FAQs, Helps, and Extras

A child is ready to begin the Level K course when:

• He or she can sing the alphabet with or without the help of a parent.
• He or she has mastered all the letters and their sounds.
• He or she can count to ten and knows basic shapes and colors.

• Note: It is suggested that children who do not know long or short vowels and/or have not yet learned to read simple words but know all of their letters start with the Level K Primer course. It is a shorter course, and children should get through it quickly. The first several lessons of the Level K course cover long and short vowels and reading simple words, but it goes very quickly. Children who take the Level K Primer course will be better prepared for the speed of the Level K course.

Each child will need their own Course Book. The Reader, Mini Books, and Phonics Cards are non-consumable and can be shared.

All of our levels have a lot of review. We do not expect children to retain everything learned the first time concepts are introduced. Therefore, we build review into our courses in a spiral method. All concepts taught will be covered again, usually several times.

Jenny Phillips and her team have done extensive research on spelling rules and reading for elementary-age children. They have found that the study of spelling rules can be very effective for certain children, but only when the spelling rules are memorized well. For children or families that do not wish to spend the time to memorize the rules so they can be instantly recalled, or for children who do not benefit from these rules, she recommends spending extra time reading or practicing dictation, which can also be effective in assisting children with spelling. Knowing that the rules exist and understanding them at a basic level is still helpful, so the spelling-rule assignments are still recommended.

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 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.

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 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.

No, you can continue straight into the next level when your child finishes his or her current course.

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.

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.

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 older editions, some lessons took half a day and some took several days. In the new editions, lessons are 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 are taught, but they are taught differently with less dictation and more varied activities.

—Mini books are read twice rather than three times. Mini books are no longer used in Level 1. 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 courses now include much more independent work, making it easier for parents to work with multiple children on different levels.

—The lessons now 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 have been added to the courses, and the inside of the courses have been improved visually (the covers have remained the same).

—Each new edition has been divided into 5 sections with an assessment at the end of each section.  There are review activities with the unit assessment. The unit assessments determine if there are any concepts for which the child still needs practice. The parent may use the review activities as many times as needed to continue practicing those concepts with the child.

—Answer keys for Levels 1, 2, and 3 can be found on the website.

–There have been other changes, such as more review of concepts and more practice with homophones, all without increasing lesson times

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

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.

The phonics cards are still used in Level 2 and 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.

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

No. The logistics of providing a new download for every customer is not feasible. The Mini Books, Reader, and Phonics cards downloads have remained the same so only a new Course Book would need to be purchased.