I appreciate your responses. We are giving it alot of thought. My son wants to remain with BJU, but I continue to waiver. I posted a question about BJU Science on a yahoo group and the responses I've received have indicated the same thing... that it is difficult to teach BJU at home, even with the DVDs. I was all set to go the whole nine yards with BJU but now I'm rethinking it. I would get the DVDs anyways, so maybe I shouldn't be concerned. My son is a huge self-learner, so I think he would enjoy the independent nature of Apologia. But, he will need more content. Shouldn't be hard to supplement it. Hmmm... still undecided. If we use BJU Earth Science 8 next year would we be able to go into Apologia in 9th grade? He has not studied physics formally though he understands plenty. He has completed alot of reading on Chemistry and we have covered Chemistry pretty well in his curriculum in the past. So... I don't know if it's "enough" to go into Apologia's HS courses. One specific question... has anyone seen how Google Earth is incorporated into BJU Earth Science course? I think that may be new to the newly released edition but I don't know for sure. I read a brief blurb about it somewhere and shared that info. with my son. That got him really excited. Now that I think about it, we have a complete set of an older edition of BJU Earth and Space. Maybe I should dig that out. I glanced at it awhile back and it looked extremely detailed. Another option is Rainbow Science. Susan gave it a good review but I can't find the review.

Thank you!

I found a thread that some may find interesting. BJU or Apologia Biology? http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169113

How much is a lot?? :001_smile: How much time does BJU take for a lesson at the high school level? I know it would probably vary, depending on what you are doing that day but I'd love to have a general idea. We didn't spent alot of time on Science 7 this year. He did Science three or four days a week for 30 minutes or so.

My 4th grader enjoyed The Fallacy Detective, MindBenders, and the Red Herring Mysteries this year.

:)

We have not looked at Apologia at all. I am planning to take him with me when we go to our summer convention. Hopefully we can visit the BJU table and talk to a rep. and maybe then I'll feel more comfortable about teaching it at home. Thank you!

R&S is my favorite. Worked like a charm for one of my children but the other detests it. Huge big tears. I am, however, considering making him do it next year anyways. :ohmy: He likes Sequential Spelling so if, after a spelling break, he continues to freak out over R&S, that's what he'll be doing next year.

I want to stay with BJU but I'm concerned it may be too difficult to use in a home setting for HS. Really, that would be my preference but I've heard that the HS courses require a teacher who is strong in the field and alot of specialized equipment. We could probably swing purchasing the distance learning options for the HS courses. We just used the text with the activity book this year and it was fine. Any thoughts? :001_smile:

My current 7th grader used BJU Life Science this year. I think we are going to go with Apologia's Physical Science for 8th grade. Will this be a problem since he didn't do the General Science text for 7th grade? I think he has had a solid Science foundation laid in elementary and early logic stages. He is a HUGE self-learner but his passions are biology, astronomy, and botany. He also went through a chemistry phase and read alot of books for himself and memorized the Periodic Table. I thought he would be fine to go into Physical Science but now I'm second guessing myself after reading some threads about how well General Science teaches them to study and gets them ready for Physical Science.

Core B+C is great!! It's perfect for a 4th grader who is homeschooling for the first time. We used it and absolutely loved it. If you like SL you can look forward to using SOTW later on in Cores G and H or you can start with Ancient Times in 5th grade and use SOTW with the extra readings in the SOTW Activity Guide. Either way, you have plenty of time to use SOTW!

MathuSee (both of them love MUS) Life of Fred (we just started this recently to "try it out" and they want to make it permanent) studied dictation (for spelling) IEW's Poetry Memorization Hey Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek Getting Started With Latin (will be continuing from this year, not exactly repeating... we've tried several different Latin curricula in the past and this is the one that has really clicked with them) Rod & Staff English (I thought I may drop it for next year but just today both of them said they want to continue it... they realize how much they are learning. It's quite amazing because both of them have gone through periods of not liking it. We were in Wal-mart today and they overheard someone using poor grammar and they couldn't believe it! They said that everyone should have to use R&S. ) Sonlight (we don't even use SL anymore but they love it and I have to keep reading SL to them no matter what else we are ever doing - so we will be reading Core E with our other history for next year. It matches up well because we will be covering 1850 to Modern Times.)

I love MUS and both of my sons have preferred it after using it, trying another thing or two, and then wanting to go back to it. We do tend to take a little break towards the end of each book when the concepts and problems are more complex. During those times we have tried different things, sometimes we just don't do any math for a few weeks. Right now, they are both using Life of Fred and it's the only supplement they have both loved enough to want to use it "as is" alongside MUS. I don't consider that a necessity but they like Fred, so we are using it for now. I have one who is probably "average" at math and one who is very mathy and both of them love MUS. My husband loves math and knows how to teach it without a curriculum. He's like that; I'm not! He makes sure they are using math in real life and sometimes when I'm worried about math he will tell me that he is very impressed with MUS and he thinks it's important to stick with it. He sees that they are understanding math and able to apply what they know to real life (like building projects, laying out a garden, using $$). I think they are getting an excellent math education which is quite a blessing considering I used to worry about math alot.

He has done alot of dictation this year. He will be using WWE 3 next year. I think we'll stick with it through this first book since I have it already and he loves it. He told me it makes sense to him. I used Rod & Staff for several years with my other son and he is a great speller. But, R&S makes my younger son cry big ole ugly tears. :glare: I think I'm going to use the spelling rules in Phonics Pathways and just teach them as we come across them in SS.

I found myself naturally doing that as we went through the lists. It seemed simple enough to do so. But, now I'm worried! Judging from these responses, this may not be a method that will stick with him. I don't know what to do!! :confused:

I'm shocked that he loves it so much! It's not a program that I ever seriously considered and I only did tried it because the first week is available for free on their website. He's 9, so we did the first week in a couple of days and he was literally smiling the whole time. That is a BIG DEAL for him. I wouldn't call him a struggling speller but definately an unenthusiastic one! Until now. He was actually happy when it came in the mail today.

Do you teach spelling rules alongside Sequential Spelling? I decided to try the free lesson that is available on their website and my son loved it. He clicked with it right away. I am very pleased because he doesn't like spelling and I was in quite a tizzy trying to figure out what approach to take with him next year. He told me he really likes it and wants to use it next year. I now have the first book and we are going to go ahead and use it this summer. I wanted an approach that included some spelling rules but since he is quite enthusiastic about SS I am going to use it. Just wondering if you cover any rules as you go along or does SS eventually include rules written into the guide?

People who walk away from their faiths were never Christians to begin with. You can't walk away from Christ if you belong to Him. First of all, He won't let you walk away for more than a season (He will ALWAYS draw the believer back to Himself). No where does the Bible teach that you can "lose your salvation". That is a totally false teaching. If you want your nephew to not walk away from his faith, then be diligent to stress to him that he must be born again. Once a person is born (spiritually), he will not die (spiritually). The idea that a Christian child could grow up and walk away from their faith and not return is simply false. What is the point in being "born again" if that were true? That which has become alive will never die. Christ offers EVERLASTING life to all who will believe and trust Him. He is faithful and will never allow a child to depart for more than a season. He will always go after the lost sheep and He will always bring him back into the fold. These teachings are meant to be a comfort to us. I went to public school and it was there that God reached me. The schools in my community are definately not pagan. Many, many of the teachers are Christians. I do live in the Bible belt though. :)

We use Hey Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek. We are extremely happy with it. It is Koine Greek, so that may not be what you are looking for. Our goal is to be able to read the New Testament in the original Greek, so we are content with Koine. Going from Koine to another form of Greek is not difficult to do if a solid foundation has been laid. My advice for anyone starting Greek is to take it slow in the beginning. The kids love learning the alphabet. We took that first stage of learning very slowly and once the alphabet really "clicked" they were ready to go! We used the Code Cracker book to learn the alphabet but my youngest son needed to review it so he then went into level 1 of Hey Andrew! My older son was able to start with level 2 of Hey Andrew! I like Hey Andrew! because it is written to the student, the pages are not busy, it does move slowly in the first couple of levels, and it includes alot of drill and review (sometimes too much so we skip things as needed). I have found that it's simple to implement and my kids are able to feel successful with it since it's easy to know what to do next and includes frequent review.

I think their language arts materials are top-notch. Someone said that Susan only liked Abeka for one subject. Actually, she has recommended both their grammar and math curricula. Also, it has been said that Abeka teaches "providential" history. That's not exactly right. Abeka emphasizes America's Christian roots but they also emphasize the free will of men. True Providentialism is Calvinistic in orientation. Abeka is staunchly against Calvinism. Someone will argue with me about that... but there is a difference and I know that Abeka does not teach Providentialism, not even in history. Atleast not in the way that the Puritanical types use the word "Providentialism". Maybe I'm splitting hairs. They teach that many of our founders were Christian and they emphasize the godly characters of our founders. They do not teach that all of our American "heroes" were Christians and they do not deny the contributions of other people. Of course this whole "flavor" is strongest in their American history texts, not so much in the world history. The books are not written for the home at all. They are written for private Christian schools. They are entirely "schoolish". They do include a good bit of literature though and not all of it is "Christian". They actually do a pretty good job of covering all kinds of literature, if you look at the whole curriculum and not just one year here or there. Their art project books are pretty interesting. They are colorful and appealing to young children. The ones for older children are of a high quality, in my opinion. I have friends who use and love Abeka. Their kids are happy using textbooks. They still read "real books" too. The moms who I know who are happy with Abeka tend to have a no-nonsense approach to school. They also tend to have a teaching background. I don't use Abeka's materials because we don't use textbooks. Atleast not textbooky textbooks :001_smile:. And, even though I don't think Abeka really is teaching Providentialism, I still think they go overboard sometimes with their focus on America's Christian foundation. I am, however, in complete agreement with their Bible and doctrinal books. I LOVE their Bible Doctrines for Today book but we don't use it as a "school book". I use it in my personal study and I teach the doctrines within it to my children. The first phonics curriculum I ever bought was Abeka's. I opened the box and prompty broke out into tears, closed it up quickly, and sold it all immediately. It was very intimidating with all the different components. Looking back, I think it was my inexperience with homeschooling. It was overwhelming to me. I do think their phonics is exceptionally strong and their readers are sweet. I just couldn't make it work. Not my style, I guess.

Alrighty, Plan A is no more. Plan B: My Father's World 1850 to Modern Times Abeka's Bible Doctrines for Today Apologia's Physical Science (8th grader) Physics & Chemistry from MFW plus other books on same topics (5th grader) MathUSee Pre-Algebra/Algebra, Life of Fred (8th grader) MathUSee Delta, Life of Fred (5th grader) Writing With Skill, Spelling Power, Analytical Grammar (8th grader) Writing With Ease, Sequential Spelling, First Language Lessons 4 (5th gr.) IEW's Poetry Memorization (both) Figuratively Speaking (both) TWTM/Susan's Literary Analysis (both) Finish Getting Started With Latin then Latin Road to English Grammar (both) Hey Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek 4 (8th gr.) & 2 (5th gr.) Vocabulary From Classical Roots (8th grader) The Thinking Toolbox (both) The Art of Argument (8th grader) Red Herrings/Mind Benders (both) Uncle Eric books (both) Simply Charlotte Mason Picture Studies (both) Shakespeare study using a variety of materials, including Shakespeare for the Ears, Memoria Press's As You Like It study guide two Memoria Press literature study guides (8th grader) Music lessons (piano, violin - both) God & the History of Art

:iagree: We do almost everything, except the projects. My kids just are not into them and I got tired of the groans. I think the projects are great, but my children just aren't crafty, hands-on learners. I had to learn that the projects are there for the children who want them or need them to help them to recall the lessons but they aren't necessary for every child, every week. I also feel like we spent alot of time on history this year. I want to lighten that up some for next year. My boys have really loved the Storytime readings (which were actually independent reading for the CTC kiddo) and the extension books. But I want to spend more time on classics next year and more time on discussing those readings. I regulated alot of classics this year to "free reading" time. So, they would start a book with enthusiasm but get busy with school books and ended up not finishing the classics they had started. We also tend to listen to classics on audio rather than read them for ourselves. You know, trying to fit them in somehow without adding to their reading schedules. They enjoy that but I want them to be reading them for themselves.

We took a one year break from HOD between Preparing (with extensions for 5th grade) and CTC (with extensions for 7th grade). I am right there with you... I love, love, love it. I do. But, we are taking another year "off" this year though for different reasons than you. I really don't know how to advise you, other than to say to pray about it (and I know you are!), trust your gut, and know that taking a year to do something else won't be a problem! However, taking it at a slower pace in the beginning wouldn't be a problem either. Lots of moms do that. The CTC history spines worked well for my son (as a 7th grader). He found the books on Greece and Rome to be more difficult to narrate from. He had to ponder those narrations quite a bit more than he had had to do with the Ancient World book. The topics covered in the history spines in RtR will be heavy. I think they would be encouraging and edifying for a 7th or 8th grader, but I'm not sure about a child younger than that. So much does depend on the child though. There is a link to a sample of The Story of the Middle Ages at HOD's page for the RtR books. You may want to dig that up and check it out. Looking at one book in isolation may not give you a real feel for it though. Were you using the extensions with her? That would surely be too much for children younger than the ages for which they are intended. Let's see... it sounds like it worked pretty well except the history spines weren't a great fit. And, the poetry and art weren't hits either. Well, my son didn't do all of the painting. One a week is alot. He began to skip some of the projects about half way through the guide. He did really connect with the poetry, but I can see where a younger child may not. Some of the selections are quite abstract. HOD leaves little room for "rabbit trails". It's so highly structured that you feel like you don't have the time to pause and follow your own interests. Atleast I have felt that way. I love that about it but it's also a negative if you want to be more relaxed for awhile. I think it's probably somewhat expected to find some parts of a program that is so "complete and full" that you just don't like! There is so much to it! Maybe you could take the first semester of next year and just be more relaxed. Find something in particular that your child is crazy about and do that for a little while. I bet just half a school year would make a big difference.

Thank you Julie! That's what I needed to know and think about. I had read somewhere that as long as the student could write strong paragraphs that he should do fine with the writing in AHL. I just wasn't sure what that meant. I don't want to pull together so many components that we end up doing none of them very well. I think I'll try to compare WS 4 with Writing With Skill and see if WWS works on any of those same skills. Thank you!

We've used R&S with WWTB this year with HOD's CTC and it's been really good for my son. They work very well together. We don't skip any of the writing in R&S. We do both and have found they are very complimentary.