Hi, guys! I shared with you all two free curriculum programs that we are using this year, and one of the programs was Jenny Phillips' Good and Beautiful Upper Elementary Language Arts Course A. I am absolutely excited to be using this program with the girls this year, but before we could start it I needed to organize it for our learning environment.

I shared our set up on Periscope for some of my friends there. You can check out the video on Periscope: Sharing Jenny Phillips' Language Arts and because Periscope doesn't always love me I had to do it in two parts so you can see the second half here: Part 2 Free Language Arts. For those who do not usually view videos on Periscope, you can view these videos in your browser without logging in. Mozilla and Chrome are most compatible. :)

Steps for Organizing Good and Beautiful Language Arts

Print the materials

The first step is to print the materials. We are using the free version which is available in PDF form. There is a lot to print. We have Hp Instant Ink (referral link) which helps keep my print cost low. To prepare for the first few weeks of school, I printed the Course Companion, Geography and Grammar Cards, and the first 21 lessons of the Course Book for both of my daughters. I printed parts of the curriculum on card stock for sturdiness.

Purchase binders

I would recommend using a 1.5 inch binder to store the Course Companion. The majority of the Course Companion is in one binder while the Ladders, Poetry, and Course Readings are in another. The girls each have their own binder which houses their lessons. The Course Companion will be shared.

Cut out the grammar and geography cards

The Geography and Grammar cards will need to be cut out and stored. I used a paper cutter to help me get through the process faster. I am storing them in individual envelopes which are labeled: learning, mastered, and not learn. Each subject has its own set of envelopes. I placed the envelopes on a large ring for each topic to help keep them together. I keep the envelopes on the ring in the same binder that houses the Ladders, Poetry, and Course Readings.

Laminate Daily Checklist

The program includes daily checklist cards to keep learners on track. I decided to not cut these cards apart; instead I have chosen to laminate a sheet for each of my daughters. This will cut down on printing and paper usage. I printed the sheets on thecolored card stock of the girls choosing, and filled in the days of the week before laminating. We will only use this curriculum four times a week so the sheet has room for two weeks.

Download Readers

The course includes two readers: Louisa May Alcott Reader and the Evaleen Stein Reader. Each of the readers are at least 100 pages, and if I would have printed them that would have been more paper and ink needed to be used. Instead I chose to download both of the readers in PDF form to my Kindle Fire. To add documents to your Kindle simply email the file to your Kindle's email address. The document will appear on your device in a matter of seconds. If you have a Kindle or something similar, you can download documents to it to help save paper and ink. I use this technique for several E-book materials that don't actually need to be printed.

This course is one of the best free curriculum products I have laid my eyes on, and although we have yet to work through it for more than a week, I believe it will surpass the standards.

Tips for Organizing Jenny Phillips' Good and Beautiful Language Arts Program