The Good and the Beautiful vs Master Books
The main differences
Both sell open-and-go printed courses at a low price, with short lessons the parent can start without much planning. The Good and the Beautiful's level bundle covers language arts, handwriting and math, its kindergarten to 8th grade language arts and math are free as PDFs, and science and history are family courses bought separately. Master Books' grade set holds math, language arts, science and history for 36 weeks, and it runs through 12th grade, where The Good and the Beautiful offers only language arts and biology.
| The Good and the Beautiful | Master Books | |
|---|---|---|
| Subjects | Math, reading and phonics, language arts, science and history and geography | All subjects: math, reading and phonics, language arts, science and history and geography |
| Grades | Preschool to 12th grade; high school has language arts and biology only | Kindergarten to 12th grade |
| Method | Traditional, Unit studies | Charlotte Mason |
| Format | Books and workbooks | Books and workbooks |
| Faith label | Faith-based | Faith-based |
| Cost a year | $147.94. Level 3 basic bundle (language arts course book, spelling practice book and four read-together books; handwriting workbook; math course book and math box of manipulatives): $147.94. Science units and a history course are bought separately, one set per family. | $194.34. Grade 3 Basic 4-Subject Set (teacher and student materials for 36 weeks of math, language arts, science and history): $194.34, list price $242.94. |
| Placement | Free placement tests ↗ | Free math and language arts placement tests ↗ |
| Parent time | Not stated by the publisher | Not stated by the publisher |
| It fits | A family that wants low-cost, open-and-go printed lessons and likes teaching science and history to several children at once. | A family that wants low-cost, open-and-go printed courses with short lessons and a Charlotte Mason flavor. |
| It doesn't fit | A family that needs a complete high school program, or one that wants the child to learn mostly alone on a screen. | A family that wants video or on-screen teaching, or longer, drill-heavy lessons. |
The Good and the Beautiful
The Good and the Beautiful sells separate courses by level: language arts (reading, phonics, spelling, writing and grammar in one course book), math, handwriting, and family-style science units and history courses that children of different ages do together. Lessons are open-and-go from printed course books, and the kindergarten to 8th grade language arts and math courses are also free to download as PDFs. A grade bundle covers language arts, handwriting and math; science and history are chosen and bought separately.
Does well: The kindergarten to 8th grade language arts and math courses are free to download as PDFs, so you can try them or use them at no cost.
Watch for: Science and history are not in the grade bundles: the publisher suggests 3 to 5 science units and one history course a year, bought separately.
The full The Good and the Beautiful card · Publisher’s site ↗
Master Books
Master Books publishes open-and-go courses in math, language arts, science and history for kindergarten to 12th grade, each with a course guide that schedules a 180-day year. For each grade it sells a Basic 4-Subject Set of its recommended courses with teacher and student materials, or the courses can be bought one at a time. Several courses describe a Charlotte Mason approach, with stories, copywork, narration and hands-on work, and lessons are kept short.
Does well: The 3rd grade Basic 4-Subject Set costs under $200 and holds teacher and student materials for 36 weeks of the four core subjects.
Watch for: Lessons are short by design, about 20 to 30 minutes a day for 3rd grade language arts, so a parent who wants more practice will need to add it.
Lists with both
- Faith-based homeschool curricula 22
- Homeschool curricula for pre-K and kindergarten 48
- Homeschool curricula for middle school 51
- Homeschool curricula for high school 38
- Print homeschool curricula 44
- Homeschool curricula for $100 to $300 a year 18
- Faith-based homeschool curricula for pre-K and kindergarten 19
- Faith-based homeschool curricula for high school 21
How we label
Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.
Something wrong or out of date? Send a correction; publishers can send corrections, never money. Every program compared