An Honest Review of The Good Gospel
Official Description
[Creator Jennifer Pepito] wanted to adapt some of the beauty of Catechism of The Good Shepherd for families and churches in different theological streams, so we created The Good Gospel. This resource is non-denominational and it focuses on the life of Jesus and the truth that God loves us and wants a relationship with us. It can be used by liturgical and non-liturgical churches to give young children the opportunity to develop a saving faith in Jesus Christ and a deeper prayer life.
My Opinion
Although we’re faithful Catholics, we don’t shy away from Protestant, nondenominational, or Orthodox Christian educational resources that aim to pass on mainly the beauty of God’s creation and Jesus’s love for us. This is what I’ve found in The Good Gospel.
That said, I was encouraged to learn that this curriculum was based on/inspired by a Catholic curriculum. Apparently, the Catholic version is for Sunday School or not seemingly available for families, so I “settled” for this one, and I’m glad I did.
Each week introduces a new verse, an accompanying Gospel story, and a beautiful classical painting about the story.
Although I know the main intent is to have the family memorize each verse, for us, it’s just a way to calmly bring up said verse and story while looking at the painting that portrays the moment being described. Not many curricula involve Bible readings, so it’s been neat to incorporate
It’s very chill, no-pressure, and I don’t expect memorization or perfection. Some weeks we’ll add its corresponding printable one day and/or do its craft another day.. and other weeks we simply just read the verse and the story every day.
For our bilingual homeschool, we abstain from reading Pepito’s version of the Gospel story in English and instead read it from our Spanish-language Catholic Children’s Bible (La Sagrada Biblia de América Infantil) that my mom bought our family in Colombia years ago.
We know enough about the faith (and are actively learning more) to know, for instance, when something is actively anti-Catholic or goes against Catholic dogma, and we course-correct or have a conversation about our oppositions. No need to do that with The Good Gospel (which you can adapt for your co-op or Sunday School): everything is Christ-centered and beautifully basic or minimal.
What’s Included
The Good Gospel is an A-Z gospel devotional guide intended for use in preschool Sunday School, or as a weekly accompaniment to The Peaceful Preschool. The guide includes 26 lessons with verses, crafts, Bible stories, declarations, and fine art geared towards helping young children connect with the stories of Jesus in a Sunday School or home setting.
When you purchase The Good Gospel, you also get a link to a free download of all 26 verses put to music.
In my honest opinion, you’re going to need a trusty PDF app/program to deal with this file bundle. The printables include a weekly sheet with the Bible verse, declaration, and a picture to color. There’s also a traceable Bible verse for older children. Then there’s the art, which are 26 pages of full-color painting
You’ll need a PDF app/program because you’ll want to separate all these files into three kinds: The Parent Guide (that you should have spiral-bound for portability), the Printables (that you can print as needed because you’re not required to employ them every week), AND the Art (that you’ll want to have printed elsewhere on cardstock for the sake of affordability).
I keep the Parent Guide in our homeschool area, the Printables on my computer, and the Art stored away safely in my office to take out as needed. Could you include the Art with the Parent Guide? Yeeeeah, but then you’ll have to keep turning the pages back an forth whereas it’s easier to display the art separately (BONUS if you put it on the wall with Blu-Tack!)
