The Good and the Beautiful was exactly what I was looking for when I started searching for a PreK workbook. Previously we had been solely using themes as our study. We enjoyed it but coming up with new things every week was exhausting me. I needed something that would give me the freedom to explore when we could but still cover our bases on regular days. I didn’t want to worry anymore about having any holes in our education.
The Good and Beautiful was our answer. It brought peace, structure and well rounded lessons into our home.
Letters
Each lesson covers one letter, uppercase one day then lowercase the following day. Just enough to introduce the letters and handwriting without overwhelming your little ones. Prior to this course I had never focused on getting my four year old to write letters. Instead we mainly focused on recognition and some fun letter activities. The handwriting letters (tracing) in this course were nice and big, perfect for 1st time writers. Each letter has only two lessons dedicated to it but the letters are reviewed often with the workbook, flip book and the activities.
Hands On Activities
As I was searching for a program to use for prek I found some excellent programs. Ones that focused on letters, included songs, were colorful and engaging, included books and even some had amazing hands on activities. The problem was that most of them only had one or two of the things I was searching for. Something was always missing.
The Good and the Beautiful came to the rescue yet again. They include many “typical” workbook pages (but make them extra lovely) then they included various activities to introduce your kids to aswell. I adored that part. I loved the little extra direction to get our water color paints out and practice letters. I used to just offer the kids supplies which is good but providing the kids with a bit more direction really helped them develop a plan. Their abilities soared and their fine motor skills developed exceptionally. If the kids were emotionally or physically done for the day then we simple skipped the activity or fit it in on another day. I loved being able to adapt the lessons to fit the day without feeling guilty that I left something out.
Introduces Math Concepts
PreK is for little kids but that doesn’t mean that they can’t get started on building a solid foundation of basic mathematics. Its really never to early to introduce math concepts. Not every lesson included mathematics but every now and then there was a little something. Whether it was sorting, shapes, counting or simply number recognition.
My son really loved learning about coins and their different values. Simple and practical. Now he know all about pennies (even though Canada doesn’t use them anymore), nickles and dimes. We were able to apply his coin knowledge at the store and I could really see his confidence soar. He knew about money and was absolutely proud of himself to be able to know how to use it correctly.
Art Appreciation
Beauty is all around if you remember to open your eyes. The Good and the Beautiful did a marvelous job at bringing gorgeous images and words into our home.
The poetry they chose to include was simple and lovely. Exactly the type of poetry that allowed the kids to connect with the world around them and hopefully develop a love of words and imagery.
The art that was printed in the workbook always looked phenomenal. The quality of paper was far above what I have seen for the majority of young children’s curriculum. I was always impressed with the choices in their art. The Good and the Beautiful shared art that many people would say is above kids comprehension and I agree with them but that is one thing I love about this curriculum. Using this curriculum will help kids learn about the beauties of the world and as they grow so will their understanding and appreciation. Even the more kid friendly art was more adorable compared to other curriculum’s I looked at.
Activity Packet
I love the activity packet! There was so many cute games to get the kids moving and enjoying letters. When we had days that lacked focus I brought out the activity packet and just played a little bit extra. When we hit a wall and learning seemed to plateau we simply took a couple days break and played with the cute activities. My kids never tired of playing hide and seek with the animals and their mini furniture. Nor did the elephant ever get too hungry for nuts. I am convinced that the simple repetition offered in the Good and the Beautiful is the secret to mastering letter recognition.
Daily Set Up of The Good and the Beautiful Prek
Each lesson covered a letter(Upper or Lowercase), had a little bit of handwriting, an activity that you could do and sometimes they talk about math concepts or bring in art. It was a wonderful balance.
I felt that even just using the PreK workbook was enough of a daily lesson for preschool. I still used my workboxes and had themed activities but if we didn’t get to them the pressure was off. I knew my kids were learning and progressing. I could sit back and enjoy whatever life threw at us.
We really enjoyed the level pre-k too! the level k is a little much for us though, it requires more time then we like to spend at the table.