Chalkdust or BJU DVD Math for 8th grade and up?

[Tamologa4]

If you had a choice between these two math programs for 8th grade (Pre Algebra) all the way through high school which would you choose?

 

This is for my dd who doesn't "get" math easily. She really struggles with it so I need something that explains new concepts very simply. Do you have a preference? Is one easier for the child to understand than the other?

 

Thanks for your wise words :)

 

 

----Angelique

[Susan C.]

I have used both. My daughter has done BJU from 3rd - 9th grade (through Algebra 1). It worked well for us. She is now doing Chalkdust Geometry. It is too soon to tell if the move was ok to make. BJU dvds do move slowly, and really explain things well (sometimes too well). My daughter really liked and needed that for Algebra 1. (We did not use dvds before that, I really liked BJU's prealgebra book). But by the end of Algebra 1, things clicked for her, and then she thought the tapes had more instruction than she needed.

 

For my son, we used Chalkdust for Prealgebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2. For us, they were on the hard side. In fact, we had to redo Algebra 2 with BJU. Chalkdust moved too fast, and he needed more step by step instruction. Then he did BJU for Precalculus, about a month or two in, he got very frustrated at the slow pace. (Then we hopped programs the rest of the year). I need to mention that he is much better with language related things than math.

 

BJU also has much better calculator instruction on their dvds. My son learned how to use the calculator with Algebra 2. My daughter learned how to use it in Algebra 1. If you use Chalkdust, you will need more thorough calculator instruction if you or a sibling can't teach the calculator.

 

At least for my kids, BJU until they can move faster than BJU goes, then Chalkdust.

 

HTH,

Susan

[Sharon in MD]

I only learned about Chalkdust rather late in the game, and I never used BJU for math, but, Chalkdust was an excellent choice for us for Calculus. I like the fact that these materials go that far with the same teacher/tutor for the kids. I like the continuity. I think that if you were to use Chalkdust for several higher level courses in a row, the student would develop a relationship of sorts with the instructor.

 

We went with Chalkdust for our son's last year of math because I just couldn't keep up any more with the pace. I was very pleased with the product and with the response of Dana Mosely when our DS needed help.

 

As for the topic of calculator instruction: There are loads of great free websites that have good tutorials on using the TI products effectively. The first thing i would urge you to do is download the complete product manual from TI if that is what you are using. It makes a world of difference to have a full manual. The second thing is hotmath.com has had good calculator vids in the past and some community colleges have good tutorials as well. Just google the daylights out of what you want to learn how to do. It really works quite well.

 

HTH and I'll be happy to field questions if i can

[Jugglin'5]

I have used both. My daughter has done BJU from 3rd - 9th grade (through Algebra 1). It worked well for us. She is now doing Chalkdust Geometry. It is too soon to tell if the move was ok to make. BJU dvds do move slowly, and really explain things well (sometimes too well). My daughter really liked and needed that for Algebra 1. (We did not use dvds before that, I really liked BJU's prealgebra book). But by the end of Algebra 1, things clicked for her, and then she thought the tapes had more instruction than she needed.

 

For my son, we used Chalkdust for Prealgebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2. For us, they were on the hard side. In fact, we had to redo Algebra 2 with BJU. Chalkdust moved too fast, and he needed more step by step instruction. Then he did BJU for Precalculus, about a month or two in, he got very frustrated at the slow pace. (Then we hopped programs the rest of the year). I need to mention that he is much better with language related things than math.

 

BJU also has much better calculator instruction on their dvds. My son learned how to use the calculator with Algebra 2. My daughter learned how to use it in Algebra 1. If you use Chalkdust, you will need more thorough calculator instruction if you or a sibling can't teach the calculator.

 

At least for my kids, BJU until they can move faster than BJU goes, then Chalkdust.

 

HTH,

Susan

 

We tried LOF Algebra last year for my 7th/8th graders , after having great success with the Fractions and Decimals books. It was okay, but they got stuck in several places and I really didn't think they had a good grasp of Algebra.We are using BJU Alg 1 DVDs this year, after starting this summer, and I agree with the above assessment (for BJU Algebra, the only one we've used so far). It is a more expensive option because you can't reuse or resell, but the thorough explanation and review has been well worth it so far. If anything it can sometimes become tedious when your child has gotten the concept already. In this case there is always the ff button. Also, Mrs. Genco can sometimes WAY overdue it with the Bible tie-ins. Still, we are very pleased and plan to go to Geometry after Christmas. I can't speak to Chalkdust, but it certainly has a good reputation. I may use it with my son when he gets older because he is a bit more of a natural at math.

[Susan C.]

Jugglin'5-

Yes, we really liked Mrs. Genco. I looked at BJU Geometry at the book fair, and really didn't like the book. (But Mrs. Genco teaches that class as well). So we are trying Chalkdust Geometry (I already own it from my son using it). So far, so good. If it gets to be too much, I can change. I am hoping the good foundation built in Algebra 1 will hold and she can stay with Chalkdust for the rest of her math career.

[Michelle in GA]

My ds is taking Pre Calculus this year at our local co-op. They use both the BJU text, and the text Chalkdust uses. I am not sure how they will be combined the two, but it will be interesting to see. The teacher began with chapter 2 of the BJU text. I purchased the DVD's and had my son use them. I thought the explanations were very clear and so far,I am very glad I have those DVD's! Chalkdust is very good too. BJU does move a bit slower, but that is not a problem with us whatsoever!

[74Heaven]

iT seemed to have more information and support than Chalkdust geometry. The main thing I got on the boards was that Chalkdust Alg was fabuloso but there wasn't near as much adulation [tho there also were not any complaints really] about the geometry.

 

The BJU DVD instruction was great, CHalkdust Geom DVD lessons just seemed a bit short. BJU DVDs are about 45 min and I believe most of the CD lessons are just 15-20min [they vary in length] - I'm not sure about the length of CD video lessons, my memory may be wrong.

 

This was for a math-hater [who didn't hate BJU] and so I used it for a math-lover as well.

 

The math-hater is done with math, the math lover will soon start BJU Pre-Calculus DVDs. Both are spendy....

 

lisaj, mom to 5

[Jugglin'5]

How are the proofs in BJU? If I think that proofs are important, we will still be okay with BJU?

[74Heaven]

How are the proofs in BJU? If I think that proofs are important' date=' we will still be okay with BJU?[/quote']

 

But it seemed the course introduced proofs, worked on them for a few months but the instructor didn't usually assign the tougher proofs - we did a few extra that the DVD did not assign - overall, [tho I am not extremely knowledgeable about geometry scope and sequence] I thought the proofs were adequately taught. I was a bit annoyed that the instructor seemed to skimp a little bit on constructions.

 

Both were covered very adequately in the textbook tho - so we just added a little more homework then the DVD did and covered both as much as we thought.

 

One small complaint from me is that I thought the Geometry homework load was a little light. We've always had daily math homework and this class only gave homework prob. 70 percent of the time. Once again, we added in memorizing postulates, theorems and vocabulary and the girls were busy enough.

 

HTH

Lisaj, mom to 5

[Jugglin'5]

But it seemed the course introduced proofs, worked on them for a few months but the instructor didn't usually assign the tougher proofs - we did a few extra that the DVD did not assign - overall, [tho I am not extremely knowledgeable about geometry scope and sequence] I thought the proofs were adequately taught. I was a bit annoyed that the instructor seemed to skimp a little bit on constructions.

 

Both were covered very adequately in the textbook tho - so we just added a little more homework then the DVD did and covered both as much as we thought.

 

One small complaint from me is that I thought the Geometry homework load was a little light. We've always had daily math homework and this class only gave homework prob. 70 percent of the time. Once again, we added in memorizing postulates, theorems and vocabulary and the girls were busy enough.

 

HTH

Lisaj, mom to 5

Thanks!

[Susan C.]

So far, we are happy with Chalkdust Traditional Geometry (already owned it, son used it several years ago). I have read on this forum that the dvds don't match the text very well, so I wrote to Dana Mosely about it. He sent me lesson plans for the entire year :) :) :) The dvds were made for three different texts, so I was confused if we needed to do problems that weren't covered on the dvds (answer is no). If you do a search, others on this forum are happy with Chalkdust Geometry New.

 

This text does proofs almost immediately (in Chapter 2). He is easing us into it, adding postulates and theorems as we go. And we can write him with different answers and he tells us if our way of doing the proof is alright. I know Chalkdust is on the pricey side, but with the constant help from Dana Mosely, it comes in much less than a tutor would cost.

 

I did notice in BJU Algebra 1 last year that most of the time only easier problems were assigned. BJU has A, B, and C level problems, and a lot of the time, only A problems were assigned. We always added the B Problems. It would definitely be a problem if we ventured further with proofs without help.