Hey, guys!  I am often asked my thoughts about Jenny Phillips' The Good and The Beautiful Language Arts curriculum because I shared tips for organizing The Good and The Beautiful. It's been about a year since we were first introduced to the curriculum, and today I want to share my thoughts about the language arts program, but first let me answer the question that I am often asked.

Are we still using The Good and The Beautiful?

The short answer is no. No, we aren't using it any longer. We didn't use it for the entire school year either. 

Would I recommend The Good and The Beautiful Language Arts?

Yes, I would. I think Jenny has done a great job combining all things Language Arts in bundling it into a sufficient program. The program includes not only grammar skills, but also reading, writing, geography, and spelling including dictation. It's pretty much an open and go program with some instruction for parents to be able to use it as designed with their children. 

She'supdated the program since I downloaded it originally, and she has divided it into more levels. As of today, the PDFs of each level starting at level one are still free. 

Why aren't we using The Good and The Beautiful?

It simply wasn't a natural fit for our homeschool. We were switching from Christian Light Education's Language Arts program because it was becoming a bit too much for us. Well, The Good and The Beautiful has many components too which made it a bit much too. I don't mind telling the girls to skip certain aspects, but I prefer to do the majority of the program or find something that fits better for us because I really don't believe in wasting paper or ink. 

Honestly, I already had something that worked well for us, but I really wanted to give a program that had everything in it a try. I thought it would help us to move along more smoothly, but it wasn't a natural fit for my girls and became more of a chore. I do get that school can be a chore and it doesn't have to always be fun, but I don't want that chore feeling for my daughters especially not in a subject that they already enjoy. If your family is accustomed to the classical learning approach, then I think this program could definitely be a fit. We are more eclectic, and I haven't made memorization a priority in our homeschool.  

I've accepted that what works best for us concerning language arts is combining writing with other subjects or using a program specifically designed for writing, working through grammar separately, and reading books for their enjoyment while leaving margin for discussions.

Have you or are you using The Good and The Beautiful?  If so, let us know your thoughts about the program in the comments.