The Good and the Beautiful Review || Language Arts Level 2
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- čas přidán 8. 02. 2022
- The Good and the Beautiful Review || Language Arts Level 2
We're over half way through the school year using The Good and the Beautiful language arts. I had many reservations stepping into this curriculum at the beginning of the year. So here are my thoughts on it now and what I'm planning on doing next year.
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I’m Rian, homeschool mom to four boys, follower of Jesus, and am on a journey to use my roles as wife, mom, teacher, and homemaker to glorify God.
For questions or collaborations, email me at: jcdancer@gmail.com
Find me on Instagram: / momma.on.mission
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Thank you! I have decided to try it out along side my other meatier grammar, spelling, poetry and geography studies bc I assume an all in one likely lacks in an area or two. Your review helped cement this plan for me.
Oh, I totally agree with your positive thoughts on it 👍🏻👍🏻
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Seasons of life definitely influence our choices! Thanks for sharing your experience... we are doing level 2 too! :)
I love that we have the freedom to adapt to seasons in homeschool!
We moved away from TGATB LA and Math this year. We also brought in Rod and Staff for Spelling. We went with Christian Light Education ( CLE ). We have seen amazing results , progress and retention.
I want to look at CLE more!
Hi! Thank you so much for your review. It’s so hard to choose which curriculum to use. There are so many option and so hard to choose! Just a heads up, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or known as Mormon). We very much consider ourselves Christians since our religion revolves around Christ. I know there’s so much misinformation out there! Anyway thank you again!
Mormons are Christians that have added to scripture, and while I don't agree with their book of mormon they're Christian, just a different denomination. TGATB says it's not denominational. But I will keep my eye on things for sure as we use it.
I don’t think you can add to scripture and still be a follower of Christ because that is an attempt to change the gospel.
@@MommaonMission I hear you. And it's on a huge scale but could we say that folks who ignore parts of scripture or sin in any way aren't christian? All of us have issues but we are believers and that means something even if we're a mess.
It’s the curriculum I wish I could love! By first grade I was supplementing spelling with spelling workout, then adding essentials in writing for the grammar and writing…adding scholastic word ladders for a bit more phonics/spelling practice. Then I got to this point where I was essentially piecing together my own LA curriculum while still doing TGTB each day. My son is stronger in math/science but for LA he just needs more of an incremental, scaffolded approach.
I feel like I am starting to piece together 😩 did you find something or willing to share what you pieced?
I’m trying it with my 6th grade daughter for the first time. We are doing level 5. I don’t feel like I can give a full overview just yet but it seems a lot easier than her public school work that she has been doing for the past six years.
It seemed easy to me too…interested to see what you think!
My sister taught public school K-8 for 37 years. Talking to her about the older levels K and 1 that I've used, she says it is harder than what public schools use for language arts. She taught in a ritzy Mi district too.
I feel the same way as you. This is our second year homeschooling. First, year I used Abeka and this year the TGATB. I think I want something in between. Something that has the meat of Abeka but open and go like the TGATB.
If you find this, let me know!
Curious if you found something ?
Lol I skipped that water and glass activity ... sounded complicated so I just made up my own activity 😅
Haha!
We have been with TGATB LA since Level K and we also have a love/hate thing with it. We are heading into Level 2 this month (year-round schoolers) after spending MONTHS investigating LA programs. Many many sleepless nights scouring everything I could find about every product I could find. In the end it came down to the fact that it is incredibly difficult to switch curricula mid-stride when you are at this age. The way TGATB teaches phonics is different than Logic of English is different than All About Reading is different than____(insert program)___. I have decided that until at LEAST third grade when we are through the final core of the phonics instruction we will stay with TGATB and then evaluate at that point. I think this is such a good program and yet there is something I’ve never been able to put my finger on that drives me nuts and keeps me wishing for something else. I -think- it’s that the program runs spirally and there’s not a lot of follow up practice on each concept learned. BUT that said- I now have K-3 in my hands and I can see that the program actually does keep practicing the concepts over and over as they add new information. (Example- I think every single book has built upon the core spelling rules and while the words increase in difficulty the rules are the same and build on all the previous years.) I plan to begin using IEW and I don’t foresee being able to / wanting to do TGATB’s writing even if we stick with TGATB in fourth. So, we’ll see… Hopefully you find what works best for you guys.
I've heard IEW is great! I agree though, there's just something I can't quite place about why I don't like TGTB. It's frustrating because my son loves it, I just don't know if it's 100% working...
I’ve never used Language Arts from TGATB, only one Science unit, but my preference is to use really good curriculum for each piece of Language Arts. My daughter is more advanced in Reading and Spelling, but on grade level for Writing and Grammar. So it would drive her nuts to use an all in one program.
So I use BJU Press English which is Writing and Grammar, All About Spelling and since we also use Sonlight we use the Readers for reading, but we do a grade level up since she’s still in lower grades where they’re more leveled. 😀 I also might be throwing in the new Fix It Grammar from IEW for next year. Otherwise, I plan on continuing with everything we did this year. 👍🏻❤️
That's great! I used to piece ours all together, too. I just needed something condensed this year because of how hectic life was!
I can’t see anything Mormon in the TGTB!!! I’ve noticed that TGTB are obsessed with homophones and I love it. I believe level 2 is 3rd grade!!! We also do our own reading!!! We unschool geography so TGTB Language Arts is awesome as extra geography!!! We use extra spelling and vocabulary within our science!!!
Glad you are liking it!
It’s not a Mormon curriculum. The company owner is a Mormon who employs Christian’s of various denominations to make sure it’s non-denominational. It doesn’t have Mormon doctrine in it. It barely has Christian references in it. 😉
Yeah the language arts doesn’t seemed too heavily influenced but I wasn’t sure at first. I think the history is more so than the language arts.
@@MommaonMission Have you seen evidence of that or is that just what people think? We’re using the history now and I see nothing.
On their site, they also show that they employ people from all denominations. Because of the ecumenism, it doesn’t go into doctrine at all. It basically mentions God and good character. But I’d be curious to see the evidence of the Mormon Influence in the curriculum or if it’s just hearsay bc of who the owner is. Sincerely…😉 I’d like to know bc I also stayed away from this for a couple years due to Gather around founder’s video (I can’t remember her name.)
When I purchase Christian curriculum, I always look for a statement of faith and the bios of the writers. TGATB doesn't tell you who's writing it except for Jenny. Now they do list the "denominations" of the reviewers (Lutheran, Assemblies of God, Catholic, Baptist, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mennonite, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nazarene, Methodist, Non-Denominational, and Seventh Day Adventists.) Several of those aren't what I would consider biblical either. When you mix all that together to create a "Christian" program, you end up with something a bit watered down. I'm sure it doesn't matter so much with math or LA though but it can definitely affect science/history. Now for the Mormon stuff, it's hard to spot unless you've came out of it or did a lot of research. Well...this was long..sorry! :)
@@nataliecrowe2122 but if history is presenting facts…. I’ve seen on their site, where they have a doc showing where they’ve used Mormon quotes. In context, are those quotes wrong? Not the ones I read. They weren’t preaching Mormonism. We quote Thomas Jefferson. We study him. He was not a Christian. He created his own Bible and cut out the parts that he didn’t like. But we have no issue studying him or the things he wrote.
I completely understand the hesitancy to be influenced by Mormon ideas. However, are they really here? Seems like they focus on “there is a God” and “good, high moral character” which isn’t a Mormon idea, exclusively.
I wouldn’t use this curriculum if they had a “Bible curriculum,” for sure. Then I’d definitely be more critical of calling itself “Christian.” But I honestly, don’t fully understand what’s going on here. I’ve heard of lot of assumptions, but never anything that anybody can point to saying, “right here….this is wrong!”
I can say that I’ve seen things from the Gather Round curriculum that are doctrine that I don’t agree with, however. And yet, I just use those things to explain to my kids why we Don’T believe that. I personally, use these opportunities to teach my kids how to discern truth from error.
Having said that, I also think everybody should do according to their conscience. I’m just wondering what the actual “error” is in the curriculum. Nobody can seem to point to anything.
@@OurHOMEschoolPlan I can give an example for science. Let's compare something like Apologia vs tgatb. Apologia will be teaching from a correct biblical account of creation. Idk if tgatb can do that...or at least in depth because Mormons have such a different version of the beginning. I guess because there's so many "denominations" you kinda get a lighter biblical narrative, which can be totally fine for a lot of people. My best friend from church loves tgatb and we think the same on most things. Some aren't bothered by it but for me personally, I just don't feel right when they mention God bc I don't know if it's the mormon version, or the JW version (another Jesus). Ive tried it several times but I just keep getting bothered by it. Also, it's a red flag(considering the times we are in) seeing those groups mixing together saying they're all Christian and ppl believing we all worship the same God. Hehe...I hope I don't get stoned for this by someone.
Finally watching this. Yup! Totally agree. I think all of the controversy has cause it to be so popular, but for me, it just wasn’t that impressive.
I want to love it bc of how open and go it is… but it’s just so fluffy! Lol
I didn't level down for my kids and they are doing well. I think every level is different. My daughter is in level 6, we are more than half way thru and she has been studying Australia the whole time, we have learned so much and even made Australia bread. I do have to supplement some things.
That’s fun! I just don’t have time for all the fluff sometimes… especially if I have to supplement on top of it!
Level 3 is way different. And the word climb in the back of the level 3 book are very challenging. You may like it better
I’ll definitely look into it!
We used TGTB from K-2. I really like the incorporation of art to have them name nouns/adjectives/etc. We started with them this year (3). It is definitely grab and go. I don't think it is advanced at all now that they have redone the levels. The older levels were slightly advanced. The spelling didn't work and the writing wasn't the right fit for us. I think that it does incorporate everything, but we needed more specialization in the many parts that make up language arts so we had to supplement in different things and now we are just doing those things instead of TGTB. I'd still recommend them. We just needed something different ❤️
We are using All About Spelling, No Prep Packets and the Grammar Bundles from the Moffatt Girls from TPT, Spectrum Writing, and TGTB handwriting. We may add in vocab next year. I like the Worldly Wise but I'm not sure if that is what we'll use again or not :)
I agree, sometimes you just need something different! I haven’t heard of a lot of those curriculums you’ve mentioned. I’ll have to look into them!
TGATB was a hard one for me to review as well. I really didn't think it was nearly as rigorous as people gave it credit for (my 4th grader did level 4 last year). I do wish the Creative piece could be purchased separately. We supplemented spelling and grammar, and I had a reading list for my kiddo. Basically the only that helped us was the writing assignments. I felt it was pretty non-denominational, but went into it with my eyes open as well.
yeah, it just didn't live up to the hype for me at all. But not a horrible curriculum!
This is our second year using GATB language arts. We are also only half way through Level 2, but I can echo your cons… I feel like there isn’t enough grammar and the spelling seems unstructured. However, there was a jump in the amount of spelling and grammar from level one to level two, so I anticipate there to be much more in level three. That being said, we will be supplementing with Fix It Grammar level one, and we use All About Spelling twice a week. As for the Mormon thing, we are nondenominational, and I have never seen anything of concern. The fluff, I feel that way sometimes too but I think that because it holds my sons interest (ADHD), it’s ok with me. ☺️ I think the open and go aspect is a huge plus for me in this season of life, so we will continue to use it.
Have you heard of Learning Language Arts Through Literature? It is what we used when I was homeschooled, and they have recently updated them. We were also contemplating that one ✨
I had forgotten about Learning Language Arts Through Literature! I need to check into it again!
We made it about half way thru the kindergarten LA and I just wasn’t happy with how it seemed to bounce around. I agree it was a lot of fluff and didn’t cover much per lesson. We ended up switching to master books and it’s ok. Honestly my first year in I’m still as lost as I was in august haha. Not sure either is right for my son. I look forward to all the up coming reviews from everyone.
I really want to like it… I just don’t 😬
I agree on it not being as rigorous as it’s advertised. I was always under the impression that it was a grade level ahead. And the I spoke to my sister in law who teaches the grade my daughter is in, and her kids are doing the same and more. It does not meet our state standards (something I choose to follow).
Loved hearing about your experience. I also have not seen TGATB language arts to be very "rigorous"...I think that reputation comes from the fact that their learning to read levels moved pretty fast, sometimes too fast for a lot of kids. But other elements of their language arts lean more on the gentle and 'fun' side.
Glad I'm not alone!
Thanks for this video. I have bought TGTB 3 times now because I always hear people raving about it and I think I want to try it. But for some reason before I even get started I sell it off. We have really enjoyed First Language Lessons and I'm mostly sticking with that. I am thinking of using EIW next year with my 4th/5th grader because I don't think he's ready for Writing With Skill but he definitely doesn't need FLL Level 4. Do you plan to review EIW and give your thoughts on it? I know it was new to you this year but I feel like we have very similar styles. :)
We must have similar styles bc your plan sounds like mine was! I will be reviewing EIW soon!
BJU is great.
I know many people like it!
What subjects do you use Sonlight for and why didn't you use SL Lang Arts? I'm debating between the 2 for LA & HBL
We only use their History/Bible/Literature currently. I’m not really sure why I have t done their LA… but you have me looking at it now lol! 🤔
I mean ... Mormon's are christians. Its like saying presbyterians or some other christian denomination isn't christian. Truly this curriculum is not even overly christian.
I keep hearing people complaining about the fact that its owned by an LDS family... I dont get why that's such a problem. ( btw I'm not Mormon).
I encourage you to examine Mormon doctrine. They are very much not serving the one true god.
It's odd that you thought the curriculum wasn't rigorous when you gave your son a lower level than he would be in. Seems as if that might be you not trusting in your son's abilities. And Mormons are Christians, just a different kind than you. Christianity has Quakers, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians,Methodists,Catholics, several different kinds of Evangelicals, non denominational Christian, Amish, and on and on. The Good and the Beautiful has a large staff of many different types of Christians who all go through the materials to make sure it is acceptable to all of them. They use the King James Bible for biblical references. I'm not saying you need to love or even like the materials, but you might want to find out a little more about the company before you make people feel as if they have to comb through the materials to find Mormon teachings. There are none.
Thanks for your input. I was told by several mommas that it was above grade level and I knew my son’s strong suit wasn’t in language arts so I gave him the one that matched his age and not his grade since he is young for his grade.
I also disagree that Mormons are Christian’s based on some very foundational things that they teach about who Jesus is.
This curriculum didn’t work for me personally but I never said that it shouldn’t be used at all. And I agree, there was nothing in this that was exclusively Mormon. Just not something I would use again!
You lost me when you said “it’s a Mormon curriculum, not a Christian curriculum”. Mormons are Christians, just as Catholics or Evangelicals are Christians. Also, the curriculum is non-denominational. (And no, I am not myself Mormon)
The whole Mormon- Christian debate going on with TGATB is ridiculous. It's like people give that as a reason to not like TGATB just because they can. If the fact that the owner was Mormon had never come out, these same exact people now hating on it for that reason would still love it for its religious values. In our house, we do not identify with ANY religion. We believe in God, our creator and that's it. With that being said I Love TGATB. Division is the worst thing that's ever happened to society and some people just feed right into it.
@SDaulton, Mormons are not Christians they are a cult, like Jehovah Witnesses. I spent a full summer learning about what they believe, reading their religious works, comparing all that I came across with the Bible, and meeting true Christians who left the LDS church and hearing true conversion stories, and then going to Utah to their campuses and coffee shops to WITNESS to them about the truth and about the Jesus in the Bible. They do not believe the Bible alone and what the Bible says about Jesus...they have other religious works and prophets that they believe and then add that to create what the believe/who they believe Jesus is (and their beliefs are always changing...not just in its origins with JOseph Smith but even now to the 80s...there are some huge doctrine changes because they can always add to the Bible with their church leaders/prophets). There is a huge list of differences from what they believe about Jesus versus what the Bible says about Jesus. Here are just a few very BLATANT differences: LDS believe Jesus is created vs. Bible says Jesus is not created but is actually God and the one who creates.....LDS believe Satan is Jesus' brother vs. Bible says Satan was a created angel that rebelled against God, and, again, Jesus was not created but is God.....LDS believe your good works/morals plus their version of Jesus will get you to heaven vs. Bible says we are born sinners (LDS do not believe we are born sinners), nothing we can do will get us to heaven..ONLY Jesus, His work on the cross, and His resurrection has saved us