BJU Grammar and Writing 8th or 9th?

[rubyslippers]

I have been using Abeka grammar and am looking for something more user friendly for my 8th grader next year.  The lessons are not easily marked in her book, and neither one of us want to rely on the teacher's manual so much.  I did some reading and it seems like BJU might be laid out a little better, but it looks awfully easy.  I wondered if I would need the 9th grade book if I were switching to BJU?  Has anyone used it?  

[SebastianCat]

Have you looked at the BJU samples online, or seen them on display in person?   We used BJU Writing and Grammar for 1st through 6th grades, and loved it.   It was very straightforward, alternated chapters between grammar and writing, and was fairly independent for my kids to do on their own without me using the TM.   But starting in 7th grade, the format completely changed, and became very dependent upon the TM and classroom discussion.   I think (*someone correct me if this is wrong) that Writing and Grammar is only a 1/2 year course starting in 7th grade, and the other semester is Literature.  

 

So no, we have not used BJU for anything higher than 6th grade, but I'd highly recommend that you look closely at the TM before committing.   

[meganrussell]

Yes, the writing and grammar is half a year starting in 7th grade with Literature the other half. I have a 7th and 9th grader using BJU DVDs. I would not say it's easy, but it's not incredibly hard either. They both do well with it, but the teacher Mrs. Vicks on the DVDs is great. She explains things really well. It's not that much more expensive to use the DVDs and I recommend them. You could definitely use it without them, though. I do love how at the end of each chapter, there is a writing assignment. These are fun! My son is writing a play scene right now, and my daughter is starting a research paper.