Honest Curriculum Review - The Good and The Beautiful

Hi! I'm Melissa! And if you are new here, I'm a mama of 3 (ages 7, 6 & 4).

We started homeschooling in the fall of 2024. At that time I was only homeschooling my middle daughter, who was 4. Since then we have started homeschooling both My eldest (1st Grade) and my middle (Kindergarten). My youngest will start Preschool in the fall.

We primarily have used The Good and The Beautiful, so that is what this review will be about. Also, don't hesitate to leave a comment if you have any questions about the curriculum, I will happily answer any questions you may have!

The Good and The Beautiful Preschool Course Book

For the fall 2024 to spring 2025 school year, I bought this workbook for my middle child, and it suited our needs. We wanted something simple, open-and-go, and Christian-based, and TGTB checked all those boxes. We also believe preschool should be play-based learning, but appreciated having simple lessons to start learning with.

The Preschool Course Book effectively covers letters and numbers, using songs and videos with hand motions to teach letter sounds.

Honestly, we loved this course book, and even my 2-year-old son enjoyed the songs. So much so that I plan to use the TGTB Preschool Course Book again when he starts preschool.

The Good and The Beautiful Kindergarten Course Books

In fall 2025 my middle daughter (then age 5) began kindergarten, but we hadn't quite completed her preschool workbook. She struggled with some letters (G, H, and J), so we decided to finish the preschool workbook, but we still started her on TGTB Math Course Book for Kindergarten while we finished, which she really enjoyed.

After finishing the Preschool Workbook, we moved to TGTB Kindergarten Prep Course Book, which mostly reviewed the preschool material. We quickly completed it, so in my opinion, if you've done the Preschool Book thoroughly, the Prep Course might not be necessary. However, if you haven't done the Preschool Course Book, then I see no harm in doing the Prep Course to make sure that your kiddo is ready for the Kindergarten Course.

In January 2026, my middle started TGTB Kindergarten Course Book for Language Arts & Literature. This workbook includes Reading Booster Cards and Books, and more resources available on the TGTB website.

Our daughter has flourished in her reading skills, gaining confidence and has very quickly found a love for reading.

The Kindergarten Course, like all their elementary courses, includes 2 apps that aid learning for both the math and the LA Books. While not essential, we've found them helpful. Although we don't use tablets in everyday life, we decided to use one for school and learning purposes simply because of these apps.

When I purchased TGTB Kindergarten, I ordered their Level K Basic Bundle, which includes:

• Level K Language Arts Course Set — Level K Course Book, Reading Booster A Cards, Reading Booster A Books Set, access to the digital Reading Booster Games

• Handwriting Level K

• Math K Course Set – Math K Course Book, Math K Box

The Good and The Beautiful 1st Grade Course Books

Also, in fall 2025, my eldest daughter began homeschooling. Since we were already using TGTB, we decided to continue with it for her. I bought the Level 1 Basic Bundle, which included:

• Level 1 Language Arts Course Set — Course Book, Reading Booster B Cards, Reading Booster B Books Set, access to digital Reading Booster Games

• Handwriting Level 1

• Math 1 Course Set — Course Book, Math 1 Box

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I don't regret this decision, as we were new to homeschooling and unsure what to expect with my eldest, who had attended a private school for Kindergarten. I was nervously excited, and still am at times, but this journey has been a blessing.

My sweet girl loved it and jumped in without hesitation. It wasn't until winter 2026 that I questioned if we needed to change our math curriculum. Now, I've always heard that these moments of wanting to change everything and start over would come, but I swore it would never happen to me. I mean, have you looked at the TGTB curriculum? It's beautiful, and they use watercolors and lots of art! Still, regardless of all that, I wanted to change. Did we actually change? No, we are pushing through. Why? Because there is nothing truly wrong with the curriculum. Had my children been struggling or if something wasn't meeting their needs, then I would have switched right away, but that wasn't the case. My reason for wanting to change it is more of a personal preference.

Pros & Cons - TGTB as a whole

We like several aspects of TGTB:

• Open and go

• Easy to use

• Short Lessons

• Christian-based

• Beautiful art & poems

• Songs, videos, and apps that support learning

• Charlotte Mason vibes

• Complementary books with beautiful art

• Effective review of past concepts, aiding memory through repetition

However, there are also aspects that we dislike:

Math

• Many lessons use lengthy stories that can confuse the main point, requiring re-reading. While the art and occasional narration are fine, I prefer not to have lengthy narration in every lesson.

• New concepts often lack enough practice in the lesson. Although they reappear in later review sections, more initial practice, like in the Preschool Course Book, would be beneficial.

Language Arts

• I feel there's insufficient practice, especially in writing. While we do supplement, it would be helpful to have more practice sheets aligned with the lessons.

• I don't think this should be a deal breaker; it's just a personal preference I've realized over the past school year. Initially, I thought the "Language Arts & Literature" course book was perfect for us. While it was suitable at first, as we expanded our homeschooling to include many other books, we started feeling less enthusiastic about the literature-focused lessons. I now wish I had chosen something emphasizing Language Arts over Literature. The literature lessons are well-designed, but we simply don't need them right now.

  
  

Final thoughts

We like The Good and The Beautiful, and I've seen many moms use it successfully through elementary. We'll finish what we have, while I continue researching other options and reviews, and then decide if we want to switch later.

As a first step into homeschooling, I would happily recommend TGTB, especially for Preschool and Kindergarten.

I hope this review helps, and don't forget to leave your thoughts and/or questions in the comments.

You got this mama!

The Good and The Beautiful Curriculum review