jnswhitmire
- Reviewed on Sunday, December 27, 2009
- Grades Used: 2nd-3rd
- Dates used: 2008-still
I Love this Curriculum... It's easy to understand.. Has lots of oppurtunities for hands on learning. It incorporates the Bible in every lesson. Also the Support team is wonderfull with questions and such... ( Ive only called twice in 2 years) They also include any corrections or extra resources they come across on their website... I have bought the whole kit both years and have only spent small amounts on extras which was all my own idea... other than basic school supplies there isnt alot of additional cost.. My sons handwriting was unreadable until I retaught him using the BJU method and the cursive letters I think are prettier.. I don't think that I have had any bad with any part of BJU other than cost but we all wish that the homeschool world was cheaper right?...LOL
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bjabroy
- Reviewed on Sunday, May 17, 2009
- Grades Used: K-8
- Dates used: 2000-2007
This is a good curriculum. I cannot say that it is excellent or perfect, but it is a good way to educate your children. There were a few drawbacks to the program, which is why after 7 years we discontinued using it.
We were a Homesat subscriber and it was a great experience when I was trying to teach two little ones. I major plus for us! But as the years went on, the teachers started adding their own opinions on different topics and many times those went against what we have taught our children from the Bible. It was little things here and there, and on one occasion a teacher actually expressed that you don't need to do this because your parents say so, you can do this because you think it is right. Which is a very true statement for an adult, but not for a 7th grade child.
We took standardized testing every year and our children score at or above their grade levels. So, I know in spite of the little issues we had with the curriculum, they still received a solid education. We have chosen to use K12, so that we are the ones educating our children about the Lord. K12 is an excellent curriculum.
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kristinhr12
- Reviewed on Saturday, January 03, 2009
- Grades Used: 2nd grade
- Dates used: Sept.-current Jan.2009
We used Abeka K-1 and loved it but the work got to spiral for her so we switched to BJU. She loves the theme stories, which adds interest to Math. You feel like your actually learning about different countries.
I like the fact that they use alot of manipulatives to teach a concept and they show us in the TM how to teach it to a child. It's done in a way, that the child can really understand what they are learning. Sometimes they go a little overboard on a concept and have them do things that are not really necessary, so I actually just cross it out and skip it. It's usually on checking her own work. Seems pointless!
BJU is not spiral, so you study a topic or concept like Money, or measurement, or carrying or borrowing for like 7 days each and then you move on. It's a mastery approach so if the child doesn't get it, you also have a review book you can use to slow down. I've used it for my daughter and that is great.
The only draw back we've experienced so far, is there isn't enough review of the things you learned 2-4 chapters back, so you either have to be really good about reviewing things everyday or do what I'm going to be doing. I ordered the Abeka 2nd grade TM so I can use the daily review for our "meeting time" everyday. I have to have something layed out for me each day, or I don't do it.
All in all, it's been a pretty good choice for us this year.
Just a quick update: December 2009
We have quit using BJU and have switched to CLE. I turns out, spiral is much better for her after all.
She was forgeting to many previous things with the mastery approach.
We do a "meeting" time we learned from saxon 3 and then we dive into our daily lesson with CLE.
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Concerned-Mother
- Reviewed on Tuesday, December 23, 2008
- Grades Used: k-5, 2nd and 3rd
- Dates used: 2007-current
My oldest daughter used the Bob Jones materials at a christian school she attended for kindergarten and again in first grade. Ironically, I sub taught at this same school and became familiar with the materials first hand so when I decided to homeschool my girls, this was a logical choice.
I purchased both the kindergarten pack as well as the second grade. Each kit comes with everything you need aside from the Bible curriculum. I was able to find the bible kit reasonably priced on Ebay. Like others have mentioned, it IS a bit of an expense costing around $500 for each kit, however when you consider that we were paying $4500/yr for a school using this SAME curriculum it seemed much more logical. In saying that this "kit" has everything you need, I sincerly mean that. I had bought so much supplimental materials thinking I would need them only to find them sitting on a shelf because we have not had the time or the need for them due to the quality content of BJU materials.
I love the way the manuals are layed out showing a year at a glance, a weekly schedule or even a daily schedule with materials required. In my mind, it was nearly foolproof.
We did however tweek it a bit to best suit our family and schedule. For those parents looking for a 4 day option like we eventually came to use due to being at Co-Op one day, see the BJU website (especially for kindergarten) it has a print out on how to make this into a 4 day program incorporating more review.
My ONLY drawback is when you have more than one child it can be tiring to teach using these kits. You will find yourself running between the different kids throughout the day getting one started on a task while the other is doing worksheets. Still, an average day of teaching for my two girls would start at 9am and we would be done by 1:30ish.
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