jamipearl
- Reviewed on Thursday, July 29, 2010
- Grades Used: 2nd new ed, 3rd new ed.
- Dates used: 2008-2010
In general I love this curriculum.
Positives: vivid, full color workbook pages, not overwhelming amounts of busy work; teacher manual (TM) is spiral bound, organized well, and in full color; the stories were engaging and the kids looked forward to them; it's Christ centered without being too preachy; the younger grades include topics that might be left out of daily life when teaching multiple students (like how to read a calendar),
Negatives: if you have to use the TM to teach a topic, you almost HAVE to buy all the teacher visual packets and manipulatives since they base the instruction of the lessons on these often; it lacks review for students that need a lot of practice memorizing facts -- you either have to print extra practice sheet that are on the provided CD or use flash cards daily before the lesson; sometimes it took 3-4 lessons for them to actually get to through the "why" the problem has to be solved this way and not on how to just do it -- my daughter in particular found the constant place value charts, used repeatedly, confusing and daunting, but once I just stated "you just need to carry a one up here", then it clicked -- my son, on the other hand, found this helpful; it requires a bit of prep work if you plan on using the visual packet, appendix, and manipulatives; the manipulatives are paper and not very sturdy and did not hold up well after two students use.
The main point is that my children both really liked it and that says A LOT!
other maths used: rod and staff, rightstart mathematics
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brandyrc22
- Reviewed on Saturday, January 16, 2010
- Grades Used: 1st
- Dates used: 2009-2010
This was our first year of Homeschooling and probably like most of you I was so worried that I would not pick the right curriculum and my children would not learn anything. After much research I decided to go with the BJ math for my daughter. I have to say we absolutly love it. The pictures are awsome and keep her entertained just enough without distracting from the lesson. I did not purchase the TM just the student text, test and answer key. I have read other reviews about the TM and the stories but feel we are not missing out on anything by not having it. We have even taken it a step further, and during creative writing time (my children love to write stories, so this was their chioce as an elective) they take the pictures at the begining of the chapters and write a story pertaining to the pictures.
I have supplemented the curriculum with just a regular workbook I picked up at the dollar store for extra practice, although this is not really needed.
Again I am very happy with this curriculum and so is my daughter she has already asked for it for next year!
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rigger
- Reviewed on Thursday, August 27, 2009
- Grades Used: K and 5th
- Dates used: 3 Aug '09 - present
We love BJU math! My son , grade K, did NOT want to do any school work. He would barely look at the other materials we had. So I took him to the homeschool convention & showed him A Beka ,Horizons, LifePac, Bob Jones & others. He picked the Bob Jones math & we love it. He loves the full color workbook , Farmer Brown & the stories that go with the lessons, and all the animals. He begs to do math now! & more than one lesson a day!
I also purchased BJU math for my 6th grader. We used Saxon 6/5 last year & hated it. There was a big jump from the Saxon to the BJU 6th grade, so I bumped her down to the 5th grade book. She's loving math this year ( & excited about it).
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samiam
- Reviewed on Monday, April 20, 2009
- Grades Used: K5
- Dates used: 2008-2009
Love this program!
I have never looked at BJU products before, because we are a secular homeschooling family, and try to stay away from religious curriculum whenever possible. But I do use it when it suits our needs.
I was looking for a math program for my 5 year old. He was so NOT into doing any schoolwork. He doesn't want to sit at the table, he doesn't want to even bother with anything that is "schoolish".
But we had to do some sort of math. A friend gave me Saxon, which is big in the HSing world. I hate it, myself. I felt like my son was getting the basics, but not loving math.
Many people recommended BJU to me, so I finally looked at it. We LOVE it. First, the pages are so colorful, it draws my son's attention. Second, each lessons has a few different activities in it, so it's not all workbook pages. Today we measured weights, counted to 40 and then did a worksheet on what weighs more or less. The K5 program has a Farm theme, which grabs my son's attention.
The worksheets do not have too much writing, which was something I wanted to avoid, as wanted math to be about math, not perfecting writing skills. The religion aspects are easily left out if wanted, ( I did).
My son is progressing through the math program wonderfully, and to my surprise, it is a easy task for both of us.
I loved how in the TM' BJU tells different ways to make home-made manipulatives, so you don't have to spend a bunch of money on manipulatives if you didn't want to.
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