty much split our homeschool stuff down the middle but he has been working more and me staying home more and I am realizing how many different “pieces” we are actually doing. It can get overwhelming for just one person!
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Yes it can!! I hope this will work out for your family! And mine! 
I agree with what momof3 said. (So eloquently)
I have been using the language arts portion this past school year for my 2 girls ages 13 & 8. My 11 year old son was happy with what he has (fix it grammar) so I haven’t switched him yet, but will add it in for him for next year in addition to, (if he still thrives on fix it.) I have noticed a lot of gaps being filled, and my daughters and I love it. It is complete, fun & interesting for us. We will be adding in other subjects in the future (I’ve already ordered or downloaded LA & other subjects for next year) I like that little (if any) prep is involved, yet it is so rich.
I have been telling people to just look into it. Especially for boys as they tend to be more visual and this does a good job of visual/drawing etc. I would say test your child to see what level they should be as it may surprise you, but is worth starting them at their appropriate level. 
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Thank you! My oldest is 13 so I’m glad to hear it’s working well for her. My kiddos are the exact same ages as yours! 
I had that same fascination! And to Momof3: SAME!! Too many different programs to get through and far too teacher intensive to do them well and often enough. I have begun TGATB Language Arts level 4 with my son, 3rd grade, and he LOVES the independence of it. There is a couple brief assignments which involve the teacher in the beginning, but after that, he has his own checklist of what to do for the day.
I really like how each subject is handled and especially the following: sentence diagramming in grammar, flash cards for both grammar and geography, map tracing in geography, cultural and artistic elements in geography, spelling activities that (somewhat) vary, really good quality reading choices, continual insertion of godly morals, motives and reasoning, and more.
Rachyalmee: my son also loves Fix-It grammar and seemed to be doing well…but after a gentle standardized test, I realized he was missing some very basic structural grammar concepts. After just a short time with TGATB he has improved.
So, all that being said, I am not Mormon, but the curriculum was written by a Mormon woman. That may be of concern to some. There are quotes of wisdom from several famous people and a few from Mormon “Apostles” and leaders. However, the curriculum stays completely Christian, and if I hadn’t researched a couple quotes, I would never have known the details.
I commend the author because a lot of thought and effort went into creating this. It is OH SO NICE to have so many subjects in one book.
I would love to hear from someone who has used this for SEVERAL years to get a better perspective.
Best to you, donna
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I, like everyone else have used multiple curricula for just LA. One for spelling, one for reading, one for language, one for literature and it’s just too much. I use TGATB only now for my older children. For my younger ones I use it alongside All About Reading to make sure we get the phonics down pat and I plan on maybe using All About Spelling because I think the spelling rules may help some of my children. However TGATB I think covers everything and more. We love it. My children who hated writing and language love TGATB and when it is time for LA they get excited about it. For reading we get in extra reading because of other subjects I have chosen like Diana Waring for history. I use some of the titles as readers for my children, and they generally enjoy reading now anyways so they get in plenty of reading besides. Also just so my older children get in some classic reading I plan on reading some alongside them and doing notebook pages to dig a little deeper which is just my choice but truly TGATB covers everything!
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