The Good and the Beautiful || Level 1 || Curriculum Unboxing by a Secular Homeschooler
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- čas přidán 4. 08. 2024
- The Good and the Beautiful || Level 1|| Curriculum Unboxing by a Secular Homeschooler
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Have you thought about using Jenny Phillips' The Good and the Beautiful curriculum as a secular homeschooler? I've been drawn to TGTB's beautifully simple layout for language arts, and I'm incorporating it into the homeschool language arts curriculum for my rising 3rd grader, senior K/1st-grader, and pre-schooler for next year. My kids will be turning 9, 6, and 4 in the fall, and they'll be using Levels 3, 1, and Primer K, respectively. If you're interested in seeing a secular perspective of the curricula, subscribe so you don't miss the other unboxings and first impressions of the other levels.
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I’m a Christian and let me tell you: you are a breath of fresh air, Mama. I am so grateful you are truly open minded and okay with your children learning about other people’s religions, as am I. It may help them understand and be empathetic toward huge groups of people they’re going to encounter. You are so graceful and kind toward your approach and I thank you. ❤️
Home in Kentucky She’s awesome, isn’t she?!
Aww, you’re making me so happy! I love it when we can all come together and grow the empathy. Thank you so much for your kind words!!
I am so glad you do these secular reviews. It is so hard to find other secular homeschooling mamas.
It really is! I'm encouraged by how many new secular homeschoolers are popping up every day. do you have any other secular homeschoolers on YT that you follow? Thanks for watching!
Project Happy Home The only ones I can think of are homeschool of bel air and mountain school. Do you know of any others?
Project Happy Home oh and our wild way! At least I think she is secular.
This is such a helpful walk-through, my husband and I are actually at different levels of secular so I appreciate you clarifying that there are different levels and I agree with all you've said. I'm so happy you're here on CZcams! :)
My husband and I are at different levels as well, and come from different religious backgrounds - but as long as we emphasize good values and good moral character over any particular faith, we’re cool with religious curriculum. 🙂 And I’m so happy you’re my virtual friend!!
I’m so grateful that you did this work for us. I’m a secular/ very science oriented homeschool mom and really wanted to give it a try but I have the feeling that I will have a very difficult time sorting all this out and I have no extra time for it. Thank you!
I’m glad it helped! Totally understand where you’re coming from. We’re going to give it our best shot, and I’ll do an update video sometime next spring.
This was incredibly helpful. Thank you. So good to see EXACTLY what we would have to do to make it fit our values and most of it either nothing or simply skipping a line and that's great.
I'm so happy it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
I am soooooo happy I found this video. I am a brand new homeschooling mom and have been trying to find the point of view from another secular mom about TGTB because I loved it so much but didn’t want it to be to religious. I think it is just the right amount where you can either skip it, or change the verbiage a little, or leave it alone. Thank you sooo much, you definitely confirmed my urge to get TGTB next year for my son ❤️
Thank you for taking the time to do this video! I had been admiring this curriculum but always wondered how much tweaking I would need to do for our family, now I know!!
You’re welcome!
I am so thankful for this review. I wasn't sure if I wanted this curriculum and you answered. You are awesome!
Thanks! I’m glad it was helpful.
i can't belive how lucky i am to have found your video! we are considering homeschooling in the fall and it has been a struggle to find secular curriculum that is also fun and exciting. thank you x 1000!!!
You’re so kind! Thanks for watching!
Hi Tanya, I was glad to see your video about TGandTB from the secular perspective. I totally agree with you about the “twaddle” concept. I remember reading a lot of fun books growing up and they weren’t of high moral value but they were simply fun. I appreciate your perspective and love that you are open to other’s world views and teaching your kids to honor those views that are not your own. You are a great mama. Thanks for the overview.
Aw, thanks! You have such a kind and openhearted way of talking about these topics on your channel and podcast as well. It’s all about building bridges instead of walls. 🙂
Yes- "bridges instead of walls"! :-)
Thank you for this review! I am a Christian but I feel like some curriculum gets overly religious. I'm not sure how to explain what I mean exactly but I'm very grateful for this video because I have been wanting to try it out and worried it would have doctrine or be too religious.
I’m so glad it helped!
I've been searching forever for this video!!! What I needed to see. I love the good and the beautiful but am taking a secular homeschool approach. I don't usually leave many comments but I just wanted you to know how helpful I found this video. Thank you.
Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know! I really appreciate it. 💚
Thank you!! I've picked this curriculum for our first year of homeschooling and I was hopeful that I could work with it. I have a third grader so I'm looking forward to seeing your level 3 unboxing.
Just posted it today! Thanks for watching!
I LOVE your channel! I mean I always did. Your reviews help me make sound, logical decisions. We have used TG&TB but unfortunately, chose the wrong level. So we are going to be using this level next year. It’s just so beautiful!! You are so graceful in your approach. 😊 I’m actually going to try MCT Michael Clay Thompson’s LA for my daughter, who’s gifted. I’m excited about the switch. Although I am a Christian homeschooler, education has been my life so I’m not for or against most curricula. I love it all!! 😍
We’re going to use MCT in combo with TGTB and a couple other workbooks. I got a great deal on MCT on eBay and I’ve been eagerly hanging onto them ever since, lol. I had the good fortune of hearing Mr. Thompson speak at the SEA conference last year and I was deeply inspired by his obvious love of teaching language arts. Thank you so much for your sweet encouragement!
Such a thorough video! Well done, Tanya.
Thanks, my sweet friend!
Great video Tanya, I like this walk through!
Thanks, my dear!
Such a thorough review! Thank you!!!💜💜💜
Thanks!
Tanya, just wanted to say I am a passionate Christian, and I absolutely loved your review and your grace in embracing some of the mentioning of God in the curriculum. I really appreciated hearing your perspective, it was certainly enriching to me. This was an awesome review! Thank you:))
In the end, I think it is about building relationships and embracing each other with kind hearts. Thanks for watching!
This is what I've been looking for!!!! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!
You are so good at these walk throughs dead !! 💛
Thanks, love!
Thank you for doing this video. We are definitely on the same page about the religion stuff. I am excited to see how this curriculum works out for you.
Thanks! I’m curious as well - it’s so fun to plan, but the proof will be in how the kids respond. 🙂
It's so great to see another family that uses and 'tweaks' non-secular resources. There really isn't much on YT about secular homeschooling, at least compared to the vast amount of Christian homeschooling info. Like you, I don't really mind references to God or prayer or 'Christ-like' attributes in literature; what tends to come up more for me with Christian-leaning resources or even whole educational methods (Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, for example, which otherwise I love) that they'll be very Eurocentric and not make much of an attempt at inclusion of differences or diversity, and whether purposeful or incidental, I can't hang with that. It's most obvious in history and social studies, but even in literature or art/poetry/composer study, it's incredibly frustrating. As someone who majored in fine art and is married to a cellist, it seems crazy to me that we would only expose our children to white, European (and overwhelmingly male) artists and composers (let alone writers and history) from a relatively short period of time in human history. Why would we not do a study on Moroccan music? Or an artist study on Romare Beardon or Diego Rivera? Traditional gender roles and family structures are also all you'll find in Christian or vintage homeschooling resources, of course. Even though these resources never outright say as much, implicit in the absence of diversity is the suggestion that anything other than Anglo, middle or upper class heteronormative families is 'not normal' and therefore not okay, or not acceptable. I would love to hear your thoughts in a video some time on if/how you deal with this in your homeschool. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos!
Have you heard of the Torchlight curriculum that just came out? It only has level K right now, but I like it’s secular humanist and global approach. We’re going to combine it with Build Your Library (another great curriculum with global touches) for my senior K/1st grader next year. So good to hear from another like-minded Homeschooler! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!
Haven't heard of it yet, thanks for the suggestion!
Cai Vail Wow! 👏🏼👏🏼 I feel the same way with what you say about the arts and history! Even though I am a Christian and sympathize with Hasidic Judaism, I am Mexican (married to an American) and of course have a very different worldview of History. I felt like in order to study Church History I had to learn it from a Cuban professor because you aren't going to find much about Latinamerica in the resources we have in English. My son will be in Kindergarten next year and the thought of teaching him just an anglo view of world history gives me the creeps!!! So, I will have to dig to find resources in Spanish that are appropriate for his age later on. I would love him to be exposed to the wealth of literature and music we have in Hispanicamerica ... but yeah! Why isn't it available in English? I so agree with you.
Yes! Someday hopefully this will cease to be a problem both in our schools and in homeschool curricula, but it's mind boggling that it's still the norm now. We live in an incredibly diverse multicultural society, our education should reflect that! Kids need to see themselves, and see the diversity that's part and parcel of our society, as a normal and celebrated thing. I am caucasian and of European descent but grew up in a super diverse area, then moved to a very majority-anglo area and was shocked at how little was taught to me in school about 'other' cultures, some of which were the cultures, beliefs etc of my friends and neighbors right here in the US, not a world away. I would've hoped that homeschooling curricula would be ahead of the curve in this era of globalization, but it doesn't seem to be the case...yet. I guess we'll have to lead the charge ;)
I am a white christian woman married to a non christian black man, and schooling our biracial daughter. I also have such a difficult time with most curriculums for the very reasons you have each stated. I am trying to raise her to think for herself, be strong in character and heart, love others where they are, and to be fully aware that the world is full of so many different people, ideas, religions and/or beliefs, family structures, etc. I can't wait for a time when I don't have to supplement our lessons just to show how the real world lives. This comment section (and video) has been such a breath of fresh air....thank you for sharing your thoughts!
You have explained everything so well, thank you! I think you need to come homeschool at my house!
Aw, thanks! I’m sure I’d be much more patient with someone else’s kids, lol.
Great video and girl I live your nail polish!!!
Thanks! It's an all natural one, so it gets streaky, but I love the opaque sky blue of it.
Thank you so much for this review. I've strongly been considering TGATB. I don't think its for us, but I would have probably bought it had I not seen this video.
I’m so glad it was helpful! I’ve taken a sharpie to mine and now I feel much more comfortable. 🙂 But I’m not sure I’d want to do this tweaking again for future levels.
Thank you so much for this review .. you saved my sanity and my time ♥️♥️
I’m so glad!
Love the review. We are using it from a secular point of view, too. It doesn’t bother me to change things to fit our needs/wants.
Ditto! Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for this thoughtful review. I've been eyeing the simplicity of the Good and the Beautiful, but I wasn't sure if this would be a good match for our family since we're not Christian. This review was oh so helpful, especially where you took the time to note things that don't necessarily bother you but might not work for someone else. To echo another comment, I think my biggest struggle is to weave together an education that is not Eurocentric, which is no easy feat. I'll look into Torchlight for sure. This year we're using Bravewriter for our Language Arts and a series of unit studies for History, since I've yet to find anything that fits the bill. Keep up the reviews!
Thanks! Build Your Library is another great resource for secular curricula. The Eurocentric bent is hard to overcome in history curricula! Have you heard of the Zinn Project? I’m looking into incorporating that for middle school.
@@ProjectHappyHome Oooh, no I'll check that out too. Thanks!
Awesome video as always. We will be starting level pre k and level 3 in July. 😎
Hope it works for you! Thanks for watching!
I really appreciate this video ❤️. Thank you for the work of going through it!
I’m considering using it with AAR with my daughter since it includes grammar and art. It also has practice in similar format to AAR. How often do the children read out loud in this curriculum? Everyday or on some days? Thanks again.
This curriculum is all over CZcams right now. Thanks for sharing more about it.
I thought it might be helpful to secular homeschoolers to see how/if they could use it. Thanks for watching!
Project Happy Home you did great sharing that.
Thanks for the clear walk through!
You’re welcome!
I’m glad I found you! I’m very fascinated by secular homeschooling, and see that both believers and non believers love their children and want strong academics. Thank you for sharing .
Thanks for watching and being so encouraging!
good review. i wondered of other reviews aside from the everyone is happy reviews!
my husband are believers in The LORD GOD, but we both agreeded as we look for new curriculum, we didnt want to have a religious overload from anyone curriculum. We believe in teaching our twins that not everyone may believe what we do, and that's ok. i can see how they put alot in there although they say they keep religion out.
Yes my husband and i both pray, our children pray.. so i agree in the tweeks!
And i get the point of being Christ-like, but they seemed to have forgotten not every1 follows the same teachings..
Thank you and im glad to have found ur video.
I love how you expressed this! I heard something on the Sounds Like Reign channel that said, “It’s about relationship, not religion.” Loved that! Thank you for watching and sharing!
I really appreciate this video. I am Christian but my husband is not and we agreed to not use any religious text for homeschooling however I have found really quality materials from the Christian view and I am using them and just making it work for our family.
It can be hard to find secular educational resources that are geared to homeschool, and I’m of the opinion that it is better to tweak a quality Christian curriculum to suit your family than to use a subpar secular one. Thanks for watching and good luck!
We are also secular homeschoolers who use TGTB! One thing I do, is I use the PDFs and I will keyword search and edit out things or change them before I have them printed and bound! It’s a little extra work but it works for us!
Like I usually replace God with Mother Nature/Mother Earth/the universe.
That is so smart! Mind blown. 🤩
That is GENIUS. Thanks!
Very thorough review! I'm a total curriculum junkie so I appreciate the chance to get such a good look at a curriculum. As an atheist homeschooler, I wouldn't use it myself. But as you said, we each have a different tolerance for religion and moralizing in our curriculum. It really is so pretty!
Yay! I’m glad it was helpful - I specifically made the video so people would be able to see if it met their tolerance level or not.
I agree, the curriculum is laid out beautifully but unfortunately is too religious for our home as well.
What curriculum are you using? I love everything about this one. But Im not sure I want to do that much tweaking with a curriculum.
Sachi Honjo Thornley We are planning using Logic of English
I concur on your thoughts of having some twaddle. To me it is quite OK. I'm not a CM purist tho. Of course, back when she was active in the education scene, it was mostly adult level books, so I'm sure that is why she preferred that style. I mean-where would we be without the Barenstain bears? My kids loved that series and so did I.
That makes so much sense. It’s easy to forget how the world was back then - and how many more resources are available to children now. I just want my kids to enjoy the feeling of sinking into books - and if that journey to lifelong reader includes some twaddle, so be it. 🙂 Thanks for watching, my friend!
I’m planning buy this but printable. The kids will still practice the same lesson if they have difficulty( print this again) Since I had 4 kids then I don’t need buy again next year!😁 With hp instant ink my pocket don’t will broke😊
Thank you for reviewing!
Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for this!
You’re welcome!
I wish you would do this with lower levels of Abeka! I know the higher levels are pretty strongly Christian but I'm super curious about the 2-3 year program and like pre-k
I did a video on Abeka Math K recently - that may be helpful. I haven’t seen very much that bothers me yet. 🙂
I dowoaded all the free PDF files. I have watched many videos over the years. I am Pagan and believe in many Gods. I lost two children in 2020 and can say I am angry that they died so young. Thank you for this video. I will tweak it. The illustrations are to beautiful to ignore.
I am so sorry for your tragic loss.
hello, really enjoyed your video because i loved the structure of TGATB and i am religious bur for school I prefer to be more relaxed on the matter so it helped me a lot to see how you can just change certain things or skip it and it will be okay to continue with the lesson. I do have a question, so i would let my son read the reader but would you say they have to read certain story to go with a lesson? or is the reader just a separate book for them? thank you in advance.
The readers are just separate - occasionally the lesson references a character or story, but the grammar lessons are entirely separate.
Agree. Encourage their love of reading by allowing them to choose their own reading materials or independent time. I can’t stand pinkalicious or reading comic book style things... but my daughter doesn’t know that ;)
Oh, sometimes I can’t hide my dislike, but I make it clear that they have control. I should get a better poker face, lol!
Curious if you still use it at all now that your kids are older. (My son is in 4th grade, we are nonsecular) we usually use evan moor and moving beyond the page but the writing lessons in The Good and The Beautiful are supposed to be so wonderful that i am tempted...
We do not. My kids were not big fans, and I don’t think it progresses in a methodical fashion regarding phonological awareness. So if your child is a strong reader like my first two, it was fine - but not good for my youngest who needed explicit phonics instruction.
We are using TGAB as a secular family. Our families are both Catholic but we chose not to raise ours as such so that they may make their own choices later in life. I am definitely using the ELA stuff. I'm back and forth about the history but I think we will use that anyways. I believe in evolution theory and all that. My biggest concern is I know some believe that the earth is only a few thousand years old and that it'll be so heavy on the Bible it'll be useless. Hopefully my fears are just fears and I can easily add some info about creation/evolution beliefs from every culture. She's going to be 11 this school year so I want her to study religion separately and study all of them. Its really nice to see a secular homeschooler do a review. I love the morals, the clean stories and emphasis on doing the right thing. I chose most of the books were going to use myself. You can download the PDF for ELA 1-5 for free on their website but its mostly cheaper just to buy it over printing it. It was nice to be able to really read through the 1-5 before you buy. wish they did that for history. What are you guys using for history?
My son went to public school for kindergarten, he did not pass the level 1 pretest, but I'm worried that level k will be too easy and I don't really want to purchase them both. Is level one too difficult? I really want him to keep up with where he's at in school for when he goes back for 2nd grade.
Honestly, I think TGTB levels are a bit advanced in terms of reading ability, while their math levels are a bit behind. So if you’re talking about the language arts, and your son didn’t test as ready for Level 1, I’d stick with K. Compared to public school standards, it’s probably more on par with first grade. That being said, I think there are other resources that are better than TGTB’s language arts. We ended up not using Level 1 with my middle daughter because she found it boring as a 6 year old. We used some of the art pages and grammar activities, but we enjoyed Hewitt’s Lightning Literature, Shell Education’s 180 Days of Reading, and Evan-Moor resources much more. Hope that helps!
Ok, so I'm curious about grade levels. We will be doing this next year as well. My oldest son is not diagnosed adhd, but I'm starting to notice lots of markers and at least, he's a very out of the box learner. He is technically finishing up "grade one" now. But he really is not catching on to reading well, mostly because he really struggles to focus during our practice time. He haaaates focusing on the word on the page (or flash card) and breaking it down into sounds. He tries every other tactic he can (memorizing, guessing, picture clues etc) to figure out the text instead of actually having to READ the word. We have spent the whole year going through Learning to read by Christian light education (its a great program but the lessons are toooooo long for my son) and when we take the placement test for him, he's still only ready to start level k. It's kind of discouraging, but obviously I would way rather have him start at the appropriate level for where he's at and I totally know that grade levels actually don't matter. Just wondering if your adhd son has struggled with learning to read or if these hasn't been a problem for him. Love your channel! Sorry for this epically long comment!
You might try progressive phonics. It’s a free program but it works with teaching children to read small CVC words within a short silly story that you read with them. This worked well for my 6 year old boy because it didn’t put so much pressure on him to do all the reading. Once he was more comfortable with some of the CVC words and his ability to actually read words and short sentences which switched over to the level K from the good and the beautiful. He’s made so much progress this year. I was really amazed because of where we had started.
Since it’s a free program it might be worth a try. Good luck!
I’ve heard good things about progressive phonics from many people! My son learned to read by himself rather early, so we haven’t experienced that challenge, but my daughter is not as natural of a reader and we have had great success using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I did a video about 4 popular reading curriculum books awhile ago if you want to check the homeschool playlist.
I’m not Christian, but, I believe an G-d, it’s so had search a curriculum for us!!! Thank’s for vídeo!!! 💗👍🏽💗👍🏽
So glad it was helpful!
Did you start using this already or planning to this upcoming school year? How did it work out for you? I purchased it for my 1st and 7th grader and I’m having second thoughts after skimming through it.
Honestly, I just went through the level 3 materials and I don’t like it as much as this level or the primer level. We will not be using much of it for my rising 3rd grader. I’ll do a review video soon. We will be using All About Reading in combination with Lvl 1 for my rising 1st grader, so I’m hedging my bets a bit. What aren’t you liking?
Project Happy Home I’m concerned with the amount of composition instruction. There’s not much in regards to examples and my 7th grader is suppose to be working independently. I don’t see how he will be able to do so. Then in regards to the religious aspects, since he will be reading and working independently, it limits my ability to change up wording or eliminating things. When they are little, it’s easy to change things up because you are doing the reading. I’m curious as to what you found you didn’t like???? When will the video be? I’m trying to finish up curriculum choices and I’m so indecisive with this. I hear so much praise regarding the curriculum so it makes me feel like I should go with it because we will be missing out. But my gut keeps pulling me back from committing to it.
I had many of the similar concerns about Level 3 regarding my son's ability to read independently - so less opportunity to change or tweak objectionable language/doctrine. I'll post the video within the first few weeks of July. We are planning on using a combination of Torchlight, Build Your Library, and Hewitt Lightning Literature for my rising 3rd grader. I will not be using very much of the Level 3 because of the differences in opinion over religious doctrine/twaddle theories.
I also read many different kinds of books. We read twaddle and twaddle free books.
My main goal is for them to enjoy the feeling of curling up with a book and being transported. So if it’s to a twaddly world, so be it. They’ll have time and space to delve into all sorts of worlds, classic or not. 🙂
We used The Good and The Beautiful last year for half of the language arts and half of year one History. I'm in the minority because it didn't work well for us. My children didn't care for it. They were in level 3 and 4. They prefer Live-Education Waldorf curriculum. So I'm afraid we aren't the norm. But that's alright not everything works for everyone. We are also using Basic Skills Curriculum for daily work by Any Maryon.
It’s so nice to hear honest opinions from everyone. I don’t know if it’ll work for us either, but here’s hoping! I’m combining it with a lot of other bits and pieces from Build Your Library, Torchlight, and Michael Clay Thompson, so I hope we find a mix that resonates in at least some areas. Have you watched Hana over at Pepper and Pine? She’s a wonderful resource for Live Education.
Oh Yes, Hana is where I first saw Live-Education. I began my research from there.
Did you continue with this cirriculum or switch to another?
We incorporated several lessons from this curriculum, but it was never our core. I ended up tearing out the most relevant lessons for my daughter and throwing out the rest.
I'm Christian and hubby is not. We're just explaining what Christians believe with our daughter so she can make a decision later in life. We're using this level in a similar way as you. Once in a while I change something but mostly use it as a jumping off point to talk. I was wondering if you had used the history. I love their statement on focus on liberty, freedom, and limited government but wondered if it would be too bible heavy. If it's general and subtle like the language arts I'm all about it!
IMHO, the history, and even the higher levels of LA, are way too dogmatic for our secular family. Thanks so much for watching!
Can you explain me which it’s the concern of the Christian mom with this? I don’t see something bad..I’m Christian when I started looking about this curriculum be confused ..thanks for this video
Honestly, except for the twaddle issue, I think this is a gorgeous curriculum for a Christian homeschooler. It teaches several subjects gently and with grace. Thanks for watching! And I think printing it out is a great idea. We were in the midst of unpacking from a move, otherwise I would have done that as well.
Project Happy Home Thanks 😊😊
Have you found a secular curriculum similar to this in style and ease?
You know, I don’t think there is one out there that is comparable in scope of subjects. But we are loving our custom combo of Torchlight, Build Your Library, and Hewitt Homeschooling Lightning Literature right now for my 3rd grader!
@@ProjectHappyHome thank you for the reply! I'm just starting out with my 3 year old. My head is spinning. I love love love the look and ease of tgtb it seems so we'll put together. I've noticed that the lower levels don't have much religious mention and I may be able to use them. I took a look at the samples for higher levels and although I'm religious (Islam) it would be too much too easily avoid. I'm thinking of doing tgtb pre k and adding in some the crafty classroom stuff. I'm not sure if that would be redundant hmm. For kinder I'm thinking byl and tgtb math.
How can you not like Little Bear? Little Bear is deeply moral. I was not aware of the "twaddle" portions. We like twaddle. ;)
Did I say I didn’t like Little Bear? I don’t remember. It’s not my favorite, but I think he’s sweet. We like lots of twaddle, too. 🤓
@@ProjectHappyHome No, not you. 😂 It looks like Little Bear made their list. TGTB's list. That was weird phrasing on my part. Not you, specifically. Anyone, in general.
I'm a Christian but I believe in a twaddle or 2. 🤣 Great overview. I've decided to pass on the curriculum because it lacks diversity. I hope it works out for your kiddos. If not, you'll tell us. 👍
For sure! Actually, I’ve decided not to use Level 3 and soon I’ll tell you why. Thanks for watching!
We are secular and are using TGTB as well. We don’t believe in God, but just crossed out the things that overstepped our bounds. There wasn’t much in level 6 to cross out.
Good to know! Thanks!
My doctor works part time and does homeschooling lol
That’s awesome!
I guess for me, as the parent of a child who wants to be an artist, the biggest bother for me would be the book explaining art as a God given talent. She has worked very very hard to obtain the level of talent she has at 9. The other stuff I don’t care so much. I just hate it when everything is because of God and not hard work, dedication and determination of an individual. I don’t want her thinking that she’s bound to Gods will and it’s up to a diety to get where she wants to be. I really wanted to be into this because it’s such a pretty curriculum but it seems a little over the top.
I hear you! The artist pages had the most bothersome language for me as well. I expect to use them purely for art study, and I'll ignore all the overtly religious references to talent being somewhat preordained. I still think the full color reproductions of the art are a beautiful way to effortlessly incorporate art study into homeschooling. :)
Project Happy Home my daughter has ADHD and art is one of the few things she’ll sit and do. She also is frustrated incredibly easy so I could see this causing a total meltdown. She expects her at to look EXCTLY like the one she’s studying or copying. Any imperfection and she’s stomping off and everything is stupid, dumb and whoever wrote the book hates her. I really think the books are nice though. Wish they’d make a secular version. She’s going to be 10 Tuesday so I wouldn’t be reading much to her, she’d be working a little more independently. 😢
My son (who has ADHD) has similar reactions to art projects where the aim is to mimic or copy a piece of artwork. I found that exposing him to the story of Picasso's and Dali's evolution thru different art styles helped to somewhat alleviate that pressure for perfection. Showing him all the different comic strip styles helped as well. Maybe there is a way to show your daughter that her OWN artistic style may be trying to come out in the "imperfection" would help? It's still a struggle sometimes over here with art, so I understand your frustration, particularly when she's an artist! Thanks so much for connecting thru the comments!
Project Happy Home we love Salvador Dali here! Emma has a fascination with crazy mustaches and beards so of course he’s cool in her book. Also she thinks his elephants look like walkers from Star Wars. Thank you for the suggestion. She wants to do this professionally for Disney or Blizzard so she takes her art very seriously
Good luck to her!! Artists are so amazing. :)
Where the unboxing??
Did you want to see the actual box? Sorry! Perhaps this is more accurately a flip through.
and i can guarantee not all the books my young adult and twins have and read probably would be kicked off the book list..
😂